I hope the film also helped you to gain a firmer grasp of what German Expressionist cinema is like and helped you to understand what the German people were feeling and struggling with during the woe-some years of the Weimar Republic.
As you write about Metropolis below, please answer two of the following questions:
- What moments in the film stuck out to you as particularly great examples of German Expressionism? Why?
- Which special effects impressed you the most? Why?
- In what ways do you feel this film is a reflection of what was happening in Germany during the Weimar Republic? Explain.
- Which soundtrack (Radiohead or Billy Joel) did you appreciate more and why?
And then, if you'd like some extra credit, you can also write about Leni Riefenstahl's masterful Nazi propaganda piece Triumph of the Will (1935). If you choose to write about this one, please answer at least one of the following questions:
- How did you personally respond to seeing Triumph of the Will? What did you find uncomfortable? What did you find impressive?
- How did seeing Metropolis prepare you to see Triumph of the Will? How did seeing Triumph of the Will change how you think of Metropolis?
- Is there value in modern audiences watching Triumph of the Will? Explain.
The special effects that stood out to me the most was the city. Even today, I found the effects to be mostly flawless. It really created the feeling it tried to invoke. JUst flawless.
ReplyDeleteIn many long, intricate ways, this film is a symbolism of the struggling Empire of Germany. Germany was the worlds most formidable military power, and was considered the most educated country in the world. Then they lost World War I. They lost everything. They still tried to be the great empire they were before, but it was at the cost of 90% of the population essentially being a slave force. The people were angry. And there was nothing they could do. But Hitler gave them hope. That's why this movie is a representation of Post-Great War Germany.
Well articulated correlations between this movie and Weimar Republic Germany.
DeleteThis was probably the hardest movie to watch that I have seen. It just so freaking werid. I just feel uncomfortable watching movies that are just that random and over-dramatic. I did like all the Radiohead though. It really fit with the craziness of the movie. Just how creepy both the movie and the songs were. I did like the Billy Joel version but It seemed like it didn't fit with what was going on. Just too happy for jsut a dark futuristic movie. I do admire you Kirby for the effort you put into making it though. It was quite impressive, especially since this movie is so so so long. Over-all oppinion on the film was that it was too werid for me. I did enjoy how we watched how they made the film. So we could understand how hard it was to do the simplest of special effects.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the behind-the-scenes stuff helped you appreciate it a little more and I admire you for putting up with an important movie even if you personally didn't love it.
DeleteAshton Bowers:
ReplyDeleteA moment in the movie that i thought was a good example of german expressionalism is when the workers went down into the room with the crosses and the women preaching, when the guy got on his knees with his hand over his chest. and when the evil scientist (thin man i guess) chased the woman how she seemed more scared and acted like you wouldnt in real life.
how this represented german during the time was that there was workers (germany) who did alot of work but could barley live with what they got, and the rich peaople being the weimer republic not careing, and the main guy (fredder i think) being hitler coming in and helping them.
In triumph of the will it surprised me to see the "good" side of hitler and how germans thought he was a hero and he turned out to be a mass murderer, i think modern audiences should see this because it shows that most germans didnt know they were helping a man kill millions of people.
The two acting examples you shared are great examples of German expressionism! Good job remembering the key term "Weimar Republic" and using in proper context. I agree with you that it is really important for people now to know how people saw Hitler in Germany when he came to power.
DeleteTayia Groesbeck-
ReplyDeleteI really didn't understand this movie at all, It was really confusing to me. but in the ending part it made me sad when that girl got burned.
When you showed us the Hitler film thing it didn't really suprise me because I don't really know what hitler did anyways to be considered such a bad person. I asked my cousin what he did and he said he killed lots of people and I remember in like 6th grade we learned about hima and I think he killed all the Jews and stuff like that or maybe that was someone else but i feel really stupid because everyone knows what hitler did and I really dont.
Tayia, I think it's great that you used our film watching experience to get to learn more about history and that you're honest and humble enough to expose yourself. Those who are humble enough to admit what they don't know will learn the most in life. I want to be more like you in this way.
DeleteC.J. Barrett:
ReplyDeleteI have to say that with Metropolis, I preferred the Billy Joel soundtrack the the Radiohead cut. Radiohead's music (or at least what was exhibited in the cut of it we watched) all sounded very same-y and unemotional, it sounded like one big long series of the same song; but with an unintuitive percussionist on the drums changing the beat every 5 minutes. Billy Joel's music, while all sounding very upbeat, conveyed a wider array of emotion that I personally felt fit the movie better. I'd like to get a copy of Kirby's cut and re-watch it in its entirety.
I'm quite curious how they went about making the lightning and the rings of light around the Machine Man when Maria's appearance was being put onto it. My first thought was that they had painted white over the film to create the effect, or that maybe they did another trick with mirrors and customized flashlights. (Covering the inner part of the flashlight and tilting it on an angle to create an elipse in a mirror, and adjusting the angle of the mirror to reflect the elipse onto the camera during that scene. Then repeating it but with Maria rather than the Man Machine to create the fade effect.) But with some light research, I found that "The effect of sparks jumping about the machines was produced by placing a small high frequency apparatus near the camera (...)" (blogs.smithsonian.org, 1927 Magazine Looks at Metropolis, “A Movie Based On Science”) for the sparks and lightning, and how illuminated gas in glass tubes were used to create the rings of light around the Machine-Man and Maria.
I think there is value for modern day people to see the Triumph of the Will; especially in a school environment, if the students are currently learning about the Holocaust. It gives a great perspective as to how Germans felt about Hitler, because they didn't know all the horrible things he had/will do in the future.
