Review: "The Complete Metropolis"

"The mediator between head and hands must be the heart!"

It's been about 11 years since I last saw Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" in a film history class I took during my sophomore year of high school. I've changed quite a bit since then and, perhaps fittingly, so has the film. After a near miraculous discovery of a 16mm print featuring scenes once thought lost, Kino International has afforded the film a complete reconstruction and restoration to create what has become known as "The Complete Metropolis." Finally modern audiences will have a chance to see what patrons first experienced way back in 1927 (fyi-the year my grandfather was born) and sitting in that theater tonight I couldn't help but think back to how those audiences must have reacted when they first caught a glimpse of this, one of the most fully realized worlds ever committed to film.

For those not up to speed on "Metropolis" lore, the film follows Freder, the son of Metropolis founder Joh (or John depending on which version of the film you're watching) Fredersen, and his awakening to the plight of the hands that built his father's city. He is led on his journey by the maternal Maria, a leader of the under-dwellers who gives them hope and strength as they toil away and make the city run. An uprising soon occurs and the fate not only of the city but its very people, rich and poor, hangs in the balance.

Although it's universally praised, I couldn't help but feel a disconnect while watching the movie then and now. The film is more about storytelling than the actual story. The characters are very broadly sketched and it was difficult for me to truly become engaged in any ones' struggle. But that's neither here nor there. The city itself is the film's most prominent character and what supplies us with our most vivid memories. It doesn't just exist but comes to life and fills our imagination with a kind of wonder that has yet to be equaled despite (and perhaps because of) today's technology.

Basically, and at the risk of dispelling any goodwill I may have built up with you to this point, I think I admire and respect the film more than I love it. That said, it's impossible not feel your spine tingle when the robotic Maria awakens or the goose bumps on your arm rise as the music crescendos over vistas of towering skyscrapers. These are moments to be cherished and this is what the movies do better than any other medium.

No matter what your opinion is, it's difficult to view this film as just a another movie. "Metropolis" carries with it the weight of nearly a centuries' worth of science fiction imagery. There is not a genre picture that doesn't owe at least something to Lang's vision of the future and that is its greatest legacy. Let there be no doubt: this film absolutely must be seen (on the big screen if possible) by anyone who loves the movies.

The Complete Metropolis official trailer