Directed by Fritz Lang / Screenplay by Thea von Harbou

Filmed over an 18-month period at a cost of more than five million Reichsmarks, Fritz Lang’s silent classic of German Expressionism is one of the first feature-length science fiction films and a pioneer of the genre. Like much of the best science fiction, Metropolis employs a futuristic setting to explore contemporary issues, in this case the social and political tensions between the ruling classes and the workforce during the inter-war years, both in Weimar Germany and in the wider world. The tale unfolds in an urban dystopia where politicians and businessmen live a life of luxury in gigantic skyscrapers and pleasure gardens, while deep underground the working classes toil endlessly in the infernal machine halls that power the Metropolis. When the son of the city’s master breaks the law by venturing underground to see the workforce for himself, a chaotic and violent chain of events is set in motion which will eventually bring the two halves of society together. While some have found the political narrative simplistic (H.G. Wells went so far as to describe the film as ‘silly’), there’s no denying the enduring influence of Metropolis on a century of science fiction. Lang’s strikingly beautiful art direction - an amalgam of Futurism, Bauhaus, Art Deco and Gothic, most famously consolidated in the creation of the ‘Machine Human’ played by Brigitte Helm - has influenced everything from the robots in Star Wars to the dystopian cities of Blade Runner, Brazil and Batman - not to mention stage shows and videos by the likes of Queen, Madonna, Beyoncé and David Bowie. Its reputation burnished by numerous restorations and reissues over the years, Metropolis remains one of the most important landmarks in cinema history.

Framed Dimensions: 330mm x 410mm

Acrylic on 300gsm Arches oil paper
Glazed, mounted and framed

Supplied with signed letter of authenticity from Barnaby.