WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:08.000 Oh he is bot. It's show tied. 2 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:11.279 People say, good money to see this movie. When they 3 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:12.160 go out to a theater. 4 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:15.960 They want cold sodas, hot popcorn, and no monsters. 5 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:19.519 In the protection booth, everyone pretend podcasting isn't boring. 6 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:20.879 Got at off? 7 00:00:25.879 --> 00:02:40.479 Turn it. 8 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.159 Welcome to the projection Booth. I'm your host. Mike White 9 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:13.639 joined me once again as mister Federico Bertolini. 10 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:16.360 Hello, thank you, great to be back. 11 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:19.280 Also joining us is mister Ranjit Sandhu. 12 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:20.840 H do you do? 13 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:24.360 We are kicking off a new sci fi July with 14 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:28.919 one of the granddaddies of science fiction films, Fritz Lang's Metropolis. 15 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:32.159 Co written with his wife, Thea von Harbo, the film 16 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:35.960 tells the story of future city Metropolis, which is run 17 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:40.360 by industrialists Joe Federson. The potential power behind the throne 18 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:44.680 is mad scientist Rotwang. Meanwhile, Joe's son, Frader, is a 19 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:47.960 playboy who happens to meet the hero of the workers, Maria. 20 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:51.319 It's the story of Freder and Maria that propels the narrative, 21 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:55.800 which explores class relations, mysticisms, science, and a whole lot more. 22 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:59.080 We're going to do our best to spoilis nearly century 23 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:02.639 old film. Haven't seen Metropolis? Please do so now you 24 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:05.560 will not regret it. So, Federico, when was the first 25 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.879 time you saw Metropolis? And what did you think? 26 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:12.240 It was sitting at my desk in high school on 27 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.879 a laptop that was about like twenty inches and it 28 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:20.639 was the twenty ten restoration that had just came out, 29 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:24.520 and I heard about the fine in Argentina, the sixteen 30 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.400 mil so I was like so excited. It was all 31 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:29.400 over the internet. I went out and I found it 32 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:35.560 and I loved it. It had such a poll in culture. 33 00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:38.039 It was just Metropolis was this thing, you know up 34 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:42.000 here in the heavens that everything almost tried to and 35 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:45.319 people emulated and copied and stole off of endlessly. So 36 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.360 it was nice to finally go back to the original 37 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:49.759 and to see what all the fuss was about. 38 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:51.840 And Rian, Geet, how about yourself? 39 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:55.240 There's a story behind how I first came to see this. 40 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:59.479 In high school, everyone who knew me knew that I 41 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:03.439 was the only kid who liked silent movies, which made 42 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:07.719 me the village idiot. So autumn of nineteen seventy six, 43 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:15.039 eleventh grade, three kids burst into the classroom beaming smiles, 44 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:19.639 telling me excitedly about this great movie they're watching their 45 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:23.560 film history class, something called Metropolis and it's silent, and 46 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:29.199 it was wonderful Metropolis. I've never heard of this movie, Metropolis, 47 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:32.519 but I thought, what a role reversal, other kids telling 48 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.839 me about a silent movie. And a few months later, 49 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:40.000 it was May twenty first, nineteen seventy seven, Saturday night, 50 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:45.480 ten pm, K and Emmy Channel five Albuquerque PBS Movie 51 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:49.680 Theater that night showed Metropolis, and I decided, what the heck, 52 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:52.879 I'm going to watch this. I'm curious now. I watched it, 53 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.439 and from the moment it started, I was completely mesmerized, 54 00:04:56.680 --> 00:04:59.920 couldn't take my eyes off the thing. And I did 55 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:04.360 and know why because I watched this movie and it 56 00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:11.879 is so ridiculous, so preposterous, so childish. It's like a 57 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:15.839 really bad comic book that an eight year old boy 58 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:19.279 would throw in the trash. Why am I hooked on this? 59 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:22.879 Why can't I tear myself away from it? And then 60 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:26.839 I started obsessing it. Two months later, it popped up 61 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:30.240 at a local cinema, Don Panchos, and I knew they 62 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:32.720 would crop it in wide screen and went there and 63 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:36.360 they cropped it to widescreen, and I watched it and 64 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:40.319 this is not the movie I saw on PBS at all. 65 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:45.000 It's totally different. Why am I seeing a different Metropolis 66 00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:50.680 here and a different one on PBS? And then both 67 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:54.800 versions vanished. I've been able to get a bad copy 68 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:57.360 of the PBS version. I have never been able to 69 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:01.360 get another copy of the one I saw don Poncious 70 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:04.319 And that's what drove me crazy. What is going on 71 00:06:04.519 --> 00:06:07.000 with this movie? And then I found out it was 72 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:11.720 massacred almost from the time it was released. And you 73 00:06:11.800 --> 00:06:14.639 know that, I get obsessed when I discover that the 74 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:17.319 movie's been massacred. I want to know what it was 75 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:23.160 originally Like, I grew up watching the Radio Gaga music video. 76 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:27.839 That was my exposure to Metropolis. Thank goodness for Queen 77 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:31.759 and David Bowie, between the two of them, because Radio 78 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:35.720 Gaga gave us gave me a lot of exposure to Metropolis, 79 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:40.279 and under pressure gave me a ton of exposure to Nospharatu. 80 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:45.519 So I saw Nospharatu in college, absolutely loved it, but 81 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:50.079 never saw Metropolis projected on the big screen until I 82 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:54.959 think it was the twenty ten restoration, which, oddly my 83 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.040 mom wanted to go see my mom and her husband, 84 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:00.839 and then my wife and I. We went to a 85 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:05.079 community college that we had, you know, my mom had 86 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:07.759 actually attended that years and years before, and we went 87 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:11.480 there and they showed it on a pretty darn big screen. 