Thanks for sharing what you learned about the special effects! I didn't know that. I think it's so cool that you did some extra research. So cool in fact that I'll give you some extra credit for doing extra research and for the times that you comment on other people's posts.
DeleteYou should definitely connect with Kirby and get a copy of his soundtrack. He would love that!
i thought this movie was pretty good for the most part, i liked the story line but it was a little slow in some parts. i liked radiohead better in this movie, just because i thought the tone and song choice really went with what was happening. i noticed how expressive they were with there actions. i think with the hole trust issue, and Hitler coming into power, some people could have felt uncertain about how things were going at the time. it was representing how the Germans were feeling at the time. i also think that it shows there still can be love and good in a bad situation.
ReplyDeletei think this movie prepared me to see Triumph of the will in a way that was a little confusing to me. it was hard to watch everyone praise and love Hitler but also know what he did to the Jews. i felt that everyone should be wanting to kill him and hate him but i know even after some of the people found out what Hitler was doing they still didnt care much. it makes me upset to be a human after knowing about all that happened during this time.
This is well articulated: "it makes me upset to be a human". I think that is a natural way to feel.
DeleteJessi does not like Metropolis at all. Imagine that. But i suppose i can answer the two questions asked of me..
ReplyDeleteWhen Freder first goes underground where the machines are and takes a workers place i think that that really represents German Expressionism. Because most German Expressionist films have to do with machines vs people and the fear of the people being taken over by machines. And when all of the workers trade shifts and are walking like robots, i think that represents it too. Because they are so in tune with their machines that they cant go back to their natural habits.
Oh and out of the Radio Head soundtrack and Billy Joel i preffered Radio Head. It just seemed to fit a little better. It wasnt as happy sounding as Billy Joel. That happy sound just made the scenes a little confusing. BUT ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN THE STUPID 80'S SOUNDTRACK I HAD TO WATCH IT WITH IN WILLS CLASS. Seriously, ANYTHING. That was horrible and scary and unsettling. DARN YOU WILL!
I love the third person writing :)
DeleteI'll be sure to pass the message onto Will ;)
I believe there is value in having a modern audience watch Triumph of the Will. In this movie you could really tell the German people watching Hitler were so filled with hope and gratitude and genuine happiness. I dont think a lot of people understand that Germanys people had nothing to do with the holocaust, they were just in it for their better economy. I believe people could really benefit from seeing what Hitler did for his country and people and not just what he did to the Jews. Does that sound horrible? Soooo happy i dont have any Jewish friends to get mad at me.
ReplyDelete/
I don't think its horrible, just accurate. And it's important to be honest about what happened in history so we can learn from the truth.
Delete-Randi Michelle :)
ReplyDeleteThis movie, though kind of cool, confused me a little bit too. I seriously need to go to bed earlier...because again I only slept for about 2 hours the night before, and I fell asleep around the part where they were walking through that mine thing in the first like 15 minutes or so. I woke up around the time where they walked in and found Maria saying some sort of prayer in that garden of crosses. I didn't understand what was going on for the rest of the movie, but besides that it was pretty cool to watch. I liked how in the beginning there were those gears moving around and fading into each other, and how the people's movements both fit with the music perfectly. I liked the Radiohead music better..since it seemed more eerie and creepy, and fit the theme of the movie better. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Billy Joel, but I just felt like his music was too happy to fit the movie. I did think that it was cool how the Billy Joel songs got the timing like exactly right on each scene, but other than that I don't think it fit very well.
That is well articulated argument about why you like one sound track better than another.
DeleteI think what you experienced with falling asleep and then not knowing what is going in is true for a lot of silent film dramas. For some reason, you really have to pay attention every moment of a silent drama or your totally lost. You've prompted me to take some time to think about why that is. (I love thinking about these sorts of things because when I figure out the answer, I always understand better how the human mind reacts to movies which enables me to make the movies I make more intentionally calculated to invoke a response.)
I think the special effects of this movie that impressed me was when they made it look like the robot transformed into the girl, but we all know that in real life, it's impossible to do. I'm not sure how special effects work or how they're created, but I think that's what makes them so marvelous and fantastical. Not a lot of people really understand how they do it or what kind of work they do to make the special effects in movies awesome.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Radiohead soundtrack much, much, much, much, WAY MUCH, more than the Billy Joel soundtrack (no offense to Kirby, of course). I just think the music went with the movie, instead of against it like the Billy Joel soundtrack seemed to. Billy Joel's music was way more... I dunno... peppy and happy feeling. And the movie did not seem happy to me at all. The sort of grungey music that Radiohead makes seemed to fit darkness and dismay of the movie and the Billy Joel soundtrack just made the movie feel wrong. The music felt like it was out of place.
I appreciate the way you give feedback while also showing respect to Kirby's feelings and incredible hard work.
Deletetommy kiter
ReplyDeleteI liked this movie not to much and not to less but in some parts it was slow. the special effects to me was the city mainly because even now in our days its the same it flawless. i fell asleep on some of the parts which confused me because i didnt really know what was going on.
but i re watched it at home and now it makes alot of sense to me now. I liked the radiohead soundtrack alot better then the other one. The billy joe it think it was, soundtrack.
the radio head made more sense i think it went alot more with the movie then the billy joel one did. And like randi said it was pretty cool how the billy joel soundtrack went almost exact with the scenes in this film. Other than that i thought it was out of place it just didnt fit.
Tommy, I admire the fact that you rewatched the film after falling asleep. I shall reward you with a few made up SF points for that. That city scene is WAY impressive for sure!
DeleteOne word to the wise regarding writing: structure your paragraphs so that everything on the same subject matter is in the same paragraph. So, the last sentence of your first paragraph should be the start of the second paragraph so that all the writing about the music is grouped together.
Graded.
ReplyDelete