Metropolis, Part 1

February is dystopia month!

Metropolis—the subject of this special two-night performance—is perhaps the first on such a grand scale. It was made in 1927 and it’s hard to find a movie much like it until the 1960’s.

The story is epic (think the “Ring Cycle” of silent films) and the latest reconstruction of Metropolis is 2 1/2 hours long. Which is why we are doing this movie over two nights: Wednesday and Thursday. The movie itself will not be edited.

Much more than the ephemeral movies we’ve been showing, Metropolis is really a story. Because it was made as a silent movie, intertitles explain what’s happening and substitute for dialog. And if you don’t know German, we’ve even got subtitles for the intertitles!

And on top of the story, the movie is as beautiful as it is weird. Very art deco, very steampunk.

You can find out more about Metropolis here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film)