88 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:16.160 No live orchestral accompany, meant just the soundtrack that they 89 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:19.439 had with the film, which is, I believe the same 90 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:23.040 version that now is on Keno Laura bur It's very 91 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.560 very similar, if not that exactly. I can't say that 92 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:29.279 I'm in love with this film. It's very very interesting, 93 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:33.639 and I really appreciate the restoration, and I kind of 94 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:37.319 like that the Argentinian footage or the other footage that 95 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:40.639 they cut into this looks kind of shitty because I 96 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:43.959 can really tell the difference as to what is being 97 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:47.319 added versus what was there before. And I know to 98 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:50.319 your point, Renjeet, there are so many versions of this movie, 99 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:53.000 and it is just wild how many are out there. 100 00:07:53.399 --> 00:07:57.000 Even last night, I was trying to get a copy 101 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:59.720 of it to play for myself, and I said, oh, 102 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:02.639 I'll just go out to Amazon and I'll buy the 103 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:05.639 version that's out there that's two hours long. That's not 104 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:08.120 two and a half hours long. I'm just like, oh 105 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:11.480 my god, like I just spent three dollars for nothing. 106 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.040 Thanks a lot, Amazon, Why the hell do you have 107 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:18.879 this two hour version? But regardless, Yeah, I've watched a 108 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:23.600 ton this week in preparation for our discussion. Like you said, 109 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:26.759 it's mesmerizing. It is very mesmerizing. There's a lot of 110 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:30.439 interesting stuff here. Is it fully successful? I don't think so. 111 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:33.960 Like you said, there's a lot of comic book ye 112 00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:37.159 kind of stuff here. I'm not sure if it's saying 113 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:39.879 what some people think that it's saying. But I'm very 114 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:43.480 excited to kind of unpack this movie just because it 115 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:47.639 is so influential. Listening to some of the commentary tracks, 116 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:50.399 it's like, maybe you want to stop talking about Blade 117 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:54.279 Runner throughout the entire commentary track for Metropolis, maybe talk 118 00:08:54.279 --> 00:08:58.000 about the film Metropolis instead. But it's been a real 119 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:03.000 delight digging into thistually digging into Fritzlang. I mean, the 120 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:07.679 guy is so fascinating, especially all the self mythologizing that 121 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.559 he does, and especially around this time of his career 122 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:14.320 with the whole Gerbels and the escape from Germany and 123 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:16.960 all those things, and it's like, all right, So yeah, 124 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:18.879 I'm very excited to talk to you guys about this, 125 00:09:19.080 --> 00:09:21.440 just because there's just so much to unpack. 126 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:24.559 I'm so glad I'm not the only person. I thought 127 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:25.799 I was going to be the only person on this 128 00:09:25.879 --> 00:09:28.799 recording that had mixed feelings about Metropolis. You know that 129 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:32.200 you guys would be like the uber fans, but uh yeah, 130 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:35.320 there's like a realistic point to take about Metropolis that 131 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.799 it's many many things in one and it has an allure, 132 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:43.240 but like you said, around you it's like a comic book. 133 00:09:43.240 --> 00:09:46.879 There's so many things that just like the tonal shifts, 134 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:48.759 just up and down, up and down, you have like 135 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:51.799 the most amazing sequences of incredible power next to the 136 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:56.159 most like norm just strange kind of cringe stuff, and 137 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.320 you wonder yourself, how did it end up like this? 138 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:00.879 And sure enough you go go in the history and 139 00:10:00.919 --> 00:10:01.759 you find out why. 140 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:06.000 I don't know if either of you has read An 141 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:13.559 Drummond's master's Thesis about Metropolis, which is online for free. 142 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:17.080 When I read it just a few weeks ago, was 143 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:20.759 blown away. I like people who are smarter than I am, 144 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:25.000 and Drummond is probably twenty times smarter than I am. 145 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:30.720 She knew the history of German politics and the German 146 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:36.960 labor movement and its influence from the Bolshevik Revolution. She 147 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:39.519 was able to unpack a lot of the meaning of 148 00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:45.000 the movie. In Germany in the nineteen twenties, labor unions 149 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:47.639 were not what we have now in the United States, 150 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:51.600 and businesses were not what we have now in the 151 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:56.759 United States. Businesses were brutal. And what we see in 152 00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:03.000 Metropolis with all these men working furiously on these synchronized 153 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:06.480 gears that don't do anything and have no meaning, with 154 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:10.519 steam coming up for no reason. That was about how 155 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:17.360 workers retreated ten hours a day, NonStop, no time to 156 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:21.320 sneeze and blow your nose, catch a breath. Nothing there 157 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:27.960 was relentless. It was tailorism. Frederick Taylor in the United 158 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:34.919 States tried to streamline business by doing scientific motion studies. 159 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:38.679 How can you do the most amount of work with 160 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:43.720 the fewest number of motions as quickly as possible? And 161 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:46.039 a lot of business leaders took his ideas, and he 162 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:53.039 had good ideas, but they applied them mercilessly. The employees 163 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.600 literally did not know what they were doing. A guy 164 00:11:56.639 --> 00:11:58.919 had to make bolts all day long. Make a bolt, 165 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:00.840 make a bolt, make a bolt, make them both ten 166 00:12:00.919 --> 00:12:03.919 hours a day, had no idea what the bolts were for, 167 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:07.000 no idea where they were going to be used or why. 168 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:10.840 So there was no sense of fulfillment in what the 169 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:14.960 worker was doing. So there was an idea that if 170 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:20.279 the employees understood what it was that they were doing, 171 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:25.840 if there was better communication between management and employees, workers 172 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:30.200 would feel more fulfilled. That idea comes through in Metropolis, 173 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:37.159 and that specifically explicitly what Metropolis was dealing with. And 174 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:40.879 labor unions at the time, as I say, were not 175 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:46.000 like they are now. When they got angry, they got 176 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:48.559 out their guns, they got out their bombs. There was 177 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:55.039 blood in the streets, and some labor union activists organizers 178 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:59.360 realized that this is going nowhere. We have to reach 179 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:04.600 an agreen with management. Some managers are saying that we 180 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:08.320 have to reach out, stretch out our hands, make a 181 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:12.279 deal with labor. One of those who said that was 182 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:17.279 Paul Silverberg, who sat on the UFA board. UFA was 183 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:23.840 the studio that produced Metropolis. He said that as Metropolis 184 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:28.159 was being filmed, so this is a lot of the 185 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:32.080 context of what the story was about. The head, hands 186 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:39.440 in heart communication, the mediator between management and employees. So 187 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:42.600 the terms that sound very silly and babyish when we 188 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:46.240 watch them now had a lot of resonance in nineteen 189 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:50.840 twenty six, nineteen twenty seven, and it was not babyish 190 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:54.720 back then. So if you have not read and Drummond's 191 00:13:54.759 --> 00:14:00.279 Master's Thesis, please read and Drummond's Master's Thesis. 