This was stunning. Far far ahead of its time. Very under rated. This movie deserve more appreciation for being inspiration to thousands of sci fi movies later.
I found out about this movie at most a couple of months ago and I'm fucking obsessed with it. Tldr below for film snobs wanting to feel something. So I saw a restored and colorized clip of the dancing scene and had to see more. I expected to skip around the full version finding funny scenes to laugh at for a few minutes. But the silent, black and white film was like a good book. I didn't notice the lack of dialog or color. It all came to life like when a reader stops seeing words but the scene happening around them. The hammy and now goofy overexaggerated acting turned into fully executed performances. The story was still relevant and I was just entrenched. It's no bullshit one of my favorite films and I can't wait to discover more old cinema!
Not all silent film acting is this hammy! Lang choreographed exact movements and timings for gestures he wanted, but was indifferent to most performance quality beyond those really strict perameters, and almost all of the actors in his films give qualitively better performances for other directors. He would do 20 takes of a shot but then just pick one take at random to use.
@@alexm5099 that's interesting. It seems like he's done a few very influential films but I guess each director has their strengths and weaknesses. I need to see more; Nosferatu is next on the list!
I guess the whole point is that the creativityprocess has changed. While the tricks with mirrors or Stopmotion had a lot to do with "how do I archieve this illusion" the focus now is more to "how to I make this as most crazy as possible" - CGI is art, too but once you know 3dstudio the trick is not "how to do it" but how to render it just in time ;)
They don't do effects like that anymore. It's amazing how much work they put into something that people'd just head straight to a computer to do nowadays. I wish something were going to be released in the recent future that pays homage to that by using traditional effects, or maybe a mix of modern and traditional.
The movie camera at :26, is not DEBRIE CAMERA. It is an Eclair. It would have been way easier to use than the Debrie as the Eclair had easier viewing through the lens
- Sometimes I wonder if describing how some special effect is done takes away the magic, and we should just take it as it is. However, I think this video highlights the inventiveness and genius of those involved in the making of this masterpiece
I had no idea that they went through so much trouble to make the effects come to life! It was a real achievement and prophetic about the fate of Germany!
Hey, I am writing a piece for my college about this film (specifically the vfx in it), and for various reasons they prefer to have articles/journals/books as sources over videos, blogs, etc. Furthermore despite a lot of research I was not able to find other sources on most of what you mention here. If its not impertinent to ask could you please share/mention the sources you've referred to here?
@3:46 "Eugene Shuftan" What??!! How, on earth, could they so grossly mutilate the name of EUGEN SCHÜFFTAN (1893, Breslau/Germany - 1977, New York)? Ever since people gave themselves names, it has been a basic matter of politeness to spell these correctly. BTW I do not know how many uploaders used somebody else's work under their own name without giving any information on the originator.🤢
That is extremely ignorant, some of the most creative people in the VFX world worked on the avengers and they used many unconventional techniques that were very time consuming and hard to do. CG Effects aren't just a simple push on a button. I hate it when VFX are looked down upon just because they are made with computers.
Then, hate to all them. Hate me, too. Because the practical FX requiere more dedication and ingenuity. CGI consume much time and dedication (although the technician manage a software created for others for drawing images' layers) but physical and photographic special effects requiere much more dedication, hours and care (and sometimes many times of mistakes to achieve the best FX).
people don't hate VFX because they are done on computers they hate them because they look flat, unconvincing and are used frequently, but not all the time, in place of practical effect which makes the film makers look lazy. if something can be done with a practical effect such as having someone walk across a log or through a street, case and point the jungle book, Sweeney Todd. then not building a set or making a prop is just lazy film making and we the audience can tell its lazy so we hate it.
This was stunning. Far far ahead of its time. Very under rated. This movie deserve more appreciation for being inspiration to thousands of sci fi movies later.
Damn! I knew the special effects in Metropolis were hard core, but not that they were this hard core.
The special effects were WAY ahead of their time.
I found out about this movie at most a couple of months ago and I'm fucking obsessed with it. Tldr below for film snobs wanting to feel something.
