Black and white silent films from the 20's are typically not my choice of film, but for Metropolis I made an exception. My awareness of the film came from a crappy book about sci-fi films I had received when I was about 8. After reading the book, it was my vow to watch every film mentioned in it, including the b&w silent 20's ones... 13 years later a copy of Metropolis is found for me and I watched it without hesitation.
I spent the first half-hour of this two hour movie becoming accustomed to watching the lips of the actors move but only being able to hear the score, as well as trying to figure out what the story of the film was from what the camera showed me and the sparse blips of printed dialogue. It's truly incredible to see how silent-era directors had to convey story by sight alone, and Fritz Lang is an accepted master of his art.
The story itself is simple: the city of Metropolis, a scathing landscape of towers, has been divided into two sections - the above ground elite, and the underground workers. The son of the city's ruler, Freder, becomes captivated by the leader of the underground, Maria and seeks her out in the underbelly of the city. In it's depths, Freder finds his brothers, the workers, so young but looking so old, working themselves to death operating the machines that keep the city above ground running. He finds Maria, preaching that there will one day come a mediator between the above ground and the underground, but the workers are restless and want to take action soon. The master of Metropolis senses revolt is immanent and has the evil scientist Rotwang replace Maria with a robotic duplicate to lead the underground workers to their deaths. Massive riots ensue, the underground city where the workers live becomes flooded, and Freder endangers his life to save Maria from Rotwang. The Master and the foreman of the underground, both realizing their mistakes, are brought together by Freder, who realizes that he was the mediator... or, as the movie alludes, the heart that connects the brain with the hands.
The last forty-five minutes of the film, beginning with the kidnapping of Maria by Rotwang, show the brilliance and skill of Lang's directing, creating what results in heart pounding excitement and terror. The sets and effects used are exceptional, keeping in mind the time which the film was made, and the influence this film had, from Blade Runner to Star Wars, is purely evident.
Metropolis, if you have the patience to watch a silent flick, is well worth watching, even on repeat occasions.