Old School: Metropolis

Metropolis

Stirred by the visionary power of "Dark City," I revisited Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and once again fell under its eerie spell. The movie has a plot that defies common sense, but its very discontinuity is a strength. It makes "Metropolis" hallucinatory--a nightmare without the reassurance of a steadying story line. Few films have ever been more visually exhilarating.

Generally considered the first great science-fiction film, "Metropolis" (1926) fixed for the rest of the century the image of a futuristic city as a hell of scientific progress and human despair. From this film, in various ways, descended not only "Dark City" but "Blade Runner," "The Fifth Element," "Alphaville," "Escape from L.A.," "Gattaca," and Batman's Gotham City. The laboratory of its evil genius, Rotwang, created the visual look of mad scientists for decades to come, especially after it was mirrored in "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935). And the device of the "false Maria," the robot who looks like a human being, inspired the "Replicants" of "Blade Runner." Even Rotwang's artificial hand was given homage in "Dr. Strangelove."

What many of these movies have in common is a loner hero who discovers the inner workings of the future society, penetrating the system that would control the population. Even Batman's villains are the descendants of Rotwang, giggling as they pull the levels that will enforce their will. The buried message is powerful: Science and industry will become the weapons of demagogues.

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