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| Fig 1 |
Metropolis is an
expressionistic German film from 1927, which arguably first introduced the
genre of science-fiction to the big screen. The film was directed by Fritz
Lang, whose vision of the dystopian future still remains one of the most iconic
environments in cinema to date.
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| Fig 2 |
The premise of the film follows Freder, the son of a wealthy
tyrant, desperate to break the divide between the the upper class
city-dwellers, and the seemingly robotic workers of the depths. The stunning
design of the film was a completely unfounded concept at the time it was made. “Above ground, it has spires and towers, elevated highways, an Olympian stadium and Pleasure Gardens. Below the surface is a workers' city where the clocks show 10 hours to squeeze out more work time, the workers live in tenement housing and work consists of unrelenting service to a machine.” (Ebert, 2010) With typical
cinema of the early 20th century consisting primarily of single-shot
stage settings, Lang completely immerses the viewer with open-world cinematography
still present in films today, such as ‘The
Fifth Element’ and even the towering heights of Gotham City.
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| Fig 3 |
At the core of its composition and design style, Lang delivers
a story almost entirely based on visual effects. “Lang avoided as many intertitles as possible, and depends on images of startling originality.” (Ebert, 2010) The
visual effects are admired so prominently in the world of cinema today because
of how contemporary they feel, with experimental camera shots and cliché ideas
which were completely original at the time. Metropolis
features an array of post-modern sets which contrast perfectly with the underground
quarters of the working classes, displaying an exaggerated comment on the
social divide between rich and poor.
Imagery
(Bilinsky, 1927) Fig 1: http://static.igossip.com/photos_2/august_2011/wallpaper_metrosh.jpg
(Lang, 1927) Fig 2: http://www.australiandesignreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/fritz-lang-metropolis-1.jpg
(Lang, 1927) Fig 3: http://jayjiratt.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/metropolis-metropolis-1927-15539888-2560-1804.jpg
Quotations
So much more academic sounding Josh - well done!!
ReplyDeleteJust a couple of nit-picky things really...make sure that your quotes are italicised, and check the reference guide again for what needs to be in brackets, and where! If you are taking your reference from internet sources, you need to have the date they were accessed too, at the end in brackets, like this (Accessed on 2.10.13)
Content-wise, you have touched on many interesting areas here...probably a whole dissertations worth! I feel you could maybe have made more of an analysis on your first quote, discussing the cultural and social climate in Germany at the time of the film's release. How, for example, does the relationship between the workers and those in power relate to society at that time?
Looking forward to seeing you get your teeth into 'King Kong'!! :)