Around the World in 24 Frames 04.09.10: Metropolis
Posted by Len Archibald on 04.09.2010
The special effects extravaganza of 1927 that paved the way for basically every science-fiction film ever made.
Hey everybody! I'm back...Let's get to this...No rebuttal this week - we return to our regular scheduled programming next Friday.
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BEATING TRAFFIC Trailer:
THE RANT
So - if you are a regular reader of this column, you may have noticed my absence last week. First off, I apologize wholeheartedly. I have been extremely adamant to myself that I would like to have something up every week without any excuses, but I went back on that.
I am not going into a long story: I have been diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. The doctors are monitoring it and they have me taking no less than SIXTEEN PILLS a day to keep it under control and make sure it doesn't degenerate into something worse. I could be up to twenty pills a day if I have severe pain and nausea; which I try to fight through – I don't need to be taking Bentil, Viccodin and Fennergin on top of the daily dosage of Kapidex, Carafate, Pentasa and Benicar (for my blood pressure) that I already take.
I kind of expected this to be honest. Way back when, I think I mentioned that I was having stomach issues and that the doctors figured it could be either Crohn's or Sickle Cell. I am already a carrier of the sickle cell gene, although I do not have the full-blown virus, which is bad enough. Funny thing is, I eat healthy, try to eat REGULARLY (which is terribly important), exercise and make a vague attempt to keep stress out of my life. I just have bad blood flowing in my veins.
Anyways, I had an upper endoscopy last Monday and that was where the final diagnosis came in. I was pretty loopy from the sedative they gave me (it has an insane side-effect of short-term memory loss – I feel like (ha) Lenny from Memento) and I just could not function clearly at all during the week, hence why no "Around the World…"; of course, tomorrow night is the public screening of Beating Traffic in Van Wert, so I had to promote it: I had a radio interview with WCSM in Celina the day of my endoscopy. I remember the latter-half of it. I don't remember arriving, nor meeting Kevin Sullivan of the station, who gracefully conducted the interview.
I also had meetings with Louie Ehmer, the Mayor of Van Wert and Kyle McClure, the General Manager of Pick ‘n Save Food Mart on Tuesday. The city has been very gracious in helping to get the word out about the screening, while Pick ‘n Save in Van Wert hosted a "Meet & Greet" with myself and the cast of Beating Traffic last Saturday, so I had to somehow be functional and sober enough to conduct business and collaborate over the set-up and the event itself. I conducted other interviews during the week: with Mike Miller of WIMA radio in Lima on 1150 AM, The Lima News newspaper, The Guardian of Wright State University and The Communicator of IPFW University. At the same time, a host of other local businesses, led by Dominos Pizza in Celina, agreed to post fliers and handouts in their stores, as bag-stuffers or stapled our ads on carryout and delivery boxes. It has been "hell-week".
Basically, despite this new chapter in my life (let's not even get started on my diet, which I hate more than Khan hates James T. Kirk) I have to act like nothing has changed. I'm not trying to get sympathy or look like I'm "inspirational" or whatever – I just feel like you – or whoever reads this column, deserves a proper explanation. It's just the right thing to do. I'm not letting something like a "disease" stop me from doing what I do. I would figure it wouldn't stop any of you, so why should I be any different?
Now, let's get all that depressing shit out of the way! I have a film to premiere to the public tomorrow night, then to film festivals – and you have a column to read! Let's get to it!
I love movies. They represent escapism, art, intellect and spirituality. Some are nothing more than popcorn flicks, designed to ease the burden of "real-life" for a couple of hours. Some bring important issues to the forefront that challenges how we perceive our surroundings. The most important thing for me – if one is a serious filmgoer – is to constantly expand and discover new movies. This includes experiencing stories told outside of North America.
Yes, I know: "I don't like to read while I watch movies". Well, neither do I, but I won't use that to prevent me from finding a great story within the screen. It is important, as human beings to discover other cultures and expand our perceptions of those different from us and how they see the world. There are reasons that Bergman, Kurosawa, Fellini, Ozu and Truffaut are important in the movie world – They are just great at what they do.
I intend to highlight a new film every week that is considered "foreign-language"; now that definition is simple, yet broad and complex. For example, if you need subtitles to understand the events of the plot, I will discuss it. If it is a film from a primarily English-speaking nation, but is *NOT* in English (i.e. Leolo or Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner from Canada), I will discuss. If it is a film from outside the U.S. and it *is* in English, I will not discuss (sorry, Brits & Aussies) – for now. My goal is to shed light on some of these gems, and help quell the insatiable appetites for those who can't live without seeing a new movie. Enjoy!
