Director
Fritz Lang
Leading Actors/Actresses
Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Heinrich George, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Genre
Drama, Sci-Fi
Language
German
Awards
Date of Release
1927
Producer
Erich Pommer
Setting and Context
Metropolis, a fictional city
Narrator and Point of View
POV is omniscient, but we often follow Freder's narrative
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dramatic, Intense, Futuristic
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Freder. Antagonists are Rotwang, and to a certain extent, Fredersen.
Major Conflict
Rotwang creates a robot version of Maria to convince the workers to destroy their own city.
Climax
Rotwang is killed and the robot is destroyed.
Foreshadowing
Maria brings the children into the Pleasure Garden and tells them they are equal to the members of the upper classes, which foreshadows the eventual union between the foreman and Fredersen, and by extension, the workers and the upper class.
Understatement
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
The use of miniatures and the Schüfftan process, which uses mirrors to make scale seem larger; this became a common cinematic technique, still in use today.
Allusions
Metropolis as a whole alludes to the ongoing process of modernization and industrialization. There are also numerous allusions to the Bible throughout the film.
Paradox
Parallelism
Though opposed, Maria and the robot are obvious parallels of one another. One represents purity and a gentle femininity, while the other is witch-like and menacing, but both are revolutionary leaders who advocate for the transformation of society.
