Film: Metropolis (1927)

Metropolis is a German science fiction film by Fritz Lang from 1927, and the most expensive film produced in the 1920s. The screenplay was written in 1924, but the sky-high costs of the film – over 5 million marks, equivalent to 19 million euros in 2020 – meant that filming had to be postponed until sufficient financiers could be found. It brought the production company UFA to the brink of bankruptcy. The story revolves around a futuristic city in the year 2026.

Film: Metropolis (1927)

The film is divided into three acts: Prelude (66 min.), Interlude/Intermezzo (28 min.), and Furioso (52 min.). Even in the most complete version of nearly 2,5 hours, some fragments are missing. To be able to follow the story properly, this summary has been expanded. The story revolves around a futuristic city in the year 2026, where two groups of people live strictly separated. High above the ground are the 'thinkers'. They live in complete luxury. In the “club of the sons,” the youth elite can enjoy heavenly amenities. There are eternal gardens, as well as sports and entertainment. Deep underground live the workers, toiling in the power plant. These two worlds barely know each other. In between stand the enormous machines of the power plant, upon which both groups depend.

The sole ruler of this gigantic city is Johan Fredersen. To him, the workers who built his city and keep it running are second-class citizens. The workers have a 20-hour clock and 10-hour shifts. The above-ground elite have 24-hour days. Johan Fredersen’s now-adult son, Freder, is in the eternal gardens one day when a group of children from the “underworld” unexpectedly comes to visit. The woman accompanying them introduces them to the upper world. Freder falls in love with her immediately. But a moment later, she disappears with the children. Freder goes to look for her.

He does not find her, but thereby ends up by chance in the “underworld,” which he does not know at all, and he is severely shocked by the working conditions there. After an explosion, he sees a terrifying image looming. He quickly goes to his father to report the accident, in the futuristic “new Tower of Babel,” from where the city is governed. But his father is not happy that his son now knows the “underworld,” and says that the workers belong there. His son now knows too much and may have rebellious plans. Therefore, he has a spy follow his son afterwards. Grot, the chief technician of the heart machine, also reports in. Johan Fredersen remains calm, but he is angry that he was informed of the events not by his assistant Josaphat, but by his son and the guard/technician. He therefore dismisses Josaphat. This entails that he must go to the “underworld.” In the stairwell, Freder prevents the ex-assistant from committing suicide and offers help.

Later, the son exchanges clothes with an exhausted worker and takes over his task in the power plant. In the catacombs deep beneath the lower city, the same woman who was with the children “preachs,” named MariaShe stands up for the workers' rights and tells them not to revolt, but to await the arrival of a mediator. Johan Fredersen has received secret plans from Grot regarding the workers' intentions. He goes to the only old house, where inventor Rotwang lives. Rotwang demonstrates his latest invention, the very first robot. Fredersen is impressed. Rotwang claims he can transform the robot into a lifelike human within 24 hours. He lost one hand with an earlier invention, but that price is not too high for him. Rotwang is actually angry with Fredersen, but the latter asks him to let the past rest. Rotwang does not want to do that, but offers help nonetheless. He recognizes the drawings. They are the catacombs, deep beneath his house. Together they descend. Once there, they secretly see Maria preaching. Rotwang prevents Johan Fredersen from seeing that Freder is there too. Maria recognizes in Freder the expected mediator. Johan Fredersen now wants to discredit Maria, and subsequently exploit the workers even more harshly. Therefore, he has Maria captured and has Rotwang build a robot that looks like Maria; with a spectacular electric machine, the inventor transforms the robot into a lifelike human. In doing so, Rotwang suppresses his feelings. Freder attempts to save Maria but is locked out. When he sees the fake Maria afterwards (though does not yet recognize her as such), he becomes so confused that he is hospitalized. The robot Maria enters a nightclub above ground and drives the rich men crazy there. They are willing to commit all seven deadly sins for her. In between, we see Freder having hellish visions in bed. The Dies Irae is constantly heard loudly throughout. He realizes that the city is in danger. The worker Freder swapped with is caught by the spy. The spy tells him to return to the power station and forget everything. Afterwards, the spy goes to Freder's house but misses him completely. Josaphat is in Freder's house, and the spy interrogates him. Later, Josaphat manages to escape and tells Freder, who has recovered, about the presumably fake Maria in the nightclub.

