MetropoLESS!

[rio142]

I had been waiting for weeks to see the first U.S. broadcast of the film "Metropolis," and am I the only one who wasn't really too impressed? Don't get me wrong, the special effects were fantastic for that time, but the story was confusing and boring. Besides all the actors hamming it up, I was a bit surprised by how racy it was. Oh well, I guess that's because it was German. Finally, did anyone else get the feeling that this was something that would show up at a Communist rally party?

[autonomouscritic]

The thing that surprised me was how much longer it was; it's amazing that over 30 minutes of footage was recovered for this restored print and some 30 minutes are still missing. Extra titles added in hopes of explaining the lost portions of the film are awkward and lend the new version a certain episodic clumsiness that does seem to confuse rather than clarify. The ending is a bit heavy-handed as well; somehow, I remember earlier versions of the film as being more morally ambiguous. But the magnificent visuals in "Metropolis"--among many elements, Lang's masterful use of miniatures, his meticulously arranged compositions and thrillingly ambitious use of camera movement--remain as hypnotic and haunting now as they ever were. I can't help but love looking at this film.

[alix1929]

Count me as someone who enjoyed it. I thought the film had a very "foreign" feel to it. I loved the futuristic sets!

[loliteblue]

TCM THANK YOU!!! FOR SHOWING METROPOLESS! PLEASE SHOW IT

again as soon as possible. The 30 minutes of added film footage never seen am i right? Someone correct me if i am

wrong gave the film more texture when going fromscene to another in that 30 minutes of film time!!!

most enjoyable why did lang keep that 30 minutes of film

out of the orginal cut? Could someone answer this question for me? could he only show the edited version?

Lang was ahead of his time with this film,he deserved

high acclaim and a oscar! Would love to give him one

posthumously...!!! thanks tcm and lang for letting a new generation experience the film and have the matix's film of its time be enjoyed with lots of popcorn!!!

[Sgt_Markoff]

rio142 said:

Quote

Besides all the actors hamming it up, I was a bit surprised by democracy it was. Oh well, I guess that's because it was German. Finally, did anyone else get the feeling that this was something that would show up at a Communist rally party?

You can be critical of modernism, capitalism, and capitalism's gloomy future ...without being a 'communist'. There was a time when artists and authors (such as Lang) were at the forefront of a worldwide urge to question the settled pattern that society is now wallowing in.

[Dargo]

1 hour ago, Sgt_Markoff said:

rio142 said:

You can be critical of modernism, capitalism, and capitalism's gloomy future ...without being a 'communist'. There was a time when artists and authors (such as Lang) were at the forefront of a worldwide urge to question the settled pattern that society is now wallowing in.

Yeah, come to think of it, this flick DOES kind'a make ya wonder what ol' Fritz might've thought about Supply-side Economics, doesn't it???

(...otherwise of course known as the ol' "Trickle Down Economic Theory" or "Reaganomics")

[Sgt_Markoff]

Sounds like a good topic for someone's film studies thesis.

[Dargo]

5 minutes ago, Sgt_Markoff said:

Sounds like a good topic for someone's film studies thesis.

Actually, and about a half an hour ago after being spurred to google this very subject and after first seeing another of your revived old threads here Sarge, I found the following on the net, and which you might also find an interesting read as I did...

http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/Article_Metropolis.html

 

[Sgt_Markoff]

That's a super article. Thanks Darg Man.

The one historical concept I wish more people would absorb and realize (JakeHolman, NipkowDisc, mr6666, darkblue -- I'm looking at you) is that the National Socialist Party of Adolf Hitler had nothing to do with either socialism or communism. To say otherwise, is merely the pettifoggery of the stooge-in-the-street, the lout-on-the-streetcorner.

[EricJ]

3 hours ago, Sgt_Markoff said:

rio142 said:

You can be critical of modernism, capitalism, and capitalism's gloomy future ...without being a 'communist'. There was a time when artists and authors (such as Lang) were at the forefront of a worldwide urge to question the settled pattern that society is now wallowing in.

