Metropolis : The Film

Yesterday I saw a film – Metropolis. I still have no idea how I sat through the whole film. Not that it is a bad film – it is credited by many as a great milestone. Still, I could not enjoy it a bit. These are the reason for that…

  • It was black and white
  • It was not English – it was German
  • I got the English subtitles – but it did not match the film
  • It was a … silent movie!! Made in 1927

You may be wondering why I wanted to see this movie in the first place. I saw it because it is a milestone in the history of cinema. It is a decent film – the only reason I could not enjoy it is because I did not get the English subtitles.

Now you must be wondering how I managed to understand the film if I don’t have the English subtitles(no, I don’t know German – except for ‘Ich bin ein Berliner‘). That is the funniest part. When ever a speech text is shown(this is a silent film, remember?) I open up google’s Germen to English translation page, and type in the text. Google returns a translation – which is not perfect – but still serviceable.

An example…

German : in ferders fieberwahn nimmt der schmale die gestalt des monchs im Dom an
English : in ferders fever illusion assumes the narrow shape monchs in the cathedral

German : des schmale in der gestalt des monchs predigt: “wahrlich, ich sage euch: nahe sind die tage von denen die akokalypse spricht”
English : narrow in the shape monchs preaches: “indeed, I legend you: close are meet of those those akokalypse speaks”

This is how I saw the entire film. They ought to give me an Oscar for that!

The Film

Metropolis in IMDB
Metropolis in Wikipedia

There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.

The film is set in 2027 when the world is divided in to two separate classes – the thinkers and the workers. One member of the thinker class went into the depths of the worker colony – and was surprised by what he saw.

8 thoughts on “Metropolis : The Film

  1. 2027 eh? I can remember stories, movies and or tv series of the past that predicted space exploration in 1999, 2019. I just finished reading the novel ‘Sphere’ which assumes that by mid 21st century, humans would send a huge manned spaceships to explore black holes.

  2. this movie is considered a masterpiece of film. The story touches on issues that even our society struggles with and depicts the different lives of social classes. You dont deserve an Oscar just because you watched it. Just because you have become used to the idea of Doby Digital 6.1 surround sound and BlueRay quality imaging, does not mean that you are special.

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