Giorgio Moroder's "Metropolis" Review
In the unknown futuristic year where a dystopian society is separated by two classes; the wealthy upperclass known as "The Mind" who spend most of their days maintaining the utopia as well as enjoying themselves with games and parties, while the working subterranean lower class known as "The Hand" who must toil night and day through 10-hour shifts to keep the machines that run Metropolis running. The son of the man in charge is Freder (Gustav Froehlich) who leaves the security of his Pleasure Gardens to follow a girl named Maria (Brigittie Helm) to the lower depths. He is shocked to discover the cruel treatment of the workers and his protests fall on deaf ears to his father (Alfred Abel) so he switches places with a worker going under the number 11811 (Erwin Biswanger) to discover firsthand not only the pain of 10-hour agonizing work but also the leadership of the kind and loving Maria who promises a mediator to come and bring the two classes together. But this secret meeting is eavesdropped on by Joh Fredersen and the mad scientist Rotwang (Rudolf Klien-Rogge) and Joh orders Rotwang to use his robotic woman to take on the form of Maria and infiltrate them. But things don't go as planned as the robotic Maria causes the workers to revolt and destroy the machinery. Can Freder stop this madness before it's too late or will the perfect utopia be forever destroyed?
Originally released in 1927 under the direction of Fritz Lang, "Metropolis"reveled in the science-fiction genre and has since that time, has been remade in anime form in 2001 and has become one of the most influential science-fiction films since Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."However, it pains me to say that the film is not complete. Not that it wasn't finished, but because there are parts of the narrative that are lost. The reason being that when "Metropolis" was taken over to American to be seen by it's American audience, many parts were edited and cut down for time. Then, in a tragic accident, the original complete copy Fritz had was lost in a fire, thus, leaving the world with the cut down American version and any other existing copies at the time were left to the enemy of time and they aged down. Over the years, negatives and still surviving copies were found in an attempt to bring back the original narrative of what Fritz Lang original had in mind. Over the years, the missing sections of the film from before were relocated and edited into the film but for years, certain scenes such as a fight between Joh Fredersen and Rotwang are still missing and could be somewhere in the world, waiting to be reunited with ti's master and fulfill the creativity of Fritz Lang's vision and his themes of class structure and morality.
But, regretfully, that is not this film and yet, it IS this film.
Originally released in 1927 under the direction of Fritz Lang, "Metropolis"reveled in the science-fiction genre and has since that time, has been remade in anime form in 2001 and has become one of the most influential science-fiction films since Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."However, it pains me to say that the film is not complete. Not that it wasn't finished, but because there are parts of the narrative that are lost. The reason being that when "Metropolis" was taken over to American to be seen by it's American audience, many parts were edited and cut down for time. Then, in a tragic accident, the original complete copy Fritz had was lost in a fire, thus, leaving the world with the cut down American version and any other existing copies at the time were left to the enemy of time and they aged down. Over the years, negatives and still surviving copies were found in an attempt to bring back the original narrative of what Fritz Lang original had in mind. Over the years, the missing sections of the film from before were relocated and edited into the film but for years, certain scenes such as a fight between Joh Fredersen and Rotwang are still missing and could be somewhere in the world, waiting to be reunited with ti's master and fulfill the creativity of Fritz Lang's vision and his themes of class structure and morality.
But, regretfully, that is not this film and yet, it IS this film.
In 1984, Academy Award-Winning composer of "The Midnight Express","Scarface", and "Flashdance" Giorgio Moroder attempted to bring this beloved science-fiction film to the mainstream with a restoration and re-edit of what he assumed was the original script. Now his version used a soundtrack of artists by popular artists of the time, like Pat Benatar, Billy Squier, Freddie Mercury, Jon Anderson, Adam Ant, Bonnie Tyler and Loverboy (because when I think of a silent movie, I think of Loverboy) as well as music created by Giorgio himself. Admirable as his attempts to bring this film to a new audience.
Well, hate to say it, but, I think he should have left it alone...
