PODCAST:
S4E7M – Metropolis (silent film)*
SHOW NOTES:
Wherein we go off the rails and head straight for the weeds. This proves to the longest episode yet for No Deodorant In Outer Space. I am joined once again by former co-host and original founding member of NDIOS, James Rauch a/k/a Beam, as well as a new guest, amateur historian and genre fan, Richard Bacon. We discuss one of science fiction’s earliest depictions on the screen while enjoying libations and sitting around a crackling bonfire near a soybean field.
For the most part, Beam did not think this movie was fun to watch as it wasn’t a talkie. That said, he did find that the film made him think about the world he’s living in, and how it compared with the world in which the film was created. In that sense, Beam felt the film was artistically successful. Ryan found the movie just short of perfection, and was profoundly impressed with the attention to detail that the director brought to life. Ryan and Beam disagreed with the amount of melodrama depicted during the course of the film. Rich explained that reading the book added a lot to the viewing experience, and he expressed that silent films are their own medium which should be considered on its own merits as a separate film category. Rich also felt the imagery he watched would stay with him for a long time despite any shortcomings in the content.
A lot of history was discussed during our recording. This film was created after World War I during the lead up to World Word II, so there was a lot to think about there. The director made a lasting impact in the film industry worth noting, and the film itself had a life of its own due to a somewhat recent found footage discovery and restoration process. We got into all this and more during our critique which lasted well into the night. We also got into the beer.
Things got pretty interesting, a little repetitive, slightly weird, somber serious, and perhaps even silly by the end. All told, however, this rather long episode was a fairly thorough review worthy of the film’s epic and ambitious aspirations. Please enjoy our drunken babbling! We (probably) did!
-Ryan
WRITTEN MOVIE REVIEWS:
“Metropolis (1927)” by Fritz Lang (Alfred Abel) (silent film)
Ryan: 4 1/2 Stars “…A bombastic production complemented by subtle silent performances made with painstaking and innovative attention to detail, that come together in a glorious twentieth century fable which changed film forever…”
Beam: 3 Stars “…“Well, I guess if you like movies where there is no talking…I mean if you went back in time like a hundred years and tried to film something and create some sort of artistic imagery, you imagine the complicated nature of that–this movie, it was transcendent in that regard…”
Rich: 5 Stars “…A visual masterpiece. It is a scifi classic, and it is something that everyone should see certainly select portions of, if not the whole thing…”
FUN FACTOIDS:
Rotwang admiring his mechanical hand while Maria the Robot looks on.
During our discussion we talked about the fascinating restoration of the film. A documentary on this process called “Voyage to Metropolis” directed by Artem Demenok can be found as a playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLioOe7PCjX1Tze5-sj31_7e0mXei1oY8O. The official Kino Lorber website has more on the production, resurrection, and restoration of this amazing work: https://www.kinolorber.com/sites/metropolis/restoration.html#rest.
American filmmaker, William Friedkin, interviewed Fritz Lang back in 1974. During this interview Lang recounted his infamous tale of fleeing Germany after being asked by the Nazi’s to make films for them. That interview, which was mentioned on the show can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or0j1mY_rug&feature=youtu.be. Fritz Lang was a larger than life personality and was notorious in Hollywood for being difficult. A video from Renegade Cut recounts “The Eight Most Insane Direction Decisions by Fritz Lang,” which is found here: https://youtu.be/4m0e4f7W7cE.
Rich compared this silent film story telling as being akin to traditional Japanese Kabuki Theater. It’s interesting to note that this form of dramatic story telling gained popularity in the Yoshiwara, a red-light district of what would later become Tokyo. Both the author and director utilized this place name for a night club in Metropolis. This is a web article on the Yoshiwara connection with Metropolis: https://documents.uow.edu.au/~morgan/metrov1.htm. Also, here is an an UNESCO article on Kabuki Theater which contains audio and video components demonstrating the art and providing a brief explanation: https://documents.uow.edu.au/~morgan/metrov1.htm.
The influence of Metropolis is still evident today. Rich mentioned that the gloved mechanical hand of Rotwang in the film influenced the use of the glove by the title character in Stanley Kubrick‘s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Shmoop’s did an article relating to this: https://www.shmoop.com/dr-strangelove/mechanical-arm-symbol.html. The metal act Sepultura named their thirteenth studio album from a quote in Metropolis: “The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart.” The pop singer Madonna‘s hit song “Express Yourself” was influenced by the movie and also included a direct quote at the end of the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsVcUzP_O_8. Lastly, the famous rock band Queen designed their music video for the song “Radio Gaga” mimicking and utilizing actual elements from the movie version of Metropolis. Check it out:
* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.
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