Talking to ghosts again, Sarge?  Yep, those old war memories from fifteen years ago hit hard...  😛

As for other posters with the same grievance in our new modern era:  Yes, the full Kino-restored uncut mess of Lang's movie was boneheaded Weimar-era pro-labor-union propaganda, which is why he left for the US.

But me, I was raised on the "MTV version" of Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis--back in in 1984, when that was considered "big" for Film Restoration--and I would agree with the critic who said "There's the version of Metropolis that's 'good for you', and then there's the version you actually enjoy watching."  (Ie., the slightly-less-incomplete one where most of the propaganda was still missing, they focused on the Fred & Maria story and the cool robot, and Moroder managed to put some actual emotion back into the score without beating the story over our heads.)

Your "sacrilege" may vary--Me, I think Moroder actually improved the workers' revolt and the catacombs chase than from Lang's original score.

[Movie Collector OH]

9 hours ago, EricJ said:

Talking to ghosts again, Sarge?  Yep, those old war memories from fifteen years ago hit hard...  😛

As for other posters with the same grievance in our new modern era:  Yes, the full Kino-restored uncut mess of Lang's movie was boneheaded Weimar-era pro-labor-union propaganda, which is why he left for the US.

But me, I was raised on the "MTV version" of Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis--back in in 1984, when that was considered "big" for Film Restoration--and I would agree with the critic who said "There's the version of Metropolis that's 'good for you', and then there's the version you actually enjoy watching."  (Ie., the slightly-less-incomplete one where most of the propaganda was still missing, they focused on the Fred & Maria story and the cool robot, and Moroder managed to put some actual emotion back into the score without beating the story over our heads.)

Your "sacrilege" may vary--Me, I think Moroder actually improved the workers' revolt and the catacombs chase than from Lang's original score.

The early 1980s was really a great time for this sort of thing.

I too am a fan of the Moroder version, as I'm sure you know.  Then again there were very few as influential in his style of music as he was.  I'm not particularly drawn into the bigger storyline of this film, which is why I gravitate to the shorter version with Moroder.  For me, I would say I like both versions probably 50/50...okay 70/30 (favor Moroder version).  The Moroder release is like a quick tour of Metropolis, not settling in and living with them for 3 or 3.5 hours (or however long the full restoration is - along with the added 16mm "thin man" parts).  For me, in spite of the restoration work, the repetitive music from the full version is its downside.  At the end, I am just glad its over because that means that music is over.

[mr6666]

7 hours ago, Sgt_Markoff said:

That's a super article. Thanks Darg Man.

The one historical concept I wish more people would absorb and realize (JakeHolman, NipkowDisc, mr6666, darkblue -- I'm looking at you) is that the National Socialist Party of Adolf Hitler had nothing to do with either socialism or communism. To say otherwise, is merely the pettifoggery of the stooge-in-the-street, the lout-on-the-streetcorner.

Why me??

[slaytonf]

People who are afraid of Metropolis' (1927) vision flee to the conventional dialectic of communism/capitalism to find justification for facile dismissals.  They studiously ignore the real message of the movie, the human message of the movie.  The message stated at the beginning and the end of the movie:  The mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart!  Whatever politics, economics, or class struggles are brought into the story are there as devices used in exemplifying that premise.  Lang and his wife, Thea von Harbou, who wrote the screenplay/novel, were alarmed, along with many others, at the effects of industrialization on human society, and foresaw an impending dystopian Armageddon.  They argue in the movie exactly what its detractors criticize it for, that economic, or political theories can't cope with our greatest challenges.  The only real possibility to overcome discord, division and upheaval is through humanity, the heart.  

Advocates of traditional social norms can take heart the Mediator is of the patrician class--though he loves a lassie of the prols.

