Fritz Lang's Metropolis Premieres in Berlin 1927

# January 10, 1927: The Release of "Metropolis" in Germany

On January 10, 1927, one of the most influential science fiction films ever made premiered at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo cinema in Berlin, Germany. Fritz Lang's **"Metropolis"** burst onto screens with a vision so audacious, so technically groundbreaking, and so visually stunning that it would echo through cinema for the next century.

This silent film epic took over two years to make, employed roughly 37,000 extras, and nearly bankrupted Germany's largest film studio, UFA. The budget ballooned to approximately 5 million Reichsmarks—making it the most expensive silent film ever produced at that time.

Lang's dystopian masterpiece depicted a future city of 2026 (coincidentally, exactly 99 years before your query!) split between wealthy industrialists living in gleaming skyscrapers and oppressed workers toiling in underground factories. The film starred Brigitte Helm in a spectacular dual role as Maria, the compassionate mediator, and her robotic doppelgänger—the Maschinenmensch, or "Machine-Man," which became one of cinema's most iconic images.

The creation of the robot Maria required cinematographer Karl Freund and special effects expert Eugen Schüfftan to pioneer techniques that revolutionized visual effects. The "Schüfftan process" used mirrors and miniatures to create the illusion of massive architectural spaces, allowing actors to appear within elaborate miniature sets. The transformation scene where the robot takes on Maria's likeness featured innovative special effects with circular lights that seemed to ripple around the machine—a sequence that took nearly a full day to film.

The premiere was a mixed success. While audiences were dazzled by the spectacular visuals and the film's sheer ambition, critics were divided. The original cut ran approximately 153 minutes, but American distributor Paramount quickly butchered it for US release, cutting nearly a quarter of the footage and rearranging scenes, believing American audiences wouldn't accept the film's political themes.

For decades, "Metropolis" existed only in these truncated versions, with crucial scenes considered lost forever. Then, in 2008, a nearly complete print was discovered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the collection of the Museo del Cine. After painstaking restoration, the film was re-released in 2010 with approximately 95% of its original footage intact.

The film's influence cannot be overstated. Its visual DNA can be found everywhere: from "Blade Runner" to "Star Wars" (C-3PO's design was directly inspired by the Maschinenmensch), from "Batman" to "The Fifth Element." The iconic image of the robot Maria has been referenced, copied, and parodied countless times, appearing in music videos, fashion, and art.

"Metropolis" was also the first film ever included in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2001, recognizing its cultural and historical significance. Its themes—the dehumanization of workers, the dangers of unchecked capitalism, the role of technology in society—remain startlingly relevant today.

The film's premiere on that winter day in Berlin represented not just another movie opening, but a glimpse into cinema's potential as an art form capable of creating entirely new worlds and grappling with profound social questions through purely visual storytelling.


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