Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction film directed by Fritz Lang. Produced during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, the film depicts a futuristic urban dystopia and explores the social tensions between workers and oligarchs in a socialist society. Made at the Babelsberg Studios by Universum Film A.G. (UFA), Metropolis was the most expensive silent film ever produced, costing approximately 5 million Reichsmark.
Metropolis, a massive futuristic mega-city, is sharply divided. The wealthy oligarchs live in luxurious high-rise towers, while the workers toil underground. The city was founded, built, and ruled by the autocratic Joh Fredersen.
Freder, the son of Metropolis' aristocrat Fredersen, enjoys a life of luxury in one of the towering skyscrapers that dominate the sprawling city below. One day, as Freder plays in the Eternal Gardens, he notices a beautiful girl surrounded by children. Though she is quickly ushered away, Freder becomes infatuated and follows her into the workers' underworld. There, he witnesses firsthand the horrors of the workers' lives, and is horrified when he sees an enormous machine, known as the M-Machine, violently explode and kill dozens of workers. In the smoke, Freder envisions the M-Machine as Moloc, a monstrous deity to which the hapless workers are sacrificed.
Disgusted, Freder returns to the New Tower of Babel, a massive skyscraper owned by his father. There, he confronts his father and begins to cry about the accident at the M-Machine, also known as the Heart. However, Fredersen is more annoyed that he heard about the accident from his son instead of his clerk Josephat first. Grot, the foreman of the Heart Machine, then informs Fredersen about papers resembling plans or maps that were found in the dead workers' pockets. Angered by not learning of the incident from Josephat initially, Fredersen promptly fires him and instructs his spy to keep a close watch on his son.
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Freder saves Josephat from attempting suicide and employs him to assist in Freder's quest to help the workers. Freder descends once more to the workers' underworld, where he encounters an individual named Georgy 11811, who operates a machine that channels electrical power to the towering series of elevators in the New Tower of Babel. Freder convinces Georgy to swap clothes with him, go to Freder's apartment, and allow Freder to take over the machine's operation. Meanwhile, Georgy, discovering a large sum of money in the pockets of Freder's attire, ventures to Yoshiwara, the city's red-light district, indulging in a night of wild, passionate revelry. As Georgy revels, Freder works tirelessly at the machine, eventually becoming delirious and experiencing visions of being crucified to the factory clock.
Fredersen, curious about the mysterious papers he found, decides to consult his old collaborator, the scientist Rotwang, who lives in an isolated house in the lower levels of the city. The two men were once friends, but their relationship soured over a woman they both loved - Hel. Rotwang had introduced Hel to Fredersen, only to have her abandon him to marry the wealthier and more powerful Fredersen. Hel's subsequent death during childbirth, leaving behind their son Freder, left both Rotwang and Fredersen heartbroken and resentful. While Fredersen has moved on, Rotwang's love for Hel and hatred of Fredersen still burn as intensely as ever. Now, Rotwang reveals to Fredersen a Maschinenmensch - a mechanical woman - that he has constructed, intending to give it Hel's image and make it his bride.
Fredersen seeks Rotwang's counsel about some mysterious papers, and Rotwang reveals they are maps to ancient catacombs deep beneath the worker's city - over 2,000 years old. Intrigued, the two men decide to explore the catacombs themselves, climbing down into a tunnel. Peering through a gap in the rocks, they observe a gathering of workers in a cathedral carved from the stone. There, the captivating Maria appears and begins preaching to the crowd, including the disguised Freder, about the Tower of Babel and the coming Mediator who will bridge the divide between the planners' minds and the workers' hands.
At the end of the sermon, Fredersen turns away and begins thinking. Meanwhile, Rotwang notices one worker staying behind, talking to Maria. The worker reveals himself as Fredersen's son and tells Maria that he realizes he is the Mediator they have been waiting for. Fredersen then instructs Rotwang to give the machine-man the image of Maria, in order to sow distrust between her and the workers. Rotwang agrees, but has ulterior motives - he intends to use the machine-human to ruin Fredersen's life. As Fredersen returns to his offices, Rotwang captures Maria and imprisons her in his house. There, he performs experiments on her and transforms the machine-human to look exactly like Maria. Finally, he instructs the machine-Maria, by any means that do not harm Rotwang or herself, to destroy Fredersen's city and murder his son.