192 00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:04.519 So much of this film is about labor and the 193 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:07.799 use of men as machines, and then there's the man 194 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:11.519 machine itself. You know, we're talking about machines having hearts. 195 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.440 You know, this is the heart machine, and you've got 196 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.120 the head machine and all these things. To have the 197 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:23.360 laborers living below ground in this underground city where it's 198 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:26.399 very I mean, we'll talk about HG. Wells, but they're 199 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:28.879 very much the morlocks of the city. And then you've 200 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:32.320 got the Loi or whatever living above and they're just 201 00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:36.000 living this care free existence. You know, you've got the 202 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:39.399 Sun's Club, which is this whole thing of it could 203 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:42.000 be spelt either way with Sun or Son, but you've 204 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:44.080 got this whole idea of these sons that are just 205 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:48.080 up there enjoying their lives and playing all of these games. 206 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:53.320 You've got the fetishization of their bodies. And meanwhile the 207 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:56.919 rest of the workers are just you know, faceless lumps 208 00:14:57.000 --> 00:14:59.720 most of the time with their shoulders hunched in those 209 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:04.799 dark uniforms on cut to those suns up there playing 210 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:08.080 their sports games, you know, very Leney refinstall with some 211 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:11.440 of these icons and these statues and all these things, 212 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:16.200 and they're being entertained, of course by what I have 213 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:19.039 to imagine our prostitutes that are just hanging around the 214 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:22.840 Sun's Club. They're living this care free life, and meanwhile 215 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:25.440 the rest of the workers are just living in this 216 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:29.000 underground dwelling and not really even being allowed to see 217 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:33.720 the sun apart from possibly when they do their shift change. 218 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:37.679 And the quarter's ends. In the Love of the Suns 219 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:42.639 the Eternal Gardens, that was for me the scariest part 220 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:46.399 of the movie. They were not allowed to have personalities. 221 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:53.320 The personalities were prescribed by someone on high. They had 222 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:57.200 to act a certain way, feel a certain way. That 223 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:01.799 was very creepy for me, talking about the rich people 224 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:04.320 at the top and the poor people at the bottom. 225 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:09.080 That that is such a wonderfully exaggerated way to distinguish 226 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:12.559 upper class from lower class. They made it very literal. 227 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:16.200 Well, it's almost like there's no middle class. 228 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.360 Yeah, well the middle class there are those are the 229 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:22.279 little puppets on the sidewalk and the little puppet cars, 230 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:25.519 and they're the ones who go to the Yoshiwara club 231 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:29.440 and they have all the fun they so I guess 232 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:30.519 that's the middle class. 233 00:16:31.399 --> 00:16:33.919 Though I would say the Yoshiwara the way that they're dressed, 234 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.600 it feels very much you know, you see a lot 235 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:38.919 of tuxedos and a lot of you know, to me, 236 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:41.960 it feels more like upper crust than even middle class. 237 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:45.639 With that, to have the the guy who's in charge, 238 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:47.799 like I know, later on this year, I'm going to 239 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:51.080 be talking about the film Megalopolis, which obviously takes a 240 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:53.600 lot from Metropolis as well. But to have this whole 241 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:58.720 thing of Joe Frederson lording over everything in his central 242 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:02.279 office where he's got televisions, he can see whatever he 243 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:04.720 wants to see, He's got all of his agents, he's 244 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:08.079 got Joseph fat Is. Does the Thin Man have a 245 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:09.559 name or is he just the thin Man? 246 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:14.799 Does the thin Man or does Smala slim Slim? 247 00:17:14.920 --> 00:17:18.400 Yes, not to be confused with the Dashall Hammett story 248 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:22.480 the Thin Man, but would definitely, oh man, he's fantastic 249 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:25.759 I love Slim. I think that he is wonderful and 250 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:28.279 just the way that he creeps around and everything. He's 251 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:29.960 got a great look to him. I think so many 252 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.559 of these actors have great looks to them, and especially 253 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:37.720 somebody like Joe. We've got the very straight eyebrows and 254 00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:41.640 very little reaction to too much. He just seems disappointed 255 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:44.119 almost all the time. But as far as the labor 256 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:47.960 stuff goes, it doesn't feel like he's that much of 257 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.559 the villain of the piece, whereas me as a more 258 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:53.559 of the ninety nine percent, I'm just like, oh, yeah, 259 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:55.480 he's the guy in charge. He's the guy who I 260 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:57.799 would want to see drawn and quarter by the end 261 00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:01.000 of the film. But instead it's more about let's mediate 262 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:03.839 this stuff. We're looking for the mediator, and really becomes 263 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:06.920 almost like a Messiah story where you've got, oh, the 264 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.599 Sun is going to be the mediator and he's the person, 265 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:12.519 and we have to have him anointed by Maria, and 266 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:15.039 of course having Maria and her name being so close 267 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:17.960 to Mary, and it just feels, well, it doesn't feel 268 00:18:18.119 --> 00:18:21.559 there are so many biblical things going on in this movie. 269 00:18:21.720 --> 00:18:25.400 That's just so many layers of stuff, and sometimes it 270 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:27.880 feels kind of like a confusing mix of layers. But 271 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.000 I do enjoy like trying to pull this thing apart 272 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:33.160 and seeing all of the different stuff as far as 273 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:36.200 like the Seven Deadly Sins, the Tower of Babel, just 274 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:39.480 all of these biblical items that you have inside of here, 275 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:41.599 and it's like, okay, well, how does that relate to 276 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:43.799 what this overall story is. 277 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:47.799 We wouldn't be talking about Metropolis one hundred years later 278 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:51.079 if it was like a perfect cinema object, if it 279 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:53.680 said everything it wanted to say, and it was like 280 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:55.759 you know, A to B, two C and all this 281 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:58.079 kind of stuff, if it was like sure enough, it 282 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:00.720 was a masterpiece. Of course, everybody would call at a masterpiece. 