It's saddening to think that this incredible film would be edited or released this badly, especially by someone who clearly had all the right intentions in mind but, by a fault, didn't create a restored classic to the mainstream; he just created a giant music video. When you have all these songs that play along with the film for certain scenes. Namely the songs by Pat Benatar and Bonnie Tyler; the songs are just too love ballad-sounding and they don't fit the scene's subtlety that the original soundtrack gave it. It changes what can be assumed as a theme of Class system having to find a middle ground to becoming a contrived love story where the characters barely seem to have any time to develop themselves. However, seeing that this was released in 1984 and certain footage that would have helped the narrative was still unknown at the time, I guess I can sorta let it slide…but to a certain extent...
Well, hate to say it, but, I think he should have left it alone...
It's saddening to think that this incredible film would be edited or released this badly, especially by someone who clearly had all the right intentions in mind but, by a fault, didn't create a restored classic to the mainstream; he just created a giant music video. When you have all these songs that play along with the film for certain scenes. Namely the songs by Pat Benatar and Bonnie Tyler; the songs are just too love ballad-sounding and they don't fit the scene's subtlety that the original soundtrack gave it. It changes what can be assumed as a theme of Class system having to find a middle ground to becoming a contrived love story where the characters barely seem to have any time to develop themselves. However, seeing that this was released in 1984 and certain footage that would have helped the narrative was still unknown at the time, I guess I can sorta let it slide…but to a certain extent...
Still, that's not to say that the songs made for the film's soundtrack aren't awful (just don't mention Loverboy, I don't even recognize that song cause it goes on too long and it kills the tension in the scene it's played), Freddie Mercury's song isn't half-bad, Pat Benatar's song is aggravating and cliched, especially in the scene it's played with, but still tolerable and I actually kinda like Billy Squier's "On Your Own" and Jon Anderson's "Cage of Freedom" will get stuck in your head. But, with that said, I like them on their own without any visual to go with them. Listening to the soundtrack on it's own, one gets the impression that these songs were made for an obscure cheesy 80's Science-Fantasy film which is where these songs probably deserved to go. One song in particular, I forget which, sounds like a combination of Guile's theme with the music of Castlevania, wrap your head around that one. The main theme, called"Machines", made by Giorgio himself, is not bad and I could picture it being played along with other forms of media like "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" or "Mega Man." But to play with the opening of this classic? It automatically makes it feel outdated. To me, changing the soundtrack for this film is the equivalent of hiring The Monkees to do the soundtrack for "Star Wars," the movie is not nearly as good.
The rest of this review is just nitpicks, I usually try to avoid them in my movie reviews but for this film in particular, here are the two biggest problems I had with this version:
1. Moroder cut out the "Moloch!" inter-title and practically the majority of the other inter-titles.
Being that this is a silent film the inter-tiles that he leaves in are just the titles that describe the settings as well as compensate for the missing scenes and he instead uses subtitles while the characters talk, sometimes. Sometimes subtitles pop up to describe who's saying what, other times, there aren't. I'm fine with the lack of inter-titles for certain scenes when you already know what is being said and the acting is told visually. Here, the subtitles are distracting and what was written in these subtitles are real head-scratchers to me to understand why Moroder chose the dialogue in the film.
Being that this is a silent film the inter-tiles that he leaves in are just the titles that describe the settings as well as compensate for the missing scenes and he instead uses subtitles while the characters talk, sometimes. Sometimes subtitles pop up to describe who's saying what, other times, there aren't. I'm fine with the lack of inter-titles for certain scenes when you already know what is being said and the acting is told visually. Here, the subtitles are distracting and what was written in these subtitles are real head-scratchers to me to understand why Moroder chose the dialogue in the film.
But back to the "Moloch!" inter-title, it's an incredible moment of the film where Freder sees a large machine explode form the pressure and as the steam rises, Freder sees it turn into a large open-mouthed monster and thousands of people are forced to go into the mouth, silently transitioning to the thousand of workers walking up the stairs directly into the mouth; while the image of Moloch is there, the very creative inter-title is not. Does Moroder leave this inter-title in? Nope, he just assumes that we, as an audience, are too stupid to go to a library after the movie and look it up ourselves and don't give me that crap that it's "The Devil" (as Moroder does not even bring a subtitle up to illustrate this or confirm it otherwise) or that that footage was not around at the time of the restoration, if that was the case then I can sorta let it slide, but still, it just doesn't feel right without it. See the scene below and see for yourself.
