Fritz Lang's Metropolis Premieres in Berlin 1927

# January 30, 1927: The Premiere of "Metropolis" in Berlin

On January 30, 1927, one of the most ambitious and influential films in cinema history had its grand premiere at the UFA-Palast am Zoo in Berlin. Fritz Lang's science fiction masterpiece **"Metropolis"** wasn't just another movie opening—it was a cultural earthquake that would reshape the landscape of filmmaking forever.

The premiere was a spectacular affair befitting the film's enormous budget of approximately 5 million Reichsmarks (the equivalent of about $200 million today), making it the most expensive silent film ever produced. Berlin's elite, dressed in their finest evening wear, packed the 1,800-seat theater to witness what UFA studio hoped would be their crowning achievement.

**"Metropolis"** presented a dystopian vision of the year 2026 (exactly 100 years in the future from tonight's date!), depicting a stratified society where wealthy industrialists lived in towering skyscrapers while workers toiled endlessly in underground factories. The film's innovative special effects, created by Eugen Schüfftan using mirrors and miniatures in what became known as the "Schüfftan process," left audiences stunned. The massive sets, particularly the cityscape with its Art Deco towers and elevated roadways, created a visual vocabulary for science fiction that persists today—from "Blade Runner" to "The Fifth Element."

The film starred Brigitte Helm in a remarkable dual role as both Maria, the saintly workers' advocate, and her robotic doppelganger. Her transformation scene, where the robot takes on Maria's appearance in a halo of electrical effects, remains one of cinema's most iconic images. The creation of the "Maschinenmensch" (Machine-Man) gave us cinema's first robot with a feminine form, influencing everything from C-3PO to the androids in "Ex Machina."

Despite the premiere's glamour, the film's initial reception was mixed. At 153 minutes, it tested audiences' patience, and critics were divided. American distributors cut it down drastically to 90 minutes, removing subplots and subtlety. For decades, these edited versions were all that existed, with roughly a quarter of Lang's original footage considered lost forever.

The film nearly bankrupted UFA studio, and its commercial failure had lasting consequences for German cinema. Yet "Metropolis" refused to fade into obscurity. It found new life with each generation, influencing directors from Ridley Scott to George Lucas, and inspiring countless artists, musicians (Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" video was directly inspired by it), and designers.

In a miraculous twist, a nearly complete print was discovered in Buenos Aires in 2008, allowing modern audiences to finally experience something close to Fritz Lang's original vision when the restored version premiered in 2010.

Today, "Metropolis" stands as a UNESCO Memory of the World document, the first film to receive such recognition. Its warning about dehumanization, class warfare, and the dangers of unchecked industrialization resonates perhaps even more strongly now than in 1927.

So on this January 30th, we celebrate not just a premiere, but the birth of modern science fiction cinema—a film that dared to imagine our future and, in doing so, helped create it.


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