[Sgt_Markoff]

mr6666 said:

Quote

Why me??

o_0

Oops

[GordonCole]

On 5/6/2003 at 1:21 AM, rio142 said:

I had been waiting for weeks to see the first U.S. broadcast of the film "Metropolis," and am I the only one who wasn't really too impressed? Don't get me wrong, the special effects were fantastic for that time, but the story was confusing and boring. Besides all the actors hamming it up, I was a bit surprised by how racy it was. Oh well, I guess that's because it was German. Finally, did anyone else get the feeling that this was something that would show up at a Communist rally party?

Boring, eh?

I would suggest that you never again view any films regarded as silent classics as it would really be a waste of time.

Two films you might enjoy more, which have similar letters in their titles to Metropolis would be El Topo or Allegro Non Troppo. Enjoy.

[GordonCole]

On 12/12/2018 at 12:45 PM, EricJ said:

But me, I was raised on the "MTV version" of Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis--back in in 1984, when that was considered "big" for Film Restoration--and I would agree with the critic who said "There's the version of Metropolis that's 'good for you', and then there's the version you actually enjoy watching."  

Your "sacrilege" may vary--Me, I think Moroder actually improved the workers' revolt and the catacombs chase than from Lang's original score.

Raised on MTV?

Thanks, now I realize all your posts make perfect sense.

[Sukhov]

On 12/12/2018 at 5:01 PM, Sgt_Markoff said:

That's a super article. Thanks Darg Man.

The one historical concept I wish more people would absorb and realize (JakeHolman, NipkowDisc, mr6666, darkblue -- I'm looking at you) is that the National Socialist Party of Adolf Hitler had nothing to do with either socialism or communism. To say otherwise, is merely the pettifoggery of the stooge-in-the-street, the lout-on-the-streetcorner.

I thought all those "Macht Deutschland Vom Marxismus Frei" signs were a gag and he was secretly Socialist.

[Dargo]

23 hours ago, Gershwin fan said:

I thought all those "Macht Deutschland Vom Marxismus Frei" signs were a gag and he was secretly Socialist.

Actually GF, for a time that banner was known to be hung in every German movie theater during a showing of Duck Soup.

(...and until around late-1934 when it became known to Hitler that all the Marx Brothers were actually Jewish, and who would then put the kibosh on it being displayed anywhere at all...up until then he thought Chico was actually Italian)

 

[Dargo]

And now on a more serious note...

On 12/12/2018 at 7:15 PM, slaytonf said:

People who are afraid of Metropolis' (1927) vision flee to the conventional dialectic of communism/capitalism to find justification for facile dismissals.  They studiously ignore the real message of the movie, the human message of the movie.  The message stated at the beginning and the end of the movie:  The mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart!  Whatever politics, economics, or class struggles are brought into the story are there as devices used in exemplifying that premise.  Lang and his wife, Thea von Harbou, who wrote the screenplay/novel, were alarmed, along with many others, at the effects of industrialization on human society, and foresaw an impending dystopian Armageddon.  They argue in the movie exactly what its detractors criticize it for, that economic, or political theories can't cope with our greatest challenges.  The only real possibility to overcome discord, division and upheaval is through humanity, the heart.  

Advocates of traditional social norms can take heart the Mediator is of the patrician class--though he loves a lassie of the prols.

And here's an interesting little note about Frau von Harbou here.

Per the Wiki webpage for Fritz Lang:

Lang was worried about the advent of the Nazi regime, partly because of his Jewish heritage,^[13] whereas his wife and screenwriter Thea von Harbou had started to sympathize with the Nazis in the early 1930s and joined the NSDAP in 1940. They soon divorced. Lang's fears would be realized following his departure from Austria, as under the Nuremberg Lawshe would be identified as a Jew even though his mother was a converted Roman Catholic, and he was raised as such.

[Stephan55]

Metropolis-by Fritz Lang- Maria's transformation

 

Metropolis 1927 Dance Scene Fritz Lang Restored Film Music

 

[EricJ]

4 hours ago, Stephan55 said:

Metropolis 1927 Dance Scene Fritz Lang Restored Film Music

I sense that's not the restored 1927 score, but eh, Moroder's version was still better.   

