Critical Analysis of Fritz Lang’s 1927 film, Metropolis. Introduction Metropolis is regarded as a landmark in the history of the development of cinematic production. The film is monumental in the scale of production and also in the themes it addresses thereby been labeled as a pinnacle of German Expressionist filmmaking from the 1920’s. Since its inception in 1924, Metropolis was to be no ordinary film and this was due to the fact that, production of the film was backed by a quality cinematic production in addition to the state-operated UFA (Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft). A copy of the original production that was done by Fritz Lang’s is believed to be non-existent despite recent discoveries in South America that showed what was believed to be a copy of Metropolis although it was incomplete. However, the Metropolis Film archive acknowledges the original work of Fritz Lang’s together with the team of experienced cinematographers that was involved in the production of the film between 1924 and 1926. In the years 1920’s the film industry in Germany was revolutionized and this was so because of the reduced barriers between the film and the art industry. This period was an eye opener to most directors in the film industry particularly Fritz Lang who absorbed ideas from the artist and the writers. Other professionals such as cinematographers and set designers were similarly influenced by the ideas of the artist and writers and this ensured that the production team behind Metropolis was like minded. This enabled the team to work with ease and more understanding thereby pushing the boundaries of film as an art. The geographical and sociological construct of Metropolis form a pattern that is familiar to the Judeo-Christian theology. The language used in the Metropolis including the images, characters and the themes are all linked to the Judeo-Christian theology. The film has a horizontal stratification whereby it distinguishes between the rich and the poor in society. According to some of the quotes in the film literature, the rich people are regarded as living in the œHeavens above where they overlook below the city where the poor live. The upper city which homes the rich people is governed by one John Freder who is father to Metropolis protagonist Mr. Freder. The ˜King’ in the city is labeled as Supreme Being and is compared to the Old Testament god because of his character and behavior. John Freder lives in a world of his own whereby he isolates himself from the rest of the people, and is disinterested in their plight. However, he is quick to put his wrath to those people who disobey him. In the city where the workers live and stay there are ancient catacombs which are similar to those that were used by Christians in the olden days. It is here in the catacombs that the workers met in secret among the dead and it is believed that it was their source of hope. In the catacombs there was one prophet whose name was Maria and who evoked preaching’s similar to those of John the Baptist, thereby uniting the workers in the city as equal people. Maria encourages the people with preaching’s of a savior who will come unit the people by bridging the gap between the ˜upper city dwellers’ who are the rich people and the ˜lower city dwellers’ who are poor people. From the film, we can see that Maria’s teachings are taken seriously since she speaks of patience and hope of a better tomorrow. Her teachings are greatly borrowed from the bible whereby at some point she gives examples of preaching’s in order to try and unit the rich and the poor. For instance one day she tells the workers the story of the Tower of Babel. The story is so similar and relevant to the situations that workers go through therefore the workers are encouraged to have hope of a better tomorrow. Metropolis is a film that uses many symbols and the symbols used are relatively close to the viewer’s hearts. One of the most common symbols used in the film is the Christian symbol and Fritz Lang adds some depth nuance to Metropolis in order to evoke some powerful emotions to the new generation. For instance in the film Freder is used as the only person who can bridge the gap between the workers and their ˜lords’ just as the way Christ is the only way to the Heavenly Father above. Freder is more concerned with the plight of the workers and is more determined to resolve their problems by risking his own life in order to rescue Maria who is captured in the city. The film also uses some camera tricks to represent the inner turmoil of Freder, and therefore the camerawork alternates between shots of desperate and the weary workers who are enslaved. Reference Wharton, David Michael. Crucified to the machine. 6 January 2003. 18 10 2011

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