2. Moroder sped up/slowed down the footage.
If you watch silent films, especially the German Expressionism, you might notice how the actors seem to move faster than usual, like how a certain actor will catch a fainted actress in practically a split second or how an actress will turn and flee is a quick second. That means the direction purposefully chose the frames per second for that scene and, while unrealistic, it is a creative choice for the original director and I respect that. Also, that doesn't bother me as it might for others.
Here, Giorgio sped up certain slow parts and he slowed down the sped up parts.
Allow me to clarify what this entails, there is a segment where two men are fighting over the robot Maria. In the original, the two are fighting so fast that it looks brutal and hard-hitting to watch, here, either Moroder went to get a beer during the screening int his scene or he just shrugged and ignored it but these two fight very slowly. These changes to the speed only further distract me, the viewer, from the film's narrative if it's feeling rushed through, thus is this film able to make it's 80 minute length.Another thing, there is one section of the film where 11811 is going back to Freder's place and he gets distracted by a nightclub and goes over to it, yet after that, he appears back in the cavern where the robotic Maria causes the workers to riot and attack him. There is no explanation as how he got back down there and his whole journey to the it's nothing but a bunch of pictures with subtitles under them to explain what's going on, is this a movie or a slideshow?
Believe me when I say it, but this makes the film campy, which pains me to say that because it's not camp, it's a classic. The models of the city are still breath-taking and incredible to look at, considering that the idea of a computer back in 1927 was about the extent of robots (or Machine Men as they would have been addressed back then). The film is still a marvel with a good story and the soundtrack, on it's own, is not half bad but the combination of the two is not a happy marriage that ruins the feel of the movie and I can't help but feel like I'm watching a series of music videos. The edits Giorgio chose are really awkward and being that the reason for it was because of the missing footage but you can't tell me that you could have used the subtitles to at least give a more thorough narrative with the footage given. I've done something that like before when I was in film college and I had to edit a short film that had missing footage that was was mandatory to complete the narrative. So, I had to improvise and my experimenting told the same story but in a style that the director for that project didn't envision but was impressed with nonetheless.
This film, however, only makes a rather flimsy narrative out of the existing footage and he makes the science-fiction feel more fantasy because of his terrible edits and changing of the subtitles and the music that sounds like rejected demo reels for "Heavy Metal" or "The Neverending Story." However, if these songs were playing on the radio, I would tune in. But it's embarrassing to even watch this film with these"Footloose" rejected songs and it just killed away any sense of dignity I felt for this masterpiece.
If you watch silent films, especially the German Expressionism, you might notice how the actors seem to move faster than usual, like how a certain actor will catch a fainted actress in practically a split second or how an actress will turn and flee is a quick second. That means the direction purposefully chose the frames per second for that scene and, while unrealistic, it is a creative choice for the original director and I respect that. Also, that doesn't bother me as it might for others.
Here, Giorgio sped up certain slow parts and he slowed down the sped up parts.
Allow me to clarify what this entails, there is a segment where two men are fighting over the robot Maria. In the original, the two are fighting so fast that it looks brutal and hard-hitting to watch, here, either Moroder went to get a beer during the screening int his scene or he just shrugged and ignored it but these two fight very slowly. These changes to the speed only further distract me, the viewer, from the film's narrative if it's feeling rushed through, thus is this film able to make it's 80 minute length.Another thing, there is one section of the film where 11811 is going back to Freder's place and he gets distracted by a nightclub and goes over to it, yet after that, he appears back in the cavern where the robotic Maria causes the workers to riot and attack him. There is no explanation as how he got back down there and his whole journey to the it's nothing but a bunch of pictures with subtitles under them to explain what's going on, is this a movie or a slideshow?
