The best "silly" you may ever come across!
Fritz Lang's 1927 film, Metropolis, is considered by many film enthusiasts a masterpiece of the silent film era. It certainly is towards the top of my list! Nevertheless, the film has received a fair amount of criticism. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction refers to its story-line as "trite" and its political message as "ludicrously simplistic". Even the great H. G. Wells, one of the pioneers of science fiction literature, dismisses the film as silly. Whilst the symbolism can seem "silly" at times and the acting exaggerated, I find the imagery and overall effect quite overwhelming and addictive. Fine, if you are only looking for an intricate story or a subtle political message, then perhaps the film is not for you. If, on the other hand you are open to a surreal and overpowering assault on your senses, then I believe you will not be disappointed. The dance scene, for instance is so addictive, I cannot say how many times I have watched it. It is as compelling as chocolate: when you are in the mood for it nothing else will do!
The Dance Scene
The bad news and the good news
The bad news is that part of the criticism levied against the film concerned its running time. This resulted in cuts that reduced its length considerably. The good news, however, is that an almost intact version was discovered in Argentina in 2008. So now, one can indulge in a two and a half hour delight, which is not far short of the original version. Metropolis was the first film to be inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. This honour, which was bestowed in 2001, is a vindication of its worth. Here is the restored version with English title card texts.
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