So I saw a restored and colorized clip of the dancing scene and had to see more. I expected to skip around the full version finding funny scenes to laugh at for a few minutes. But the silent, black and white film was like a good book. I didn't notice the lack of dialog or color. It all came to life like when a reader stops seeing words but the scene happening around them. The hammy and now goofy overexaggerated acting turned into fully executed performances. The story was still relevant and I was just entrenched. It's no bullshit one of my favorite films and I can't wait to discover more old cinema!
Not all silent film acting is this hammy! Lang choreographed exact movements and timings for gestures he wanted, but was indifferent to most performance quality beyond those really strict perameters, and almost all of the actors in his films give qualitively better performances for other directors. He would do 20 takes of a shot but then just pick one take at random to use.
@@alexm5099 that's interesting. It seems like he's done a few very influential films but I guess each director has their strengths and weaknesses. I need to see more; Nosferatu is next on the list!
God! Imagine the movie goers back then seeing this for the first time, Minds were blown that year!
I love art deco style, therefore i love metropolis
Same here!
Art Nouveau is superior.
Look for Maxfield Parrish, outstanding stuff!
25 drawings for 1 seconds shot. This is amazing
I guess the whole point is that the creativityprocess has changed. While the tricks with mirrors or Stopmotion had a lot to do with "how do I archieve this illusion" the focus now is more to "how to I make this as most crazy as possible" - CGI is art, too but once you know 3dstudio the trick is not "how to do it" but how to render it just in time ;)
They don't do effects like that anymore. It's amazing how much work they put into something that people'd just head straight to a computer to do nowadays. I wish something were going to be released in the recent future that pays homage to that by using traditional effects, or maybe a mix of modern and traditional.
it's just mind boggling the ingenuity of these filmmakers
Ok this video made metropolis my most favorite film
Thanks for posting this. It is great to see some of the methods they used being explained.
The movie camera at :26, is not DEBRIE CAMERA. It is an Eclair. It would have been way easier to use than the Debrie as the Eclair had easier viewing through the lens
-
Sometimes I wonder if describing how some special effect is done takes away the magic, and we should just take it as it is. However, I think this video highlights the inventiveness and genius of those involved in the making of this masterpiece
Thanks, this was really really helpful in a report I am doing
I had no idea that they went through so much trouble to make the effects come to life! It was a real achievement and prophetic about the fate of Germany!
Those cityscape shots give me massive Akira vibes
I wonder why😂
1:39 - 2:03 I thought editing my first ever light saber fight frame by frame was hard.
Fascinating.
Metropolis = MK Ultra Program!!!
Interesting Video, i like this movie
Yesterday's Star Wars.
Amazing 👏
Hey, I am writing a piece for my college about this film (specifically the vfx in it), and for various reasons they prefer to have articles/journals/books as sources over videos, blogs, etc. Furthermore despite a lot of research I was not able to find other sources on most of what you mention here. If its not impertinent to ask could you please share/mention the sources you've referred to here?
What is this excerpt from?
Metropolis
who here from advanced English year 12 YEEEET
@3:46 "Eugene Shuftan" What??!! How, on earth, could they so grossly mutilate the name of EUGEN SCHÜFFTAN (1893, Breslau/Germany - 1977, New York)? Ever since people gave themselves names, it has been a basic matter of politeness to spell these correctly. BTW I do not know how many uploaders used somebody else's work under their own name without giving any information on the originator.🤢
That is extremely ignorant, some of the most creative people in the VFX world worked on the avengers and they used many unconventional techniques that were very time consuming and hard to do. CG Effects aren't just a simple push on a button. I hate it when VFX are looked down upon just because they are made with computers.
Then, hate to all them. Hate me, too. Because the practical FX requiere more dedication and ingenuity. CGI consume much time and dedication (although the technician manage a software created for others for drawing images' layers) but physical and photographic special effects requiere much more dedication, hours and care (and sometimes many times of mistakes to achieve the best FX).
people don't hate VFX because they are done on computers they hate them because they look flat, unconvincing and are used frequently, but not all the time, in place of practical effect which makes the film makers look lazy. if something can be done with a practical effect such as having someone walk across a log or through a street, case and point the jungle book, Sweeney Todd. then not building a set or making a prop is just lazy film making and we the audience can tell its lazy so we hate it.
people don't realize how difficult it is to do work on or off the computer. very difficult indeed
Tell us again when you get out of high school.