Movie Discussion: Metropolis (1927) by Fritz Lang — The Age of A.I. in Film

Set in a towering, futuristic city where the elite live above ground in a fantastic utopia while oppressed workers toil below, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) was a groundbreaking science fiction epic that transformed the visual and thematic language of futurism and dystopia. The story follows Freder, the privileged son of the city's authoritarian leader, who discovers the truth about the grim reality below and falls in love with Maria, a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior for the world. Central to the film's narrative is the first depiction of artificial intelligence in film: the invention of a humanoid robot capable of labor that upends the social order. Decades ahead of its time, Metropolis explores themes of social inequality, rebellion, and the human soul, and laid the foundation for how we imagine the complex relationship between humans and intelligent machines.

"Surreal, sprawling, operatic, drawing on biblical and medieval imagery as well as H.G. Wells… Lang's influential pulp allegory colonized a new realm of the imagination." (Rotten Tomatoes)

"The summit of German Expressionism." (Roger Ebert)

"A great artist contains multitudes, and Lang packed a host of contradictory longings into a single allegory." (Slate)

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Let's discuss the 1927 silent film masterpiece Metropolis directed by the Austrian-German filmmaker Fritz Lang, recently voted the 67th greatest movie of all time in Sight & Sound's international survey of film critics and scholars. The film is often said to contain the first cinematic depiction of Artificial Intelligence. We will also discuss Lang's equally acclaimed movie M (1931) in the near future.

Please watch the movie in advance and bring your thoughts, reactions, and queries to share with us at the meeting.

There are many cuts of this movie floating around out there. Please watch the RESTORED 148 minute version of the film that was reconstructed from newly rediscovered footage in 2010. Accept no imitations! You can stream it here [to be posted]

A trailer.

Check out other movie discussions in the group every Friday and occasionally other days.