Believe me when I say it, but this makes the film campy, which pains me to say that because it's not camp, it's a classic. The models of the city are still breath-taking and incredible to look at, considering that the idea of a computer back in 1927 was about the extent of robots (or Machine Men as they would have been addressed back then). The film is still a marvel with a good story and the soundtrack, on it's own, is not half bad but the combination of the two is not a happy marriage that ruins the feel of the movie and I can't help but feel like I'm watching a series of music videos. The edits Giorgio chose are really awkward and being that the reason for it was because of the missing footage but you can't tell me that you could have used the subtitles to at least give a more thorough narrative with the footage given. I've done something that like before when I was in film college and I had to edit a short film that had missing footage that was was mandatory to complete the narrative. So, I had to improvise and my experimenting told the same story but in a style that the director for that project didn't envision but was impressed with nonetheless.
This film, however, only makes a rather flimsy narrative out of the existing footage and he makes the science-fiction feel more fantasy because of his terrible edits and changing of the subtitles and the music that sounds like rejected demo reels for "Heavy Metal" or "The Neverending Story." However, if these songs were playing on the radio, I would tune in. But it's embarrassing to even watch this film with these"Footloose" rejected songs and it just killed away any sense of dignity I felt for this masterpiece.
Bottom Line: I admire what Giorgio was trying to do. It's not easy to just bring an old film where parts of it are missing and expect an audience to flock to it. He clearly wanted to give this film the honor it deserves and to have a new generation come to see it, so by compiling together the biggest name artists of the time, he was able to get people to come so they could hear the songs used in the film. I would say his attempt worked as it regenerated interest in it and it got people interested in it again, so much so that more people and organizations were willing to track down the missing footage. Thankfully for us cinephiles and film affectionados, in 2008, found in a museum in Argentina, the missing 25 minutes were found on a 16mm reel; the footage, while in poor shape, nevertheless contained 25 minutes of never-before-seen footage of"Metropolis" and Kino International acquired the footage and re-releasedFritz Lang's "Metropolis" in 2010 with the original soundtrack by Gottfried Huppertz playing along with it.
I had the pleasure to see the 2010 restored version recently at the Science-Fiction Film Festival in Seattle where the Alloy Orchestra, known for their live performances of the experimental silent film "The Man With The Movie Camera," performed live with the film and not only did they do a phenomenal job, it stuck with me as one of the best movie experiences I've ever experienced (which I would then add the Cinerama Experience of "2001: A Space Odyssey" along with it, marking that off my bucket list).
This version by Giorgio Moroder left a bad taste in my mouth, while I can admire the significance of his contribution to being responsible for the 2010 restoration, it still doesn't save the painful fact that this version of"Metropolis" just feels ruined and makes me wonder if he was either showing love and admiration or just wanted to piss off the film lovers out there. Either way, this is a film where I say, see the 2010 restored version, listen to the 1984 version's soundtrack without the imagery of the film, if any of the songs grab your attention that is, but steer clear of this version of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". While it still retains the impressive visuals that inspired filmmakers for the years to come, this 1984 version just makes me embarrassed to even be watching it. So, I leave you all with Moroder's "Machines" to keep the fires stoked warm for the next time we burn through celluloid
I had the pleasure to see the 2010 restored version recently at the Science-Fiction Film Festival in Seattle where the Alloy Orchestra, known for their live performances of the experimental silent film "The Man With The Movie Camera," performed live with the film and not only did they do a phenomenal job, it stuck with me as one of the best movie experiences I've ever experienced (which I would then add the Cinerama Experience of "2001: A Space Odyssey" along with it, marking that off my bucket list).
This version by Giorgio Moroder left a bad taste in my mouth, while I can admire the significance of his contribution to being responsible for the 2010 restoration, it still doesn't save the painful fact that this version of"Metropolis" just feels ruined and makes me wonder if he was either showing love and admiration or just wanted to piss off the film lovers out there. Either way, this is a film where I say, see the 2010 restored version, listen to the 1984 version's soundtrack without the imagery of the film, if any of the songs grab your attention that is, but steer clear of this version of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis". While it still retains the impressive visuals that inspired filmmakers for the years to come, this 1984 version just makes me embarrassed to even be watching it. So, I leave you all with Moroder's "Machines" to keep the fires stoked warm for the next time we burn through celluloid
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