Origin: Metropolis was the pioneer work for science fiction films. It was directed by Fritz Lang and written by him and his wife. This movie was accompanied with music and subtitles since it was a silent film. The movie came out in 1927 in Germany. It was well accepted by the audiences and was the most expensive film produced at the time. Lang was inspired to make Metropolis after he visited New York, the city of the future. The movie explored the idea of the future and the division of the upper and worker class.
Purpose: This movie was the first feature length science fiction film created. It explored the treatment of the working class vs the rich, upper class. Lang intended to express his feelings about the division of classes in Germany. He sought to inform people on where this treatment of the working class was going towards. He also used it to go against machines replacing workers in industry. Another aspect of this film was the future of the human race. Metropolis was one of the first films to explore the future and what it might bring. Lang created the standard for all science fiction films to live up to.
Value: 1920-1930 was a time of restoration of Germany and improvement in film sets. After WWI, Germany had changed its government and views on how the country should be run. The economy had been greatly harmed from the war and workers began losing jobs. This film allows one to tell the difference between the upper and worker class(also for U.S.A.). Additionally the film demonstrated new techniques for creating sets. It used mirrors to places actors in miniature sets. This influenced people to try and create complex sets for their films. This is the best representation of this time period, because it demonstrated the events of the time and advancements.
Limitations: This piece contains a significant amount of value, but contains some missing factors. This film focusses on the worker class, but doesn't include other classes. Also it only included the problems between the upper and worker class. Lang placed many of his views of the future in this movie, when others may have strongly disagreed with him.
Other Famous Movies:
- The Kid- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ty_jvSq29Hw
- Safety Last- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBnMt9iUwI0
- Greed- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40KOxkqh1u4
- The Gold Rush- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt-_DXC-aik
I really like your topic! I also really like how you chose 1 movie for each decade and told us how it came about. Under the limitations I think its cool how you gave a list of other popular movies, super informative. Nice job :)
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