Fritz Lang's Metropolis is arguably the most famous and influential silent film of all time. It is the height of German Expressionist filmmaking and occupies a place next to D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation in the pantheon of groundbreaking cinematic achievement.
During the 1920s, the Weimar Republic was conducive to German Expressionist filmmaking for a variety of cultural and financial reasons. German films of this era tend to focus on plumbing the psychological depths of their characters, crafting dramatic scenarios that don't require lavish Hollywood sized sets, but rather make clever use of lighting to create dark and distorted moods. Nosferatu, with the sinister slinking silhouette of the vampire, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari are early examples of this sub-genre which laid the foundation for Metropolis.
Fritz Lang was fortunate enough to get financial backing from American investors, and thus Metropolis is an experiment in German Expressionism backed up by a big checkbook. The final production budget was something ridiculous, in the area of 6 million marks.
The Expressionist architecture of Erich Mendelsohn (who consulted for the film) can be seen in the iconic design of Metropolis. Lang made extensive use of miniatures, models and matte backdrops to create the imposing futuristic facade of the titular city. He later claimed he drew his inspiration from a visit to New York City. The 2-D matte paintings are brought to life by the movement of cars, people and airplanes passing from skyscraper to skyscraper; these elaborate effects were created with the use of mirrors and even now, 80 years later, they don't look dated. Or... they might look a bit dated, but considering they were composited with mirrors and not computers, you have to give Lang some leeway.
Another innovative technique was employed to create several of the most memoral shots: multiple exposures. The film is rewound and the camera records a new image over an old one, causing the images to be superimposed on one another. Some shots, like the transformation of Rotwang's robot to human form, use over 30 exposures. Professor Rotwang himself, with his mechanical right hand, is considered a groundbreaking mad scientist archetype and you can clearly see flashes of him in Dr. Strangelove and many others. The design of the Machine Man is also one of the film's strengths.
Thematically, Metropolis reflects on fascism, communism and capitalism in a typically abstract fashion, neither elevating or condemning any ideology over another. It is, at its core, simply an abstract expressionist painting given cinematic legs. The plot is obviously dated, and drags at times, but the film is a must see if you want to expand your understanding of cinema and its history. Be advised: this film will bore you if you have no interest in film history.
The lasting influence of this film can be seen in the noir and sci-fi genres, in Hitchcock, Tim Burton, Ridley Scott and a hundred other directors, genres and movies. It's just one of those movies that helped to redefine and expand the parameters of the medium.
