Yet, it can be argued, the best SF doesn't just entertain; it inspires, it enlightens, it asks questions, sometimes posits answers. That which can be created with relative ease today, would have been an utter impossibility when the medium of moving pictures was young. Such fantastic scenes were still to be generated only in the mind, inspired by the words of great authors. Yet, our most cherished modern examples of SF owe their existences to their progenitors, cinematography dated by today's standards, but no less visionary.

Widely regarded as the first SF moving picture is Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang. Debuting in 1927, this silent movie is a vehicle for the expression of fears over growing industrialization and commentary on the gap between the very rich and the very poor. Depicted is a future world where society is divided into two castes: thinkers and workers. The thinkers plan and govern, living high above in splendid towers. The workers are the builders, the laborers and mechanics who tend the "Great Machine" and toil below in the underground.

Freder, our hero, is the son of Frederson, Master of Metropolis. His idyll is interupted by the appearance of Maria, a young girl of the worker caste who ministers to her fellows and promises that one day a great mediator will appear and end their oppression. Freder is enchanted by their chance meeting and follows her to the underground. There he sees for the first time the dark, dehumanizing world of the workers. After witnessing an accident where many men are injured or killed, he is disconsolate. He runs to tell his father but finds him to be cold and dispassionate. "It was their hands that built this city of ours," Freder laments, " but where do these hands belong in your scheme?" His father responds, "in their proper place --- the depths."

While Freder returns to the depths and to the aid of those he now considers brothers, his father learns of Maria's influence and plots to subvert her peaceful endeavors by enlisting the aid of Rotwang, a brilliant inventor. His latest creation is a robot intended to replace human workers and free them from their drudgery, but Frederson sees this as a threat to his social order and orders that the robot be fashioned in Maria's image. Maria is to be kidnapped and the robot will take her place to sow discord among the workers.

Metropolis was truly astonishing in its scope. In its original form, it was an epic three hours long. Truly ground-breaking techniques were utilized to create the stunning imagery. The cast numbered in the thousands, rivaling the works of Cecil B. DeMille. From a visual standpoint alone, the work is impressive. The vast towering cityscape is believable and will cause instant recollection of similar scenes from Blade Runner and Star Wars Episode One. The sets are lavish and detailed. The many dials, gauges, and cogs of the Great Machine are much in evidence. Rotwang's laboratory is complex and visually fascinating. The crowning achievement of this film for many viewers will be the appearance of the pre-transformation robot. The costume was a prosthetic worthy of today's standards and the effects used to illustrate its transformation into the Maria double are spectacular even 75 years later. Also worthy of note are the stunningly accurate technological assumptions made in this picture. We see the commonplace use of air travel, rapid transit, and even video phones.

Some allowances must be made when viewing this masterpiece. As a relic from the silent movie era, the acting is necessarily pantomimed. The exagerated movements and emotive expressions were the only way to communicate the drama to an audience. The theme of the movie was a bit heavy-handed, even for 1927, and the melodrama a bit hard to swallow, but Metropolis is best enjoyed for its visual impact and its status as the very first science-fiction movie ever made.

Metropolis is available on video tape and DVD. Sadly, the original version no longer exists. The film was edited severely before it was even released and today, with even more footage missing, some scenes appear disjointed and out of place. Many edited versions are available on VHS tape. The most highly recommended of them is produced by Kino Video and is said to contain the most footage and highest quality video. Unfortunately, all existing versions suffer from soundtracks that were not programmed for the action on the screen. I recommend turning the sound off. One DVD version has been released by Madacy Entertainment. It contains 115 minutes of footage, which is about the maximum available, but the video quality is inferior to the Kino Video production, and is a disappointing waste of DVD's capability. For those addicted to DVD, save your money and wait for better.

Afficionados of science fiction movies owe it to themselves to at least rent Metropolis, and experience for themselves how the genre of sci-fi on the big screen began. Anyone wishing to learn more about the movie will find the following sites to be excellent resources:

Augusto Cesar B. Areal's Metropolis Site

The Metropolis Home Page by Douglas Quinn

Michael Organ's Metropolis Site

SciFi.com's review of Metropolis by Tamara Hladik

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When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum

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Fool of a Took, throw yourself in next time!!
Gandalf

If you want to see a great silent film, check out Buster Keaton's "The General," about a Confederate engineer who gets his train (and his girl friend) stolen by the Federals. It was remade (sort of) by Disney in the 1950s, with the future Capt. Pike, as "The Great Locomotive chase." I like Keaton much more than the overly sentimental Chaplin.

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When you're in the Sol system, come visit the Starfleet Museum

The Moroder version is only about 87 minutes long, but is contains the most footage. It was recorded at a more normal speed. More importantly, Moroder did away with the intertitles altogether, using subtitles instead. Not having to pause for the intertitles really speeds things along.