283 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:02.720 But it is a masterpiece. I mean they still call 284 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:04.960 it a masterpiece despite the problems that it has. And 285 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:10.279 that aspect of Frader being the messiah sent from on high. 286 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:12.079 You know, he starts the movie at the Club of 287 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:15.119 the Suns, almost staring into the camera looking at Maria. 288 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.119 That's like the inciting incident. That's his view into the 289 00:19:18.119 --> 00:19:20.960 other world. He had no idea that his bruughs toil 290 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:24.599 in such misery, and he goes literally down to the 291 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:28.160 office to meet his father. He goes to find Georgie 292 00:19:28.519 --> 00:19:30.960 and then he goes even further and it's it's so 293 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:34.119 on the nose that you kind of roll your eyes. 294 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:36.559 But then you're thinking, you know, nineteen twenty six, what 295 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:38.680 is the audience that's getting this. I'm not saying that 296 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.440 the German audience in nineteen twenty seven isn't sophisticated, but 297 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:45.720 he's casting a wide net so that everybody can get 298 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:48.480 something out of it. But that aspect to Freder being 299 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:52.160 the mediator, it's like, how well can you trust, you know, 300 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:54.000 at the workers at the I don't want to skip 301 00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:56.480 to the end, but like the workers have the right 302 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:59.160 to be suspicious of the son of the guy that's 303 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.519 literally oppressing them, telling them no, I will mediate between 304 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:07.720 labor and capital for you. And I mean, Mike, I 305 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:10.920 have the same idea of you. I just like violence 306 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.839 against the working, the oppressor class, you know, the owners 307 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:16.960 have to go to the wall, all that kind of stuff. 308 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:20.240 So Frederson is like, not my kind of person. And 309 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:21.799 at the end, I'm with you. I want him on 310 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.720 the funeral pier. And they say as much. They say 311 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:27.079 as much. They literally surround them and they say, look, 312 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:31.160 that's the guy that's responsible for our suffering. Kill him. 313 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:35.279 But of course that third way of like trying to 314 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:38.000 trying to find a balance between the left wing and 315 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:40.720 the basically the fascism, the quasi fascism. I don't want 316 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.000 to say the film is fascist, but what it presents 317 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:47.559 is strong ultimate state control over people's lives, trying to 318 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.720 find that middle way. That's the aspect that is the 319 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.279 most controversial, the thing we can talk about the most, 320 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:55.759 that people will argue about the most, but it's the 321 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:58.519 thing that unfortunately is kind of like the undoing of 322 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:00.720 it in some respects Well. 323 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:02.160 I did want to talk about as far as the 324 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:05.079 audiences go, and just a little bit of the background 325 00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:09.240 of the film itself. The idea of this being this 326 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:12.160 kind of populist, you know, all things for all people 327 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:15.480 type of film I think, and please Renji feel free 328 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:17.559 to correct me. I've been reading a lot about that 329 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:22.920 whole power UFA met contract and the agreement that was 330 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:27.039 going on between who was a paramount UFA and then 331 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:29.920 Metro Golden Mayor. I believe it was, and just that 332 00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:34.319 it was this whole idea of the German film industry 333 00:21:34.359 --> 00:21:39.400 being so insular that they're successful at for a while 334 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:41.440 with the way that they're running things, but then they 335 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:44.839 start getting these imports of American films and it becomes 336 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:48.200 this real threat to the German national cinema, and it's like, no, 337 00:21:48.279 --> 00:21:50.519 we need to reach out, we need to start to 338 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:53.559 get out of just Germany. The imports are kind of 339 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:56.359 taking things over, and this was really supposed to be 340 00:21:56.400 --> 00:22:00.319 an attempt to bridge this gap and then ended up 341 00:22:00.759 --> 00:22:02.640 blowing up in their faces. I mean, this was kind 342 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:06.319 of the undoing. This was the Heaven's Gate of nineteen 343 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:07.039 twenty seven. 344 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:11.279 That's a long story. I do not completely understand it. 345 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:18.920 But the Hollywood studios were practicing gangster capitalism around much 346 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:22.759 of the world. Germans were doing a nice job of 347 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:25.880 making German movies and showing them in German cinemas, and 348 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:31.839 everyone was happy. Hollywood took its movies that had already 349 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:37.519 amortized and let German cinemas have them for a stretch 350 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.240 of price that they could get any other movie. So 351 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:47.319 Hollywood movies flooded German screens. German movies could hardly get played. 352 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:52.039 In the earlier days. There were some imports from several 353 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:56.160 countries in Europe. Germany among them. I don't know if 354 00:22:56.200 --> 00:23:00.559 they did very well. They did some business, and Hollywood 355 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:02.319 like to bring them in now and then. It was 356 00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:06.559 almost like free money. But Germans realized that in order 357 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:11.599 to keep their business going, they had to compete with Hollywood. 358 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:16.720 The Hollywood capitalists didn't like competition. They didn't like to 359 00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:22.119 hear that sort of talk. Ufer was having financial troubles 360 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:26.200 because of all this Hollywood interference. They got a good 361 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:31.200 deal from Hollywood, from Paramount Metro gold Mayor, who would 362 00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:36.000 bail them out and fund their movies, and they were 363 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:39.640 foolish to accept that offer. It would be better to 364 00:23:39.720 --> 00:23:42.160 just close down the studio than to accept that offer. 365 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:46.720 They accepted the offer, they very quickly regretted it. Heads 366 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:52.480 rolled Eric Palmer, who was the only producer that Fitzlang 367 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:55.440 ever liked. He was on the Alps for a while. 