On Fredersen's orders, the robot Maria incites the workers in the catacombs to revolt. Fredersen instructs the spy not to intervene if things go wrong. But Fredersen—contrary to what he thinks—has no power over the robot, whereas the inventor does. Rotwang pretended he wanted to help Johan Fredersen, but seeks revenge because Johan Fredersen “stole” his dream woman, Hel (who died during Freder's birth). Therefore, the inventor wants to destroy Johan Fredersen, his son, and the city. When Freder returns to the catacombs and hears the rebellious, and therefore false, Maria there, he realizes that it cannot be Maria. He gets into a fight with the workers, during which one is killed by a knife from another worker. The rebellion is unstoppable and moves to the power plant. The gates are closed, but eventually, they manage to get through. They want to destroy the mysterious 'M-Machine', but Grot, the chief engineer, is warned, and he locks two enormous steel doors. Meanwhile, Fredersen gets into a fight with the inventor and knocks him down (missing fragment). He now knows about the deception because he was eavesdropping on Rotwang. Back at the office, Fredersen gives Grot the order via video link to open the doors. Grot is bewildered and refuses. Fredersen repeats the order, whereupon Grot reluctantly opens the doors anyway. He tries to warn and hold back the mass of workers, but is overwhelmed. The robot-Maria pulls a lever, thereby starting the destruction of the M-machine, “the beating heart” of the city. She then seeks a safe haven herself. She returns to the upper city and once again drives the men crazy there as a sultry dancer. Best friends end up fighting as a result. The Dies Irae sounds again. Meanwhile, the M-machine has gone out of control. After many spectacular lightning strikes, it collapses. As a result of its failure, the elevators plummet and the city's reservoirs begin to overflow. The disaster is unstoppable. Consequently, the lower city is flooded, and the many children of the workers are in danger of drowning. The real Maria has escaped and is heading to the power plant to help. She has just reached the ground floor when, to her horror, the elevators crash. She raises the alarm. Freder and Josaphat come to the rescue. The children gather around Maria. There is an emergency staircase, but because workers are not allowed to go upstairs, the stairs are locked at the top. The mass of children climbs as high as possible, and eventually, they manage to open the gate. They evacuate the children to the sons' club.

Eventually, the entire upper town falls silent. Sitting in his office, Johan Fredersen consciously and impassively lets everything happen. But when all the lights go out, he springs to life. Only when he hears from the spy that his son is also in danger does he show emotion and realize that things are getting out of hand (Fredersen: “I *must* know where my son is.” The spy: “Tomorrow thousands of questions will come.” Johan Fredersen: “Where *is* my son?!”). The Dies Irae sounds again. By now, the workers believe that all their children have drowned because they forgot about them in their anger. They realize that someone must pay the price, and that “the witch” (Maria) is the culprit. Above ground, they launch a hunt for Maria, unaware that two of them are roaming around. In the confusion, the fake Maria accidentally ends up on the pyre. When she is burned “alive” and transforms back into a robot, the workers discover that she is not a real human being.

The vengeful and now also insane inventor runs off with the real Maria and attempts to murder the son until the very end, until he perishes himself. Fredersen can only watch fearfully. Ultimately, Johan Fredersen's son reconciles the two parties in his role as mediator. The film begins and ends with the message: “The mediator between head and hands must be the heart.”  

<strong> More info: </strong>

A dystopian look at 2026: Metropolis with media scholar Dan Hassler-Forest on VPRO/OVT (January 4, 2026): https://www.vpro.nl/ovt/artikelen/een-dystopische-blik-op-2026-metropolis Trailers film Metropolis (1927): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAvzaOxDt2c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJdzLGXBE58 Metropolis (1927), complete film, 2:30 hours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFzHH9EL9x0 Volkskrant article, January 20, 2026, predictions about Metropolis in 2026: https://www.volkskrant.nl/films/wat-is-er-een-eeuw-later-uitgekomen-van-de-voorspelling-van-metropolis-hint-het-is-niet-best~b351566d/