Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Before 'Star Wars'. Before 'Blade Runner'. Before every futuristic city, rogue android, or AI uprising you’ve ever seen, there was 'Metropolis' (1927). This video dives deep into how Fritz Lang’s silent-era masterpiece built the visual language of modern sci-fi, shaped pop culture for a century, and predicted the world we live in today: AI, surveillance, mega-cities, class conflict, and the fear of machines taking over. We explore: The story of 'Metropolis' and its groundbreaking themes, how Robot Maria became the blueprint for C-3PO, Ava in 'Ex Machina', and every seductive android since and why 'Metropolis' still shapes the future, nearly 100 years later. Featuring exclusive archival material from the @deutschekinemathek1963 in Berlin and insights from film historians and restoration experts.
This video features excerpts from Fritz Lang’s visionary masterpiece Metropolis (1927) in the meticulously restored 2010 version by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation. Since 1966, the foundation has been dedicated to preserving, protecting, and ensuring access to a significant portion of Germany’s cultural and film-historical heritage. It was also responsible for the globally acclaimed restoration – made possible by a spectacular discovery in Buenos Aires – which brought the nearly complete original version back to the screen, including the music by Gottfried Huppertz reconstructed by Frank Strobel.
CHAPTERS
00:00 'Metropolis' – The film that built the future
0:57 The story of 'Metropolis'
02:51 How 'Metropolis' was made
07:11 Robot Maria and pop culture
10:53 Loss and resurrection
13:14 Why 'Metropolis' still matters
CREDITS
Metropolis, Universum Film AG, 1927
Director: Fritz Lang
Screenplay: Thea von Harbou; Fritz Lang (uncredited)
Cinematography: Günther Rittau; Karl Freund
Optical Special Effects: Eugen Schüfftan (Schüfftan process); Ernst Kunstmann
Set Design: Otto Hunte; Erich Kettelhut; Karl Vollbrecht
Sculptor: Walter Schulze-Mittendorff
Music: Gottfried Huppertz
Restoration 2010: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden
In association with: Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin
In cooperation with: Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken, Buenos Aires
Edition: Martin Koerber, Frank Strobel, Anke Wilkening
Reconstruction and synchronization of the original music by Gottfried Huppertz (2010): Frank Strobel
Instrumentation of missing parts of the score: Marco Jovic
Music notation: Jörg Peltzer
Edition commissioned by ZDF / ARTE: EUROPÄISCHE FILMPHILHARMONIE - Die Film Philharmonie GmbH.
Recording: Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin - an ensemble of Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH
Musical direction: Frank Strobel
Report: Scott Roxborough
Camera: Marek Neumann-Schönwetter
Editing: Phillip Rabenstein, Martha Rodriguez
Producer: Oliver Glasenapp
Executive Producers: Melanie von Marschalck, Matthias Frickel
#dwculture #metropolis #fritzlang
For more visit: dw.com/en/culture/s-1441
Please follow DW's netiquette: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G
Before 'Star Wars'. Before 'Blade Runner'. Before every futuristic city, rogue android, or AI uprising you’ve ever seen, there was 'Metropolis' (1927). This video dives deep into how Fritz Lang’s silent-era masterpiece built the visual language of modern sci-fi, shaped pop culture for a century, and predicted the world we live in today: AI, surveillance, mega-cities, class conflict, and the fear of machines taking over. We explore: The story of 'Metropolis' and its groundbreaking themes, how Robot Maria became the blueprint for C-3PO, Ava in 'Ex Machina', and every seductive android since and why 'Metropolis' still shapes the future, nearly 100 years later. Featuring exclusive archival material from the @deutschekinemathek1963 in Berlin and insights from film historians and restoration experts.
This video features excerpts from Fritz Lang’s visionary masterpiece Metropolis (1927) in the meticulously restored 2010 version by the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation. Since 1966, the foundation has been dedicated to preserving, protecting, and ensuring access to a significant portion of Germany’s cultural and film-historical heritage. It was also responsible for the globally acclaimed restoration – made possible by a spectacular discovery in Buenos Aires – which brought the nearly complete original version back to the screen, including the music by Gottfried Huppertz reconstructed by Frank Strobel.
CHAPTERS
00:00 'Metropolis' – The film that built the future
0:57 The story of 'Metropolis'
02:51 How 'Metropolis' was made
07:11 Robot Maria and pop culture
10:53 Loss and resurrection
13:14 Why 'Metropolis' still matters
CREDITS
Metropolis, Universum Film AG, 1927
Director: Fritz Lang
Screenplay: Thea von Harbou; Fritz Lang (uncredited)
Cinematography: Günther Rittau; Karl Freund
Optical Special Effects: Eugen Schüfftan (Schüfftan process); Ernst Kunstmann
Set Design: Otto Hunte; Erich Kettelhut; Karl Vollbrecht
Sculptor: Walter Schulze-Mittendorff
Music: Gottfried Huppertz
Restoration 2010: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden
In association with: Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin
In cooperation with: Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken, Buenos Aires
Edition: Martin Koerber, Frank Strobel, Anke Wilkening
Reconstruction and synchronization of the original music by Gottfried Huppertz (2010): Frank Strobel
Instrumentation of missing parts of the score: Marco Jovic
Music notation: Jörg Peltzer
Edition commissioned by ZDF / ARTE: EUROPÄISCHE FILMPHILHARMONIE - Die Film Philharmonie GmbH.
Recording: Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin - an ensemble of Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH
Musical direction: Frank Strobel
Report: Scott Roxborough
Camera: Marek Neumann-Schönwetter
Editing: Phillip Rabenstein, Martha Rodriguez
Producer: Oliver Glasenapp
Executive Producers: Melanie von Marschalck, Matthias Frickel
#dwculture #metropolis #fritzlang
For more visit: dw.com/en/culture/s-1441
Please follow DW's netiquette: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G