368 00:23:56.359 --> 00:24:01.920 They squeezed him out. They let him back in later. Yeh, yeah, 369 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:06.039 it was just a bad situation. This was the undoing 370 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:13.079 of UFA. The person who bailed out UFA shortly after 371 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:20.559 Metropolis came out was Alfred Hugenberg, who was another gangster capitalist. 372 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:24.079 He was a German oligarch who supported a certain guy 373 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:30.519 named Hitler, and he was very much opposed to mediating 374 00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:36.119 with labor. He wanted to rule employees with an iron fist. 375 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:40.039 And I'm sure he never watched Metropolis, but I'm sure 376 00:24:40.119 --> 00:24:44.920 his assistants told him that you don't want that COMMI 377 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:47.960 pinko stuff showing in your cinemas. You've got to cut 378 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:51.680 this thing, and he ordered that it be cut. Anything 379 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:55.960 that remotely wreaked of communism had to be cut. The 380 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:58.160 odd thing is, there is no communism in the Moody. 381 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:02.839 There was something called mercy in the movie. There's no 382 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:07.119 communism in it, but they slashed it to pieces and 383 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:10.319 then just treated it like a piece of junk. The 384 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:14.400 movie did not break the studio itself. There was a 385 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:20.519 lot of hanky panky with cooking the books. The production 386 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:24.519 of Faust discharged against Metropolis, the couple of other movie 387 00:25:24.559 --> 00:25:29.039 productions are charged against Metropolis, and Studio Overhead was charged 388 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:33.680 against Metropolis. Metropolis only cost about two hundred thousand dollars, 389 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:36.480 and that money all came from Paramount. It didn't even 390 00:25:36.519 --> 00:25:39.359 come from UFA. But when they cooked the books, they 391 00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:43.319 made it look like Metropolis bankrupted the studio. It's just 392 00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:43.759 not true. 393 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:46.640 At all, it's a useful thing to take the fall 394 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:51.160 economic protectionism. And basically, like you said, gangsterism in Europe 395 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:55.000 reminds me so much of Hitchcock when he struggled to 396 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:58.039 get his movies made in England and they had trouble 397 00:25:58.039 --> 00:26:00.920 exporting them to the United States. The United States wanted 398 00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:04.519 their movies in England. They wanted to basically destroy the market, 399 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:06.880 but they didn't want to have to import. They didn't 400 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:10.480 want like a tit for tat reciprocal relationship. The other 401 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:12.759 one too, that that brings up to is the CanCon 402 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:15.960 laws in Canada, I think was its seventies, eighties and 403 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:19.160 nineties where they had like the economic stipulation that a 404 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:23.599 certain percentage television had to be Canadian producing Canadian and 405 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:28.519 were kind of living through a resurgence of that economic protectionism. 406 00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:31.039 And you know, I thought I never lived to see 407 00:26:31.359 --> 00:26:34.960 that get you know, liberalism died of the chopping block. 408 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:37.160 But so here here we are. 409 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:42.559 I think that the rumors were or the historical view 410 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:46.160 of Metropolis is that guess a bankrupt to the studio. 411 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:50.079 Nobody watched it, Nobody had liked this film. It was 412 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:53.359 just a complete disaster. And as far as I know, 413 00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:56.880 that's not the case. Like this was a smash hit 414 00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:00.720 for a while in different in different markets, but it 415 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:03.680 was really lambasted and just like, oh no, no, this 416 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:06.200 is the one that has ruined the entire industry. 417 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:10.119 In fol Taire, I think you said history is a 418 00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:13.279 bag of tricks. We play on the dead right when 419 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:16.799 you start digging into the primary sources, you discover that 420 00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:19.640 a lot of what's in the history books does not 421 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:20.279 hold up. 422 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:23.839 And also kind of wound into this whole thing is 423 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:27.400 the idea of it was too long two and a 424 00:27:27.400 --> 00:27:30.160 half hours or whatever. The final running time was way 425 00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:32.839 too long, and we're just going to chop this thing 426 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:34.880 to pieces and we're going to make a much more 427 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:38.920 interesting and better film, stronger film out of this. And 428 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:42.079 just the reason why we have the two and a 429 00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:45.319 half hour version of this is basically because of a mistake. 430 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:48.319 It's because of movie collectors. You know, we talked to 431 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:50.759 Dennis Bartak on the show a long time ago about 432 00:27:50.759 --> 00:27:53.359 his book A Thousand Cuts and just the idea of 433 00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:57.720 what role movie collectors can play in preserving films. I mean, 434 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:00.000 Federico and I were just getting back from a festival 435 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:03.920 all about film preservation. It's so important that we have 436 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:09.440 these collectors out there, really who had these unique versions 437 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:12.079 of these films, so that they're able to actually bring 438 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:14.079 them back together. I mean, that's why we have this 439 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:16.519 two and a half hour version. It's still missing pieces. 440 00:28:16.559 --> 00:28:19.559 There are definitely inner titles in here that explain, well, 441 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:22.920 this is when you know Freder breaks Maria out of 442 00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:25.319 rot Wang's prison, and they all right, great, you know, 443 00:28:25.319 --> 00:28:27.319 I would love to see those things, but for now, 444 00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:30.960 we're not going to. But someday we might. And that's 445 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:33.119 the thing is that over the years we have seen 446 00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:38.440 smaller renovation through restorations of this film throughout I can't 447 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:42.160 even reckon I mean, Ranjie, you're talking about two versions 448 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:44.480 that you saw within a matter of weeks that were different. 