ENG 12 - Extension 1: Metropolis

Metropolis (1927) is a stylized, visually-compelling, melodramatic silent film set in the dystopic, 21st century city of Metropolis - a dialectical treatise on man vs. machine and class struggle. Austrian director Fritz Lang's German Expressionistic masterpiece helped to develop the science-fiction genre, with innovative imagery from cinematographer Karl Freund, art design by Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, and Karl Vollbrecht, and set design by Edgar Ulmer. It was the last of Lang's silent films.

German expressionist filmmakers used visual distortion and hyper-expressive performance to show inner turmoils, fears and desires of that era. German Expressionism reflects the inner conflicts of its 1920s German audience by giving their woes an inescapably external presence. By rejecting cinematic realism, expressionist films showcase dramatic, revolutionary interpretations of the human condition.

Gabriela Stoicea examines the relationship between work, gender, and sexuality in Metropolis, suggesting that cinema not only reflects, but actively participates in the creation and maintenance of the status quo.

David Sterritt examines Fritz Lang's films and their fascination with the idea of the "destiny-machine", the systematic mechanism by which fate imposes its unrelenting will on human affairs.

Article by Julie Wosk. With its dramatic, overheated plot, striking set designs, and innovative special effects, Metropolis is in many ways a film about the uses of science and technology to create transformations - the transformation of the city into a marvel of modernity, the transformation of Metropolis's workers into robotic slaves, and the transformation of the saintly Maria into a diabolical and destructive femme fatale.