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Metropolis is one of the great masterpieces of silent cinema.
The film was realised in Germany during the Weimar period, and is set in the year , in a futuristic urban dystopia. Influences from various art movements and types of architecture can be detected throughout the film, with Art Deco, Bauhaus , Futurism and even some Gothic influences visible in the incredible set design and architecture. Today, the distinctive style of Metropolis in turn offers endless inspiration for artists and designers.
We take a look at the different influences that carachterise the movie, as well as its impact on art and culture since its release. Other notable works include Die Nibelungen and the Dr. Mabuse trilogy, the last of which, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse , was filmed in , and was considered an anti-Nazi film as Lang had directly quoted N a zi phrases in the dialogue. A screening of the film was by Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, and the film was later banned on the grounds that it was a threat to public health and safety.
Cinematic Expressionism: The Visual Storytelling of ‘Metropolis’
The story goes, however, that Goebbels called Lang into his office to inform him that his film was going to be banned, but nevertheless offered him the position of head of the German film studio UFA. It was during this meeting that Lang decided to leave Germany: he moved to Paris, and then emigrated to the United States, where he went on to become a Hollywood legend.
Metropolis is set in a dystopian future, the then-distant year of The movie depicts a deeply-divided world, where rich overlords enjoy life in luscious gardens, palaces, and run the city from high up in their expensive skyscrapers, while armies of workers slave away deep below the earth, servicing the great machines that power the city. In the end, Rotwang is killed and Freder fulfils his role as the mediator, by bringing together his father and the workers.
Metropolis was the most expensive film ever made at the time, and groundbreaking special effects were used, such as the Schüfftan process, in which actors were projected onto miniature models sets by using mirrors, in order to create the impressive city scenes. Fritz Lang was inspired by various art movements and architectural styles. One of the major influences was Art Deco, which grew out of the Art Nouveau style and took inspiration from the geometric forms of Cubism, as well as from Constructivism , Functionalism, Modernism and Futurism.
Art Deco was characterised by the use of vivid colours, bold geometric forms, lavish ornamentation and new materials like aluminum, stainless steel, chrome and plastics. The style soon became synonymous with luxury and technological progress. Art Deco was especially present in architecture and design from the s to the s, and in Metropolis , the style can be seen in the magnificent skyscrapers made of smooth stone, the dazzling angular skyline, and the interiors of the skyscrapers with their classy offices.
The production designer, art director and set designer Erich Kettelhut worked together with artists Otto Hunte and Karl Vollbrecht to design the impressive Metropolis cityscape and interiors. Bauhaus, the art school in Germany founded by architect Walter Gropius with the main goal to merge traditional arts and crafts with modern technologies, also influenced the style of Metropolis to a considerable extent.
Based on the idea to create a total work of art, in which all artistic disciplines could be brought together, the Bauhaus style was marked by the absence of ornamentation and by a harmony between the function of an object or building and its design. Its influence could be found across a wide range of fields ranging from visual art to architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design, and typography.
Former Dadaist artist Paul Citroen lectured at the Bauhaus, and made a series of photographic montages entitled Metropolis , which appeared around the time that Lang was working on his film, and certainly may have influenced him — Lang himself had an architect father, had briefly attended engineering courses, and was associated with several of the Bauhaus artists.
Metropolis – A Film Analysis - A Neighbor's Choice by David
Several of the Metropolis buildings bear a resemblance to architecture designed by Mies van der Rohe, the last director of the Bauhaus, and the stylistic formal geometry of the mise-en-scène in Metropolis relates to the New Sobriety Neue Sachlichkeit direction of the Bauhaus. The costume was created by sculptor Walter Schulze-Mittendorff, who made it from a type of wood-filler that could appear metallic.
A body plaster cast was made of Brigitte Helm, the actress who played Maria. The influence of Metropolis itself on art and culture since its release cannot be understated.
Metropolis
In , Karl Lagerfeld created a fashion spread for Vogue magazine, inspired by the robot from Metropolis. In , Georgio Morodor made a pop soundtrack to accompany the silent film, which was originally accompanied by an original orchestral score by Gottfried Huppertz. Queen even used footage from Metropolis for their music video Radio Ga Ga , and movies like Blade Runner took their cue from the Metropolis -style visions of the future, with towering buildings making up a moody cityscape.
Metropolis continues to inspire artists and designers today, and the movie remains an absolute classic that merits rediscovering time and again.
Art Influences in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis - Artland Magazine
New York Times. Bauhaus Poster for the newly restored Metropolis. Art Deco Influences in Metropolis Fritz Lang was inspired by various art movements and architectural styles.