449 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:48.240 Just imagine how many of these versions. And we haven't 450 00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:50.359 even talked about the Moroder version. We'll talk about that 451 00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:53.480 later on in the program. But just all of these 452 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:57.079 different things. And a lot of that was because they said, oh, well, 453 00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:59.319 the version that played was terrible, and we need to 454 00:28:59.319 --> 00:29:01.599 make a better film lot of this, and they hired 455 00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:04.759 here in the US, they hired a playwright, Channing Pollock 456 00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:08.599 was it, who recut the film, and that became the 457 00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:12.359 version that so many people saw for so long. Though 458 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:14.720 now you know Federico was asking me for a copy 459 00:29:14.759 --> 00:29:16.839 of it, I'm like, I can't find it. I can't 460 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:19.359 find that particular cut of it, which is kind of 461 00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:22.759 good that we're moving past this, but those historical documents 462 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:24.079 should really exist as well. 463 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:24.279 You know. 464 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:26.599 It's kind of like the whole original kind of Star 465 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:29.960 Wars things. It's like, I want that to exist. I 466 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:32.279 don't care if George Lucas wants us to see this 467 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:36.119 whatever version because he's made several different versions of films 468 00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:39.000 as well. I want that original document to exist. So 469 00:29:39.039 --> 00:29:42.279 I want the original document of Metropolis to exist. I 470 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:45.079 also want all of those different cuts that have come 471 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:47.359 about over the years, like give me that Blade runner 472 00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:50.200 box where you had the five different versions of it, 473 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:53.000 and since then, fan editors have done their own versions 474 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:55.680 of these things, Like I want that stuff preserved as 475 00:29:55.759 --> 00:29:58.960 much as I want the original version that was shown 476 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:01.119 in nineteen twenty seven and to still be around. 477 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:04.559 I wanted to thank you Ranjit personally over the are 478 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:08.640 that you actually sent me a copy of It's on YouTube. Unfortunately, 479 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:12.240 it's what it's like sixteen frames per second and it's 480 00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:16.720 terrible quality. But it is the New Zealand copy correct, right, 481 00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:19.559 the Australian version that is similar to the American but 482 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:22.720 it's not the same, which is just absurd. You know 483 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:25.640 that you really can't get the exact copy. Like I 484 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:27.319 said when I talked about the first time that I 485 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:29.559 saw it, I saw it in the quote unquote full 486 00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:32.640 restored version, and like you might, I'm hoping and I 487 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:36.119 know somewhere, you know, there's the footage. I just know 488 00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:39.960 that someday Metropolis will be as near complete as it 489 00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:43.920 can get. But I always wanted to see the American 490 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:46.599 version because I'm one of those people that always loves 491 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:49.799 to watch like different cultures make the same. And the 492 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:52.160 thing that I remember about Metropolis hearing about it was 493 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:54.799 that it was three hours long. You know, people said like, oh, 494 00:30:54.839 --> 00:30:57.279 it's three hours long. It bombed at the cinemas, just 495 00:30:57.319 --> 00:30:59.759 like you said, they fell for the trap. And sure 496 00:30:59.799 --> 00:31:02.039 enough I looked into it and I found out that 497 00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:04.519 of course they would play it at a different speed 498 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:07.680 and so take longer, it would last longer. But when 499 00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:12.240 I first watched it, I was completely captivated, like just 500 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:14.559 you know, it got into your mind, and yeah, I 501 00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:17.359 didn't think about the length. I tend to not think 502 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:19.759 about like movie lengths. It's just like, once you're in 503 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:22.680 the movie, you're in the movie. That's it done. But 504 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:26.759 for two hours twenty five minutes now, and then the 505 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:29.640 original release was one hundred and fifty three minutes. That's 506 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:32.799 like Prisoners by Move. You know. It's a bunch of 507 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:35.480 films like Dark Knight, you know, just these movies that 508 00:31:35.559 --> 00:31:38.160 everybody loves but they don't want to say, like, oh, 509 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:40.559 it's too long. You know. I think the problem too 510 00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:43.200 is that it's silent and all that kind of stuff. 511 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:46.079 You know, Oh it's hokey, it's old. I don't want 512 00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:49.119 to deal with it. But two and a half hours long, 513 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:52.960 it moves like nothing. Even if the guy at the 514 00:31:53.000 --> 00:31:56.519 time in Germany made that joke in the newspaper about 515 00:31:56.519 --> 00:31:59.319 how like it's like an hour in and then it 516 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:02.119 cuts and it's says the end of the end of 517 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:05.519 the overture or the prologue, and you're just like, it's 518 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:07.799 almost like a comic thing of just like what and 519 00:32:07.799 --> 00:32:11.480 then you have the intermetso oh gosh, no, no, no's 520 00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:13.000 it moves like nothing else. 521 00:32:13.559 --> 00:32:18.039 The other thing that doesn't help is the acting. I 522 00:32:18.119 --> 00:32:20.559 really like a lot of the acting that happens in here. 523 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:23.000 I really like Maria. I think that she does a 524 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:27.279 wonderful job. But the guy that plays Frader just something 525 00:32:27.319 --> 00:32:29.680 about him, and I don't know if it's the character 526 00:32:29.960 --> 00:32:32.559 or if it's the actor that I just kind of 527 00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:36.839 chafe with. And like everybody else, I love every single 528 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:39.559 moment that rot Wing is on screen. I love when 529 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:42.920 josephat is on screen. I've already talked about the Thin 530 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:46.839 Man and just how much I enjoy his character. Even 531 00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:51.240 you know grot the Guardian of the Heart Machine. It's like, yeah, 532 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:53.759 these guys are great. But then when it comes to Freighter, 533 00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:56.880 I don't know if it's that Luke Skywalker going to 534 00:32:57.000 --> 00:32:59.359 Tashi station to pick up some power converters kind of 535 00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:01.880 thing or what it is, but it's just like, get 536 00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:05.039 this guy off the screen. He sucks. I just don't 537 00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:05.920 like I. 538 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:10.480 Do like him. That was not the actor's fault. I 539 00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:16.799 think that was Fritz's direction. He wanted this juvenile to 540 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:20.000 be in the lead, so he got a juvenile, and 541 00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:25.640 Gustav slowly played it like a juvenile. If didn't want that, 542 00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:26.720 he wouldn't have done that. 543 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:31.880 In mcgilligan's biography of Lang, which is excellent. I love 544 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:33.680 that we're talking about a movie that was covered by 545 00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:37.079 mcgillingen because like reading his work is just so easy, 546 00:33:37.119 --> 00:33:39.279 you know, it just like flows like nothing else. But 547 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:42.799 it talks about Gustav Rolick and it says that was 548 00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:45.680 it was von Harbu who actually decided that if somebody 549 00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:48.000 else was in the role, and that she actually picked 550 00:33:48.039 --> 00:33:50.400 him out of a lap and she picked him for 551 00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:54.079 his good looks, youthful ernest. But I'm with you, Mike, 552 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:58.680 there is something to be said about those silent actors 553 00:33:58.759 --> 00:34:02.000 who go they cast to the back row. It's almost 554 00:34:02.039 --> 00:34:04.759 like they come from theater and they're not adapted well 555 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:07.440 to that kind of act. And I think he is 556 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:09.679 the weak link and if you can get over him, 557 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:11.199 and if you can take him as kind of like 558 00:34:11.239 --> 00:34:15.800 a naive child, like Ranjit was saying, possible, I mean 559 00:34:16.199 --> 00:34:19.079 the cast is so you know, it's just one actor 560 00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:21.719 out of however many, he's a speed bump. You just 561 00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:22.800 get over him. 562 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:26.079 It is interesting too that he's the one that has visions. 