No one else seems to watch movies here, so I suppose it's up to me to keep the thread alive..
Metropolis
What an astounding piece of cinema this was! I was thrilled by the sheer scope of the story, the spot-on acting, and the high-quality cinematography that defies its age. This 1920s science fiction flick is still the landmark of the genre!
Metropolis is a city built of layers; the ruling class lives at the top in its own perferct idyll, while the workers are packed in terrible conditions in the claustrophobic depths of the dungeons below the ground. Freder, the son of the Lord of Metropolis happens to stumble upon the truth of their wealth, and sets to improve the matters with the help of the workers spiritual leader Maria. Suspecting a revolt, the Lord and his scientist unleash a robotic look-a-like of Maria to create mistrust and chaos amongst the workers.
The most powerful scenes of the film are set in the workers town where the people are shown as little more as components of gigantic, sinister-looking machines. They work long, exhausting days in the heat of the machine rooms, and many die at their stations - only to be replaced with new workers who assume the same robotic movements, paying hardly any attention to the deceased. And everything is so beautifully shot! There are so many breathtaking images that would work perfectly as a wall poster. The special effects used for creating the city were decades ahead of their time, and they portray a haunting image that has the same full effect in 2011 as it did in 1927 when the film was released.
For the modern viewer, many of the pre-WW2 films suffer from acting style that was way different back then. The exaggerated experssions and gestures seem often comedic. However, this is not the case in Metropolis; for example Freder's frantic rushing from one place to another suits the manic state he is as his view of the world shifts. However, the best and most contemporary performances are given by Brigitte Helm as the Machine Woman, and by Alfred Abel as the Lord of Metropolis.
Despite one fifth of the movie missing and replaced with intertitles due to mistreatment and decay of the original film rolls, I was blown away by Metropolis. In my books it's equally strong to the 1924 Soviet sci-fi classic
Aelita, Queen of Mars, which is saying a lot. Magnificent!