Quick Movie Review: Metropolis

10/10

Why a quick review of a film I have given 10/10 to? Well, this particular film is so well covered by other sources, its imagery is well known and it is hailed as a classic piece of cinema by almost everyone.

So this is primarily just to give my response to this film. Why is it nigh perfect? Well - you can't usually use the same criteria to judge a film from this period usually - it's silent German Sci Fi for goodness sake.

However, this particular example of silent cinema is a true lone giant. Its images are all so wonderfully imagined and realised and its story has such resonance today- the encroachment of technology on more spiritual ideals, in this case religion and ironically enough, socialism - that it deserves a permanent place in the lists of truly great films.

Fritz Lang is well known as a giant of German cinema. Films such as "M" are just unbelievably good given the now obvious limitations of the form at that time. Metropolis not only overcomes these limitations but also blows them out of the water. Some of it is lost but mostly it is looking great after all these years. Hooray for digital.

The plot is that the spoilt son of the leader of our crazy future dystopia is captivated by a woman and goes in search of her, while the leader tries his best to maintain control over the populace with the help of the requisite mad scientist.

It, for me, is almost unique in films in that however good it starts it just keeps getting better, better and better. Things spin out of control as the despot tries to manipulate the mob as an excuse to impose martial law (sound familiar?) and events reach a riot based crescendo.

It's truly brilliant, and I hear now that the missing footage may have been found and this is great great news. The only downside for me is i kept expecting to see Freddie Mercury come round a corner and sing "Radio Ga Ga" all the time.

So do see it. I think it is without doubt a true classic, and well deserves the "as close to perfect as it gets" tag I have given it.

A