563 00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:29.840 You mentioned Villeneuve earlier, and it's almost Dune is a 564 00:34:29.880 --> 00:34:33.239 great Messiah story, and this is very much a Messiah story, 565 00:34:33.239 --> 00:34:37.480 and people forget that Paula Tredes was what's sixteen in 566 00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:39.840 the story. I mean, this feels like even though he 567 00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:42.639 looks older than sixteen, he feels like a sixteen year old, 568 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:46.840 he feels like a younger character. And he is the 569 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:52.360 one that has these visions. He sees the machine as Moloch, 570 00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:55.880 this demon who's just eating all of the workers and 571 00:34:55.960 --> 00:35:01.440 just feeding upon the bodies of slaves. Later on, it's 572 00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:03.960 almost as if he sees Maria when she's in the 573 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:07.440 club doing her dance. But there's some great cross cutting 574 00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:10.000 that's going on there. And also I want to say 575 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:12.400 that he's the one that sees the seven deadly Sindents 576 00:35:12.440 --> 00:35:15.079 come to life, and so it's like he's the one 577 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:19.559 that can see what's behind the veil. Like I think that, 578 00:35:20.599 --> 00:35:22.679 of course these things are symbolic, but I want to 579 00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:24.760 say that he has seen the world for more of 580 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:28.119 what it is than what the rest of everyone in 581 00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:31.039 the cast is seeing what the rest of Metropolis sees. 582 00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:36.119 They see a machine, whereas he sees a demon, and 583 00:35:36.199 --> 00:35:39.079 he sees what's really going on with these things, even 584 00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:43.559 if it's more metaphorical terms. All right, let's go ahead 585 00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:45.320 and take a break, and we'll be back after these 586 00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:46.239 brief messages. 587 00:35:47.639 --> 00:35:52.039 Seven the sixth Sense, Sweet sixteen nine songs, seven Brides 588 00:35:52.039 --> 00:35:55.199 for seven Brothers, twelve Angry Men in the Verse. While 589 00:35:55.199 --> 00:35:57.679 world of cinema numbers everywhere and on the Film by 590 00:35:57.800 --> 00:36:00.760 Numbers podcast, we explore just about any aspect from the 591 00:36:00.760 --> 00:36:04.519 movie world, from film history to filmmaking, to specific movements 592 00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:07.920 and directors, and much more. Besides, each topic on Film 593 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:10.800 by Numbers is dictated by the number of the episode. 594 00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:13.480 Brought to you by Outward Film Network and hosted by 595 00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:16.440 me Phil Slatter and filmmaker David Woods, we will take 596 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:18.960 you on a journey across the vast landscape of film 597 00:36:19.239 --> 00:36:23.280 with interviews with award winning filmmakers and academics, featuring discussion, 598 00:36:23.320 --> 00:36:26.960 debate and recommendations. Available on all the main podcast providers. 599 00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:29.800 If you love film, join us at Film by Numbers. 600 00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:34.079 All right, we are back and we are continuing our 601 00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:35.960 talk about Metropolis. 602 00:36:36.320 --> 00:36:43.199 Beda is in the eternal garden with this programmed Crotazan. 603 00:36:44.119 --> 00:36:50.440 And then suddenly, as though subconscious is rising to consciousness, 604 00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:56.039 the door opened and there's reality it's Maria, this poper children. 605 00:36:56.840 --> 00:36:59.679 As soon as she comes out, she locks eyes with them, 606 00:37:00.039 --> 00:37:02.559 as though she knew he was going to be standing 607 00:37:02.639 --> 00:37:07.360 right there, and she knew she had to make contact 608 00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:11.800 with them. Somehow, The guards shove them all back through 609 00:37:11.840 --> 00:37:17.599 the door and they disappear. Trede chases them, obviously down 610 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:20.960 because they work below the surface of the earth. So 611 00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:24.880 he's down below the surface of the earth in this 612 00:37:25.079 --> 00:37:31.199 bizarre factory with machines that are just fantastical gadgets that 613 00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:35.719 have no relation to anything in reality. He has that 614 00:37:35.840 --> 00:37:43.159 vision of the moloc machine. He runs out out of 615 00:37:43.159 --> 00:37:47.880 the frame, down the stairs to a limousine that's waiting 616 00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:51.000 for him. Did that limousine know to be waiting for 617 00:37:51.079 --> 00:37:54.519 him right there? And then we see the puppet limousine 618 00:37:55.480 --> 00:37:59.920 leave and is driving down a ramp from something like 619 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:04.239 the twenty fifth story of a skyscraper. Where was he? 620 00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:07.679 Was he under the ground or was he at the 621 00:38:07.679 --> 00:38:11.440 twenty fifth store of a story of a skyscraper? And 622 00:38:11.480 --> 00:38:16.639 that's when I get the impression that this is fits 623 00:38:17.000 --> 00:38:21.119 and the other people making the movie telling us, calm down, 624 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:27.360 this is dream imagery. Don't worry too much. We're playing games. 625 00:38:27.880 --> 00:38:28.880 Just go with us. 626 00:38:29.239 --> 00:38:31.199 What do you what's your opinion of that. 627 00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:35.719 I love the idea of the him continuously going down 628 00:38:35.880 --> 00:38:38.320 and down and down. I mean this, I'm surprised that 629 00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:40.639 in a lot of the commentary that I heard or 630 00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:43.360 articles that I read, that Orpheus never came up when 631 00:38:43.360 --> 00:38:45.639 it came to this discussion, because this feels so much 632 00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:49.239 like an Orpheus story of the descent into the underworld 633 00:38:49.280 --> 00:38:52.239 and can having your quest and trying to bring back 634 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:57.199 the love. You know, he's constantly searching for Maria. So yeah, 635 00:38:57.239 --> 00:39:00.480 I think that's really very astute as far as, yes, 636 00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:03.679 how does he get from below ground to way up 637 00:39:03.719 --> 00:39:06.360 above ground and then have to continue to descend, And 638 00:39:06.400 --> 00:39:08.519 really when it comes to his father, I would imagine 639 00:39:08.559 --> 00:39:11.079 his father is at the pinnacle when it comes to 640 00:39:11.119 --> 00:39:12.760 all of this. It feels like he should be the 641 00:39:12.800 --> 00:39:15.840 person that's at the tippy top of all this. And 642 00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:18.760 the idea of the Tower of Babble keeps coming up, 643 00:39:18.800 --> 00:39:22.360 and we've got you know, think it's really more based 644 00:39:22.400 --> 00:39:25.639 on the Briigle painting than what you would read in 645 00:39:25.679 --> 00:39:28.360 the Bible. But I love this whole idea too, of 646 00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:32.960 having you know these and I guess there are archangels 647 00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:35.239 kind of looking at the Tower of Babel and just 648 00:39:35.320 --> 00:39:39.079 talking about, like, you know, the hubris of man. And 649 00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:41.880 again the hubris doesn't get punished, Like I'm surprised that 650 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:45.440 the tower, as in the biblical story, just doesn't get destroyed. 651 00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:45.679 You know. 652 00:39:45.800 --> 00:39:49.000 It feels more like, oh, yeah, we're okay with this now, 653 00:39:49.119 --> 00:39:53.519 because it's it's commerce related. It's not you know, I mean, 654 00:39:53.880 --> 00:39:56.639 at the same time, it is man's hubris. It's man 655 00:39:56.719 --> 00:39:59.840 trying to reach the levels of the gods with that 656 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:03.079 out going through more of a spiritual journey. It's just 657 00:40:03.159 --> 00:40:05.159 I've got the money, I'm going to build the tower 658 00:40:05.199 --> 00:40:06.760 in order to make it to the heavens. 