DW: WHY ‘METROPOLIS’, FRITZ LANG’S SILENT MOVIE, STILL DEFINES SCI‑FI 100 YEARS LATER

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.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Metropolis – The Film that built the future
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

CREDITS
Report: Scott Roxborough
Camera: Marek Neumann-Schönwetter
Editing: Phillip Rabenstein, Martha Rodriguez
Producer: Oliver Glasenapp
Executive Producers: Melanie von Marschalck, Matthias Frickel