(And threw in a bit of Freddie Mercury, as well.)

[Movie Collector OH]

6 hours ago, Stephan55 said:

Metropolis-by Fritz Lang- Maria's transformation

 

Metropolis 1927 Dance Scene Fritz Lang Restored Film Music

 

 

Below is a link to a clip I just put together.  I started with the same clip you posted (the lower one), except I replaced the house music with the theme from Frantic by Ennio Morricone done on synthesizer, for a very different version of this same clip from Metropolis.  It's more sublime, as this (IMO) is supposed to be an eerie scene.

The audio and video were about the same length, and a couple key parts just seemed to line right up and make sense.  See what you think.

 

Moviecollector version of Metropolis dance scene

http://moviecollectoroh.com/pics_to_hotlink_on_TCM/moviecollector-1927-metropolis-dance-scene-morricone-frantic-starink-synth.mp4

[This is on my website, not on Youtube.  Just click on the link and it should play right away (up-to-date browsers).  Otherwise right-click and download first, then play on your computer's media player.]

[Stephan55]

7 hours ago, MovieCollectorOH said:

 

Below is a link to a clip I just put together.  I started with the same clip you posted (the lower one), except I replaced the house music with the theme from Frantic by Ennio Morricone done on synthesizer, for a very different version of this same clip from Metropolis.  It's more sublime, as this (IMO) is supposed to be an eerie scene.

The audio and video were about the same length, and a couple key parts just seemed to line right up and make sense.  See what you think.

 

Moviecollector version of Metropolis dance scene

http://moviecollectoroh.com/pics_to_hotlink_on_TCM/moviecollector-1927-metropolis-dance-scene-morricone-frantic-starink-synth.mp4

[This is on my website, not on Youtube.  Just click on the link and it should play right away (up-to-date browsers).  Otherwise right-click and download first, then play on your computer's media player.]

Very nice. I like it much better than the one I posted. Thanks.
You should upload it on YouTube for the rest of the world to enjoy as well!

[Sgt_Markoff]

Seem to recall that I myself enjoyed 'Metropolis' with live accompaniment by Phillip Glass and the Kronos Quartet; performing Glass' newly-composed modern score for the film. Nevertheless, I still find the flick difficult to follow. The narrative is cumbersome and the themes somewhat overburdened and stilted; even though the set-pieces of the effects sequences are glorious. I thought the most awkward parts was where Lang showed how the upper-crust spent their leisure time; dancing around fountains as if they were back in Ancient Greece or something. That Arcadian motif didn't jibe well with the rest. Neither the protagonist --nor his romance--were drawn well either. It's an important, but at the same time frustrating movie. Uneven. I always want to 'like it' as much as I 'appreciate it'; but it rarely works out that way.

[GordonCole]

On 12/12/2018 at 9:15 PM, slaytonf said:

People who are afraid of Metropolis' (1927) vision flee to the conventional dialectic of communism/capitalism to find justification for facile dismissals.  They studiously ignore the real message of the movie, the human message of the movie.  The message stated at the beginning and the end of the movie:  The mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart!  Whatever politics, economics, or class struggles are brought into the story are there as devices used in exemplifying that premise.  Lang and his wife, Thea von Harbou, who wrote the screenplay/novel, were alarmed, along with many others, at the effects of industrialization on human society, and foresaw an impending dystopian Armageddon.  They argue in the movie exactly what its detractors criticize it for, that economic, or political theories can't cope with our greatest challenges.  The only real possibility to overcome discord, division and upheaval is through humanity, the heart.  

Advocates of traditional social norms can take heart the Mediator is of the patrician class--though he loves a lassie of the prols.

The people who talk only about the technical sides of movies or the box office returns, probably would miss that humanistically poetic vision of the film or any film of its calibre. They probably also don't get Lubitsch films or the humor but that's another story. Thanks for such a well articulated post.