Metropolis
Country: Germany
Release Date: January 10th, 1927
Distributed by: UFA and Paramount Pictures
Directed by Fritz Lang
Runtime: 153 minutes (24 fps): German Premiere Cut; 114 minutes (25 fps): US Cut; 124 minutes (24 fps): 2002 Restoration
Cast:
Alfred Abel
Brigitte Helm
Gustav Fröhlich
Rudolf Klein-Rogge
So, 1997 comes and 20th Century Fox and LucasFilms re-release The Star Wars Trilogy. I am a child of the 1980's and as such had only known the power of the Force (or the Darkside, depending on my mood) through television. Since I was born one year AFTER Star Wars made its theatrical debut, this was the best – possibly only – chance for me to see the film in all of its glory. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. I always remember watching interviews with Samuel L. Jackson (who claims Star Wars as his favorite film) as he describes the feeling he had the first time he saw the Millennium Falcon go into hyper-space. I saw it with my own eyes: It was glorious. Even then, after being awed a year previously with the special effects of Independence Day, I found myself floored with the technology used in Star Wars that was created twenty years before (to be honest, I know some of the effects were re-done, but a good chunk of the old effects remained in place.)
I wonder what it would have been like for filmgoers in 1927 to see Metropolis. Star Wars was 50 years away. There was no Blade Runner and "replicants". The Matrix's story about a man discovering the truth behind the life he leads was light years away. The film noir and expressionist tones of Batman's Gotham City had yet to be drawn. One gloved/artificial handed villains, much like Dr. Strangelove were non-existent. There wasn't even a mad scientist from Bride of Frankenstein as of yet. If you haven't realized my point, Metropolis basically inspired the look and feel of nearly every film made after it. It is the ancestor of Dark City, Alphaville, The Dark Knight, Akira, The Terminator, Star Trek, Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Battlestar Gallatica and The Transformers. This isn't just one of the first great science-fiction films, it is one of the first truly great films, period.
Like some of my past columns, I will do my best to avoid spoilers, but the films I have been discussing are so famous and influential for so many reasons that it may be hard to steer around. Also, since there are literally over a hundred different versions of the film with various edits and scores used, for reference sake I will be referring to the 2002 restoration cut that was supervised by Martin Koerber which used the original orchestral score. This was commissioned by the F.W. Murnau foundation.
Set in the massive futuristic mega-city Metropolis, the film tells the story of a society split into two classes: the planners and management, who live high above the Earth in luxurious skyscrapers, and the workers who live and toil underground. Metropolis was founded, built, and run by the autocratic Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel). His son, Freder (Gustav Froehlich) lives a life of sheltered luxury in the theaters and stadiums of the skyscrapers. One day, as he is chasing women who are trying to court him in the Eternal Gardens (complete with a simplistic dance by a woman in an extremely sheer top), he notices Maria (Brigitte Helm), a beautiful girl with many children of the workers. As she is chased away, Freder is hit with that bolt that most men are hit with when they meet the woman of their dreams. He follows her down to the worker's underworld. There, he experiences firsthand the horrors of the worker's life, and is disgusted when he sees an enormous machine, known as the M-Machine that explodes and kill dozens of workers.
Immediately, Fritz Lang put his creativity and stamp on German expressionism to work in Metropolis. In the smoke, Freder envisions the M-Machine as Moloch, a monstrous deity to which the hapless workers are sacrificed. Freder also has delusions of being crucified to the factory clock. The message is simple – especially poignant in the early stages of the Industrial Era: Science and Industry will be used against the will of the people through corporations that see us as nothing more than slaves. Hmmm…Doesn't sound too far off. Lang uses lighting, composition, angles and tricks such as double-negative prints for maximum effect.
The film later introduces Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), a scientist and former collaborator with Fredersen. The two were friends who became rivals over the love of a woman named Hel. Rotwang loved her, but after an introduction to Fredersen, Hel abandoned Rotwang to marry the Frederson, who was more wealthy and powerful. Living the life I have lived has given me a newfound empathy for Rotwang. Even though he is bat-shit insane, it more or less came at the hands of a golddigging woman. Later on, Hel died giving birth to Freder, leaving both Rotwang and Fredersen heartbroken and loathing themselves and each other. While Fredersen has moved on, the scientist's love for Hel and his hatred to Fredersen are as strong as ever. Rotwang introduces Fredersen to a robot he has constructed and which he intends to give the image of Hel and marry her. If I am correct, this is the first ever "Cyborg" in film history. Eventually, Rotwang captures the real Maria and transfers her face to the robot. The bubbling beakers, rings of light, arcs of electricity and set design during that transformation scene may be, perhaps, the most famous and referenced image in film history.
