Metropolis (Film)

Metropolis is a 1927 German silent film directed by Fritz Lang. It is science fiction.

Plot[edit]

In the year 2048 A.D., society is divided into the rich, who enjoy a life of luxury, and the workers, who toil endlessly underground. The city is ruled by the authoritarian Joh Fredersen. The workers look up to Maria, a beautiful young woman, for support and spirital guidance. One day, Freder Fredersen, son of Joh Fredersen, becomes smitten with Maria, and follows her underground.

Once underground, Freder realizes the grueling work the workers experience, and he feels sorry for the workers. Meanwhile, Fredersen asks mad scientist Rotwang to create a robot to replace Maria. Rotwang originally created the robot to replace his late lover Hel, who later chose Fredersen and died while giving birth to Freder. Rotwang reluctantly agrees, and pursues Maria. He succeeds, and changes the robot's image to that of Maria.

After the robot Maria is created, she works as an exotic dancer in the Yoshiwara district, turning the young men against each other. She soon replaces the real Maria, and tells the workers to revolt against the rich by destroying the machines, causing the flooding of the workers' homes. The real Maria realizes this after being rescued from captivity by Freder, and they help rescue the children of the workers. After the Heart Machine has been destroyed, Grot, the machine's foreman realizes it is Maria who caused it. A mob of crazed workers then burns the Robot Maria at the stake. She is revealed to be a robot, leading the workers to realize that they have been deceived by Rotwang. The film culminates with a fight between Rotwang and Freder, which ends in Rotwang's falling to his death. Maria and Freder then settle the worker-thinker conflict, saying the heart must be the mediator between the brain and the hands.