scifidimensions stepped back in time briefly,
attending a special screening of the silent classic SF film
Metropolis. The Silent Film Society of
Atlanta (SFSA) sponsored this special showing of German director
Fritz Lang's masterpiece at Georgia State University's Cinefest
Theater on January 19, 2001. Bill Eggert, Executive
Director of SFSA, introduced the movie, while Dr. Don Saliers
provided a fantastic live musical accompaniment.
Dr. Saliers improvised the soundtrack, playing non-stop for
an hour and 45 minutes on a Korg SG pro X keyboard. He's the
Director of the Sacred Music Program at Emory University's Candler
School of Theology. (He also happens to be the father of Emily
Saliers, half of the popular folk duo Indigo Girls.) Dr.
Saliers, who admits his forte is musical improvisation, has
performed several times for other SFSA events. He said he
watched Metropolis "once all the way through," then viewed
key segments a few times in order to prepare for his
performance. The style he selected to compliment
Metropolis was inspired by Russian "machine music" of the
1920s and 30s. During that time, many composers were
fascinated by the sounds of the new industrial age - locomotive
engines, large factory machines, etc. - and incorporated those
sounds and rhythms into their music.
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Bill Eggert is a man quite
knowledgeable on the subject of silent films. He has a
Master's Degree in Film Studies from Emory University, and has
guided SFSA since its inception 11 years ago. He spoke
at some length both before and after the showing, answering
questions and relaying numerous interesting facts about this
motion
picture.
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The original version of
Metropolis, as released in Germany in 1926, no longer
exists. Fritz Lang's first version was around two hours and 45
minutes long, but the film company repeatedly trimmed it in order to
enable more showings in a single day (thus increasing
revenues). When the film was exported to America, it
incurred further revisions. Several attempts have been made
over the ensuing 75 years to restore it to the most authentic
condition possible, but the most common version today shows in about
one hour and 45 minutes.
Brigitte Helm, the female lead who portrayed Maria, was a
virtually unknown 19-year-old stage actress who did not consider
film acting to be legitimate. Gustav Frohlich, who played the
hero Freder, was originally just another extra until the first
"Freder" didn't work out.
Fritz Lang was infamous both on and off the film set.
He was rumored to have been involved in the death of one of his
wives, although nothing was ever proven. He was notoriously
sadistic as a director. He supposedly did 20 or 30 takes
of a scene where Frohlich falls to his knees - by the time Lang was
satisfied, Frohlich's knees were bleeding. Lang forced the
actors to work in the extensive "flood scenes" in the dead of winter
on unheated sets. He insisted that Brigitte Helm, rather than
an extra, wear the robot costume (which was made of a "liquid wood"
product) - despite the fact that the actress's face would not be
visible! And Helm's dress caught fire when a take of the
"witch burning" scene got out of hand!
Extras, desperate for work, were paid next to nothing,
as Germany's economy was in shambles in the years after World War
I. The Metropolis production employed an unbelievable
26,000 men as extras, 11,000 women, and 950 children!
Metropolis was a very expensive movie for its time and
was not a financial success. It played fairly well in large
cities, but less so in small towns. What Americans in the
heartland thought of it we can only guess! British science
fiction writer H.G. Wells hated it, calling it "tripe."
Interestingly, a few years later Metropolis came to the
attention of Adolf Hitler, who is said to have offered Lang the
opportunity to work for his propaganda organization. Lang fled
Germany and had a successful film career in the United
States.
The sets and cityscapes in Metropolis were among the
most visually stunning ever seen in film up to that time. This
is due in part to Fritz Lang's background in architecture (his
father was also an architect). Many of the gigantic sets were
built inside vacant zeppelin hangars! One apocryphal story has
it that Lang was inspired to create Metropolis when first
seeing the New York skyline during a visit to America; in fact,
pre-production was already underway before Lang and his wife made
the trip.
The feel-good ending of the movie was the idea of Fritz
Lang's wife (see the movie synopsis at the bottom of this page if
you want to be spoiled). Lang favored an ending in which the
newlywed Freder and Maria depart in a rocket ship for another
planet. Lang admitted in his later years that his wife's
version was better.
Metropolis has had a lasting impact on many genre
films that followed. The sets inspired movies from Blade
Runner to Tim Burton's Batman. The Robot was the
visual template for Star Wars' C3P0.
Although battered by the ravages of time, altered by repeated
re-editing, and faded by the detrimental effects of multiple
copying, Metropolis is still mesmerizing and a undoubtedly a
masterpiece of science fiction. Any opportunity to see this
film in a theater, and especially with live accompaniment, should
not be missed. It's always a good idea to keep abreast of the
activities of your local art cinemas and university theaters.