Metropolis was the most expensive and expansive film ever made at the time, with seemingly unending sets, over 25,000 extras and astonishing special effects. In his "Great Movies" review of the film, Roger Ebert referenced Patrick McGilligan's biography Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast in regards to Lang's penchant for perfectionism and control: extras were casually tossed into violent mob scenes, made to stand for hours in cold water and were handled more like props and chattel than human beings. Brigitte Helm was forced to leap from high altitudes and when attached to a stake with flames, Lang used real fire with the real actress. Lang was his own Rotwang.
Metropolis' special effects and set designs contain cinematic and thematic links to German Expressionism, although the architecture in the film is based on contemporary Modernism and Art Deco. The latter, was considered an emblem of the bourgeois class, and similarly associated with the ruling class in the film. Rotwang's laboratory with its lights and industrial machinery is a precursor of Frankenstein-style laboratories of "mad scientists" in pop culture. When applied to science fiction, this style is sometimes called Raygun Gothic. Eugen Schüfftan was the "effects expert", creating innovative visual tricks such as miniatures of the city, a camera on a swing, and most notably, what is known as "The Schüfftan Process", in which mirrors are used to "place" actors inside miniature sets. This technique was seen again just two years later in Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail (1929).
The Maschinenmensch, or Machine-Man was created by Walter Schulze-Mittendorff. A chance discovery of a sample of "plastic wood" (a pliable substance designed as wood-filler) allowed him to sculpt the costume like a suit of armor over a plaster cast of Brigette Helm. He then spray-painted a mix of silver and bronze to give the look a sheen and futuristic look. Helm suffered greatly during the filming of these scenes wearing this rigid and uncomfortable costume, which cut and bruised her, but Fritz Lang insisted on her playing the part, even if nobody would know it was her.
Brigitte Helm
The story of Metropolis' restoration and re-release is one of the great stories of cinema, almost greater than the story of the production itself and point #1 in why it is important – imperative, even – to keep great movies accessible to the general public and cinephiles like myself. The original 153 minute version of the film premiered in Berlin with moderate success, but it was cut and re-edited, changing many key elements of the story before it was shown outside Germany. American and foreign theater managers were unwilling for a film to surpass ninety minutes during a period when film attendance figures were high. So Metropolis suffered as the original version was thought to be too long. The version shown to European and American audiences in 1928 was disjointed and illogical in parts. The U.S. version of Metropolis was edited by American playwright Channing Pollock, who almost completely obscured the original plot - considered too controversial by the American distributors; the Pollock version was considerably shortened. In Germany, a version similar to Pollock's was shown on August 5, 1927. As a result of the edited versions, the original premiere cut eventually disappeared and a quarter of the original film was long believed to be lost forever.
Several restored versions of Metropolis (all of them missing varying amounts of footage) were released in the 1980s and 1990s, running for 90 minutes. Perhaps the most famous (or infamous, depending on your "film pallet") is the 1984 restoration and edit of the film by Giorgio Moroder, a music producer who specialized in pop-rock soundtracks for motion pictures. Famously dubbed as the "MTV" version, because of its insanely short running time (80 minutes), color tinting, subtitles instead of original intertitles and Freddie Mercury (yes, THAT Freddie Mercury) song – this version perfectly suited the new music video driven age of the 1980's and firmly divided film buffs and fans of the movie. The Moroder version was nominated at The 1985 Razzie Awards for Worst Original Score and Worst Original Song, but there has also been petitions to get his cut released on DVD and Bluray.
Enno Patalas made an exhaustive attempt to restore the movie in 1986, the most accurate for its time, thanks to the script and the musical score that had been discovered. The basis of Patalas' work was a copy in the Museum of Modern Art's collection. The American copyright had lapsed in 1953, which eventually led to a proliferation of versions being released on video. Along with other foreign-made works, the film's U.S. copyright was restored in 1998. In 2001, a new 75th anniversary restoration was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival. This version had a running time of 124 minutes and restored the original story line using stills and intertitles to bridge missing footage. It also added a soundtrack using the orchestral score originally composed by Gottfried Huppertz to go with the film. This restoration received the National Society of Film Critics Heritage Award for Restoration 2002. This restoration includes a re-recording of the original score with an orchestral ensemble. This seemed to be the version of the film that most of the movie-world figured would be the definitive cut.
