Metropolis (2010 Restoration) (G) PRESENTED IN 35MM FILM

Metropolis (2010 Restoration) (G, 1927) Presented in 35mm Film by The Revival House Perth

The 2010 restoration brings together rare footage, previously considered lost, and the original orchestral score from the film’s premiere. 

In the futuristic city of Metropolis, society is rigidly divided between the wealthy elite living in pleasure domes above and the enslaved workers toiling in the underground factories below. Freder (Gustav Fröhlich), the pampered son of Metropolis's dictatorial leader Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel), descends to the workers' city and is horrified by their suffering. There he encounters Maria (Brigitte Helm), a compassionate young woman who preaches nonviolence and unity between the classes. Inspired by Maria's message of peace, Freder joins the workers' cause. But Fredersen, terrified of losing control, commissions mad scientist Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) to create a robot duplicate of Maria—a mechanical seductress designed to incite the workers to destructive violence that will give Fredersen justification to crush them. As the robot Maria leads the workers toward riot and destruction, the real Maria and Freder must stop the chaos and find a way to unite the classes before Metropolis tears itself apart.

Director Fritz Lang creates cinema's first great science fiction epic in this 1927 masterpiece, a visual and narrative triumph that established templates for dystopian cinema. The film's production design—towering skyscrapers, massive machines, ornate palaces, and industrial nightmares—creates a fully realized futuristic city that remains influential nearly a century later. The special effects, using forced perspective, miniatures, and innovative camera work, create convincingly massive sets and crowds. Gustav Fröhlich and Brigitte Helm anchor the film's emotional core, while the dual performance of Helm as both Maria and her robot double showcases early cinema's technical ingenuity. The film's Expressionist aesthetic—dramatic shadows, angular compositions, grotesque imagery—emphasizes the moral corruption of those in power. Gottfried Huppertz's original score, restored for modern presentations, adds operatic grandeur. Lang's meditation on class conflict, technological dehumanization, and the need for understanding between rich and poor remains urgently relevant despite the film's age.

Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film unless noted otherwise.

When: Friday, July 24th at 7:20PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: G (The content is very mild in impact)