Remake!

Though the original Metropolis has been in and out of theaters and released multiple times (even just recently following the discovery of half an hour of extra footage) since its original publication, people just can't seem to get enough. This is the trailer for an anime version of the film released in 2001 that heavily draws on the story, setting, and strong cinematic style of the original while blending it with the art style of Osamu Tezuka. It's interesting to watch if only to note the ways that each film uses their cameras. The original Metropolis was heavily limited in movement- many effects wouldn't work if the camera wasn't stable, so they compensated in pure grandiosity. The remake, on the other hand, has CG and a plethora of modern effects at its disposal, and can really take you into the fantastic world Lang created with radical camera moves and interestingly angled shots. I remember seeing and enjoying it when I first saw it- it blends the original German Expressionist feel with dramatic lighting and over-the-top scenery with Japanese streamlining and stylization surprisingly seamlessly.

Fantastic Overview Video!

This video does an awesome job of giving an overview of the special effects used in Metropolis. Though Metropolis is lastingly famous for its miniatures and the Maschinenmensch, the scope of the special effects and the incredible innovation is still mind-blowing when one watches the film. This video goes over the elements of traditional animation (as drawn by Erich Kettelhut and meticulously edited and shot frame-by-frame), the set models and miniatures (incorporating stop-motion to animate cars traveling on an expressway), and multiple exposures (shot on set and required the film to be rewound up to 30 times per scene).

As a fun fact, this film cost $200 million of today's dollars to make, nearly sending the studio into bankruptcy. In comparison, Avatar cost $237 million to make. 37,000 extras were involved, definitely influencing the cost. This was one of the first big-budget films ever made; it makes sense considering the incredible amount of work that went into each shot.

The Maschinenmensch!

In one part of Metropolis, a mad scientist creates a female robot that he attempts to use to corrupt and destroy others. The actress whose form the robot is transformed into, Brigitte Helm, actually wore the costume and suffered immensely. Full body prosthetic costumes were somewhat new at the time, and the material Schulze-Mittendorff used, while versatile and easy to mold, had sharp edges and was very rigid. It also didn't help that the cast he modeled on top of was of Helm standing up- this posed so much difficulty when she sat that a special rig had to be constructed to push her up and out of the chair while she was being filmed. Perhaps the pain was all worth it, though; the Maschinenmensch is a film icon even today. In case you need some side by side comparison to reinforce my previous statements:

Maschinenmensch!

Poser.

 

The Schufftan Process!

Click to enlarge! 

The Schufftan Process was developed by Eugene Schufftan, who managed the special effects on the film and created the Process specifically to address Lang's desire to have actors moving around in his majestic miniatures. Basically, the process uses specially cut or altered mirrors. One section of the mirror would be de-silvered or otherwise made transparent. Actors would stand, specially positioned to appear the appropriate size, behind the mirror, and a miniature would be placed so the camera would capture its reflection in the mirror. The camera would be aimed at the mirror.Whatever was reflected in the mirror would be combined automatically through the camera's eye with what it could see through the mirror.The process has been used on films since, even as recently as the Lord of the Rings trilogy! Sadly, matte painting accomplishes roughly the same effect but is significantly convenient and versatile, since both the items of footage need not be lined up and filmed at the same time. Here are two more informative diagrams (to make up for my lame one):

Credit for finding these pictures (along with a very informative breakdown of the process) goes to Andre Luiz Mesquita at his FX blog (link).

Metropolis Trailer

This is the newer trailer for Metropolis (since it has been re-released with additional footage). It was shot originally in 1927 by Fritz Lang in Germany. The majority of the sets (especially skyline shots or notably detailed sets) are miniatures. At 1:35 there is a prime example of the Schufftan process at work- the people marching up the stairs are shot from far away on another set of stairs, and the set is actually a miniature. Check out my other post on the Schufftan process to learn more!

Fun fact: Metropolis is now under public domain! It is available for watching in its entirety on Youtube, among other fun places on the web. Check it out- the atmosphere is insane and pretty inspiring. German Expressionism at its best!