Then on July 1, 2008, film experts in Berlin announced that a 16 mm reduction negative of the original premiere cut of the film, including almost all of the lost scenes, had been discovered in the archives of the Museo del Cine (film museum) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The find was authenticated by film experts working for Die Zeit. Passed around since 1928 from film distributor, to private collector, to an art foundation, the Metropolis copy arrived at the Museo del Cine, where it stayed undiscovered in their archives. After hearing an anecdote by the cinema club manager—who years before had been surprised by the length when this copy was screened—the museum's curator and the director of the film department of the Museum of Latin American Art reviewed the film and discovered the missing scenes.
Before this, in 2005 Wollongong-based historian and politician Michael Organ examined a print of the film located in the National Film Archive of New Zealand. It had been thought that it was the same cut as the Australian version but Organ discovered that it contained missing scenes not seen in the cut versions of the film. After hearing of the discovery of the Argentine print of the film and the restoration project which was currently under way Organ contacted the German restorers about his find. The New Zealand print was found to contain 11 missing scenes and included seconds of footage which was missing from the Argentine print and also footage which could be used to restore damaged sections of the Argentine print. It is believed that the editor in charge of editing the New Zealand print for some unknown reason excised different scenes than that of the Australian print keeping scenes missing from other versions intact. It is believed that the Australian, New Zealand and Argentine prints were all scored from the same master. The newly discovered footage was used in the restoration project.
The rights holders of Metropolis later confirmed that the newly discovered footage completes the missing footage except for a few missing frames. Although the new footage was in a "deplorable" condition, they announced in February 2009 that they had begun restoration work on the rediscovered film and had the "ambitious target" for the restoration to be completed by early 2010. The restored original version was shown 83 years after its premiere on January 10, 1927, which also was in Berlin. Only few scenes of about eight minutes overall (giving the film a running time of 145 min), were not included in the new cut, because they were too badly damaged to repair or still missing. Instead, the film goes black for the original duration of the missing footage. In case of important scenes, an intertitle with a different typeface explains the content of the missing footage. This includes a monk at the cathedral predicting the apocalypse to Freder as well as a fight between Fredersen and Rotwang which enables Maria to flee.
Copies of the new version for theatrical display will be published by Transit Film, Munich. A DVD release is planned for the end of 2010. Turner Classic Movies will hold its first ever Classic Film Festival in Hollywood April 22–25, 2010. The North American premiere of the newly restored version of Metropolis, with an original score performed live by the Alloy Orchestra will be shown. So, whatever one may think of Metropolis, this much is certain: not many have seen this in the way Fritz Lang intended. I implore everyone who is a lover of film to try and seek out the restored version, whether by way of the TCM Festival or through the purchase of the 2010 DVD (I will have mine when released.) It is one of the very few times that a modern audience will be able to truly re-discover a classic film for the first time.
Trailer for Metropolis
{Film Passport Stamped]
Coming Attractions: The dawn of German Expressionism and horror.
Questions or comments? Completely disagreed with any of my picks? Are you in love with me? Leave comments below or email me at aa24frames@aol.com!!!
Do you have any thoughts of of Osamu Tezuka's version of Metropolis?
Posted By: Guest#1596 (Guest) on April 09, 2010 at 02:02 AM
Can't wait to get ahold of the newly found cut of Met. Saw Met for the first time in a film class in '00 and was blown away. So amazingly ahead of its time. Very excited for the (nearly) full cut.
Posted By: Commie (Guest) on April 09, 2010 at 03:18 AM
Sorry to hear about your health. I wish you the best in dealing with the disease.
Remember when Coppola aspired to make Metropolis-inspired Megalopolis? Yeah, me neither....
Posted By: DMC (Guest) on April 13, 2010 at 01:54 AM
Nice write up once again Len. Personally, I found the ending of the movie (what was it, hand in heart, heart and mind, whatever) a little cheesy, but I am of course interested in checking out the new new restored version.
So next week is Tim Burton's wet dream?
Posted By: Dave C (Guest) on April 13, 2010 at 09:48 AM
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