Disgusted, Freder returns to the New Tower of Babel, a massive skyscraper owned by his father. There, he confronts his father and begins to cry about the accident at the M-Machine, also known as the Heart. However, Fredersen is more annoyed that he heard about the accident from his son instead of his clerk Josephat first. Grot, the foreman of the Heart Machine, then informs Fredersen about papers resembling plans or maps that were found in the dead workers' pockets. Angered by not learning of the incident from Josephat initially, Fredersen promptly fires him and instructs his spy to keep a close watch on his son.
Fredersen, curious about the mysterious papers he found, decides to consult his old collaborator, the scientist Rotwang, who lives in an isolated house in the lower levels of the city. The two men were once friends, but their relationship soured over a woman they both loved - Hel. Rotwang had introduced Hel to Fredersen, only to have her abandon him to marry the wealthier and more powerful Fredersen. Hel's subsequent death during childbirth, leaving behind their son Freder, left both Rotwang and Fredersen heartbroken and resentful. While Fredersen has moved on, Rotwang's love for Hel and hatred of Fredersen still burn as intensely as ever. Now, Rotwang reveals to Fredersen a Maschinenmensch - a mechanical woman - that he has constructed, intending to give it Hel's image and make it his bride.
Fredersen seeks Rotwang's counsel about some mysterious papers, and Rotwang reveals they are maps to ancient catacombs deep beneath the worker's city - over 2,000 years old. Intrigued, the two men decide to explore the catacombs themselves, climbing down into a tunnel. Peering through a gap in the rocks, they observe a gathering of workers in a cathedral carved from the stone. There, the captivating Maria appears and begins preaching to the crowd, including the disguised Freder, about the Tower of Babel and the coming Mediator who will bridge the divide between the planners' minds and the workers' hands.
At the end of the sermon, Fredersen turns away and begins thinking. Meanwhile, Rotwang notices one worker staying behind, talking to Maria. The worker reveals himself as Fredersen's son and tells Maria that he realizes he is the Mediator they have been waiting for. Fredersen then instructs Rotwang to give the machine-man the image of Maria, in order to sow distrust between her and the workers. Rotwang agrees, but has ulterior motives - he intends to use the machine-human to ruin Fredersen's life. As Fredersen returns to his offices, Rotwang captures Maria and imprisons her in his house. There, he performs experiments on her and transforms the machine-human to look exactly like Maria. Finally, he instructs the machine-Maria, by any means that do not harm Rotwang or herself, to destroy Fredersen's city and murder his son.
Rotwang demonstrates the machine-human's abilities to Fredersen by dressing it as an erotic dancer at the Yoshiwara. This provokes the sons of the owners into fits of homicidal sexual jealousy, resulting in a high body count. Meanwhile, the machine-human also visits the workers' city, inciting the workers to rebel. They storm out in a full-scale riot, destroying the Heart Machine, the city's power generator. This causes a catastrophic hydraulic breakdown, leading the reservoirs to overflow and flood the workers' city. The children are seemingly drowned, but are ultimately rescued in a heroic effort by the real Maria and Freder.
Realizing they have mistakenly killed their own children, the distraught workers, under Grot's direction, rush to the upper city and chase after the real Maria, not the machine-human impostor. Dashing through the streets, they reach Yoshiwara and encounter the machine-human leading the owners' sons. In the resulting pandemonium, the machine-human is bound to a stake and burned alive.
Rotwang, mistaking the real Maria for the machine-human, chases her and intends to make her resemble the goddess Hel. In a climactic confrontation on the cathedral's roof, Fredersen watches in horror as Freder battles Rotwang. Rotwang plunges to his death, and Freder and Maria then return to the street, where they reconcile Fredersen and Grot, finally ending the city's brutality.
Realizing they have mistakenly killed their own children, the distraught workers, under Grot's direction, rush to the upper city and chase after the real Maria, not the machine-human impostor. Dashing through the streets, they reach Yoshiwara and encounter the machine-human leading the owners' sons. In the resulting pandemonium, the machine-human is bound to a stake and burned alive.
Rotwang, mistaking the real Maria for the machine-human, chases her and intends to make her resemble the goddess Hel. In a climactic confrontation on the cathedral's roof, Fredersen watches in horror as Freder battles Rotwang. Rotwang plunges to his death, and Freder and Maria then return to the street, where they reconcile Fredersen and Grot, finally ending the city's brutality.
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