Metropolis
A pioneering silent science fiction epic transforms class conflict, industrial dehumanization, and artificial identity into a monumental expressionist vision of the future.
Overview
A visually stunning exploration of class struggle and humanity's future unfolds in a dystopian city.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- foreboding
- grandiose
- oppressive
- film history study
- silent cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Fritz Lang's visually monumental dystopian epic as a foundational achievement of science fiction cinema, despite limitations in its melodramatic storytelling.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The monumental city, underground machinery, geometric compositions, and exaggerated performances turn class anxiety into a graphic visual world.
Maria's appeal for a mediator between the ruling head and working hands gives the conflict an explicitly conciliatory ideological structure.
The wealthy live in the elevated city while workers endure exhausting machine labor in subterranean districts.
Rotwang's machine person is made to resemble Maria and becomes central to the campaign against the workers.
Films like Metropolis, and why
Things to Come
Like Metropolis, this landmark science fiction film depicts an oppressive future society shaped by mechanization and class division.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Shares German Expressionist visual design, dystopian futurism, and anxiety about technology and modernity.
Modern Times
Explores dehumanizing industrial systems, authoritarian power, and the conflict between technological progress and human dignity.
Blade Runner
A visually ambitious dystopian science fiction film centered on class hierarchy, rebellion, and an artificial human double.
Movie Details
- Director
- Fritz Lang
- Release Date
- 1927-01-10
- Runtime
- 148 min
- Rating
- 8.1 / 10 (3212)
Cast
- Gustav Fröhlich
- Brigitte Helm
- Alfred Abel
- Rudolf Klein-Rogge
- Theodor Loos
- Fritz Rasp
- Erwin Biswanger
- Heinrich George
- Fritz Alberti
- Grete Berger
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Brew, FlixFling, Eternal Family, Kino Film Collection, Artiflix
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Metropolis about?
- A pioneering silent science fiction epic transforms class conflict, industrial dehumanization, and artificial identity into a monumental expressionist vision of the future.
- What is Metropolis like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Metropolis as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Metropolis violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Metropolis as mild.
- What did critics think of Metropolis?
- Critics broadly regard Fritz Lang's visually monumental dystopian epic as a foundational achievement of science fiction cinema, despite limitations in its melodramatic storytelling.
- Which films are like Metropolis?
- Films with a similar feel include Things to Come, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Modern Times, and Blade Runner.
- How long is Metropolis?
- Metropolis runs 148 minutes.
- Where can I watch Metropolis?
- In United States, Metropolis streams on fuboTV, Brew, FlixFling, Eternal Family, Kino Film Collection, Artiflix.