659 00:40:07.639 --> 00:40:09.920 I was at the very end. You do see the 660 00:40:10.039 --> 00:40:13.760 ruins of the tower with that logo painted in the 661 00:40:13.800 --> 00:40:18.719 sky above it, great as the Creator and great as Man. 662 00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:22.920 So do you see that? And of course Maria changes 663 00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:26.119 the whole point of the story of the Tower Babel, 664 00:40:26.119 --> 00:40:29.039 which in the Book of Genesis just about this big 665 00:40:29.079 --> 00:40:30.239 it's just a few lines. 666 00:40:31.159 --> 00:40:33.320 All the big stories are just a few lines. It's 667 00:40:33.320 --> 00:40:35.559 like what I read about Noah's Ark, It's like, all right, 668 00:40:35.679 --> 00:40:37.679 couple paragraphs. You're not gonna hole lot. 669 00:40:38.159 --> 00:40:41.000 The meaning in the Book of Genesis is not the 670 00:40:41.079 --> 00:40:45.239 meaning that Maria gives to it. She gives to it 671 00:40:45.320 --> 00:40:49.920 the meaning that the critics of Taylorism would give to 672 00:40:50.199 --> 00:40:51.719 the way factories are run. 673 00:40:52.440 --> 00:40:55.239 The tower was like a super major bone of contention 674 00:40:55.320 --> 00:40:57.760 during production. They started out with the sketches and it 675 00:40:57.840 --> 00:41:01.519 looked like the spiral from the story the Interstitial One, 676 00:41:01.960 --> 00:41:04.320 and Lang himself said, I don't want it to look 677 00:41:04.360 --> 00:41:06.519 like that. I wanted to be modern, and they added 678 00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:08.760 the crossbars and kind of like there were supposed to 679 00:41:08.800 --> 00:41:10.960 be airplanes like landing on it, and I think you 680 00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:13.679 can see a few little model airplanes landing on it. 681 00:41:13.960 --> 00:41:17.519 But you were talking around you about how it's like 682 00:41:17.559 --> 00:41:19.599 a dream city. You don't know where you're going to 683 00:41:19.719 --> 00:41:22.239 end up. You could think that you're at street level, 684 00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:24.719 but you could be basically up in the clouds. And 685 00:41:25.079 --> 00:41:27.960 about the cities in China that are built in the 686 00:41:28.119 --> 00:41:30.239 side of like hills. You know, they're built in like 687 00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:33.440 river valleys, and they have all of these stairs and elevators, 688 00:41:33.480 --> 00:41:36.199 and so it's like you never know where in relation 689 00:41:36.360 --> 00:41:39.000 you are to the ground, and you could be like 690 00:41:39.239 --> 00:41:41.559 living on the eleventh floor, but there are people living 691 00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:43.639 far far below you, and you could go to work 692 00:41:43.719 --> 00:41:47.360 far far above you. I wanted to answer the question 693 00:41:47.440 --> 00:41:51.119 talking about like the vision, the sense of Freda being 694 00:41:51.159 --> 00:41:54.239 the one that has these like apocalyptic visions, because there 695 00:41:54.280 --> 00:41:58.039 generally are apocalyptic the sense of like gays like this 696 00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:03.079 film has an absolute rock solid understanding of the camera 697 00:42:03.239 --> 00:42:07.800 I as being an analog or the viewer's eye, you know, 698 00:42:07.880 --> 00:42:11.679 the lens to the eye. And Ranjie you mentioned Maria 699 00:42:11.760 --> 00:42:15.079 opening the door and immediately looking at Frader, but she's 700 00:42:15.079 --> 00:42:18.360 not looking at Frader. She's looking us as Freders, as 701 00:42:18.400 --> 00:42:21.400 the embodiment of him. And one thing I love about 702 00:42:21.400 --> 00:42:23.840 certain films and films of this era too, is that 703 00:42:23.840 --> 00:42:26.119 they're not afraid to, like Spike the lens, to have 704 00:42:26.159 --> 00:42:29.400 actors just peer straight into your soul. And this film 705 00:42:29.440 --> 00:42:34.039 has so so many scenes like of incredible pathos and 706 00:42:34.159 --> 00:42:37.760 power that would come off really not great if they 707 00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:40.079 weren't done that way. Like I always think about the 708 00:42:40.079 --> 00:42:43.000 one where he goes to the chapel that they have 709 00:42:43.239 --> 00:42:46.679 in the catacombs, and there's that scene where everybody leaves 710 00:42:46.719 --> 00:42:49.639 and Freder comes up to basically receive blessing but also 711 00:42:50.280 --> 00:42:53.840 throw his heart and soul to Maria, and you see 712 00:42:53.960 --> 00:42:56.599 him clutch his heart, and that's very you know, one 713 00:42:56.679 --> 00:42:58.760 oh one, just over the top acting is just I 714 00:42:58.800 --> 00:43:00.440 need to show everybody that I'm in lie, so I 715 00:43:00.440 --> 00:43:04.920 clutch my heart. But he's gazing directly into the camera 716 00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:07.480 as if we are the object of his love, and 717 00:43:07.559 --> 00:43:11.320 so that transference from the actor to the viewer. And 718 00:43:11.360 --> 00:43:14.599 then you cut to Maria. I mean Maria not only 719 00:43:14.639 --> 00:43:18.079 like Maria herself, but the false Maria also has incredible 720 00:43:18.119 --> 00:43:21.400 scenes of gazing directly into the camera, like the dance 721 00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:24.000 you were talking about, the dance that she does, and 722 00:43:24.320 --> 00:43:26.880 the dance itself is like that's the seduction. Like you 723 00:43:26.960 --> 00:43:30.239 literally had the Madonna at the beginning goading you to 724 00:43:30.519 --> 00:43:32.800 fall into this you know, this great I don't want 725 00:43:32.800 --> 00:43:35.679 to say lie, but this great promise of religion. And 726 00:43:35.719 --> 00:43:38.000 then near the end of the movie you have the 727 00:43:38.079 --> 00:43:41.880 horror of Babylon gazing from the cinema screen asking you 728 00:43:42.440 --> 00:43:46.519 to fall into temptation and talking about like the men 729 00:43:46.599 --> 00:43:48.880 there and the gaze of them, I mean to the 730 00:43:48.880 --> 00:43:51.440 point where they cut all their eyes out and they 731 00:43:51.440 --> 00:43:54.599 basically fill the screen like it's almost like the argus 732 00:43:54.679 --> 00:43:58.280 of Pinopti's the ogre that with a thousand eyes just 733 00:43:58.440 --> 00:44:02.320 gazing back at you. It's just that that that image 734 00:44:02.360 --> 00:44:05.679 just lag. I don't know, it's just the kettle hot. 735 00:44:05.760 --> 00:44:09.079 Like all the production design of the cinematographer is just gaze. 736 00:44:09.440 --> 00:44:10.719 It's so much about Gaye. 737 00:44:11.519 --> 00:44:15.360 That dance sequence and the reaction of the men and 738 00:44:15.559 --> 00:44:19.239 the eyes. That is my favorite section of this film. 739 00:44:19.360 --> 00:44:22.599 It is just so avant garde and so beautiful to 740 00:44:22.639 --> 00:44:26.880 look at, and I love just the oh god, the 741 00:44:26.920 --> 00:44:29.480 one shot where it's like all of the eyes and 742 00:44:29.559 --> 00:44:33.119 it feels like four or five different planes of different 743 00:44:33.639 --> 00:44:36.760 sections going on. Some are just eyes. You've got Maria, 744 00:44:36.960 --> 00:44:39.079 You've got all of these things happening all at the 745 00:44:39.119 --> 00:44:42.159 same time. And then when you see and thank god, 746 00:44:42.199 --> 00:44:44.920 it's the you know, the the restored or like, it's 747 00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:48.239 not the Argentinian footage, it's the you know, the footage 748 00:44:48.239 --> 00:44:52.039 that we've had before, and how gorgeous that footage looks. 749 00:44:52.079 --> 00:44:55.320 And when you get to a shot like that, it just, oh, 750 00:44:55.360 --> 00:44:57.760 it just melts my heart to see that because it's 751 00:44:57.840 --> 00:45:02.480 so beautiful and so striking and just fits in with 752 00:45:02.519 --> 00:45:04.440 the rest of this film so much. Like you're saying, 753 00:45:04.480 --> 00:45:06.840 like the gaze and everything. Here are all of these 754 00:45:06.880 --> 00:45:10.239 eyes looking at us and Maria looking at us. And yeah, 755 00:45:10.280 --> 00:45:13.960 the things that that the actress that that plays Maria, 756 00:45:14.000 --> 00:45:15.880 that she does with her eyes, the whole thing of 757 00:45:15.960 --> 00:45:18.559 like one eye open, one eye closed kind of thing. 758 00:45:19.199 --> 00:45:20.400 I love that stuff. 759 00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:24.239 And she is so striking and I love that they 760 00:45:24.280 --> 00:45:27.280 have her as both you know, Madonna and whore throughout 761 00:45:27.280 --> 00:45:29.639 this whole thing. And it takes so long. Like I 762 00:45:29.719 --> 00:45:32.119 think a lot of people kind of like me, think 763 00:45:32.199 --> 00:45:36.920 that the robot transformation of the creature that Rotwang builds 764 00:45:37.320 --> 00:45:40.679 to Maria, to the false Maria, that that happens way 765 00:45:40.760 --> 00:45:43.679 earlier than it does because it's it takes placed pretty 766 00:45:43.719 --> 00:45:47.519 far into the film. It's really his whole thing of Oh, 767 00:45:47.840 --> 00:45:51.159 I'm going to disrupt the whole labor thing. I'm going 768 00:45:51.199 --> 00:45:55.480 to film into revolution with this false Maria. And the 769 00:45:55.519 --> 00:45:57.519 whole thing that he does is like, well, if you 770 00:45:58.920 --> 00:46:02.079 can't buy her as Maria by her as a person, 771 00:46:02.679 --> 00:46:05.480 you know, this whole thing is over with. But I 772 00:46:05.559 --> 00:46:07.480 we should probably talk a little bit about the whole 773 00:46:07.559 --> 00:46:13.119 rivalry between rot Waning and Joe and especially all of 774 00:46:13.159 --> 00:46:15.440 the stuff that goes on with the mother with Hell, 775 00:46:16.159 --> 00:46:20.440 because that the whole thing with Hell. It just there mentions, 776 00:46:21.079 --> 00:46:23.760 you know, of the wife, but her name being I 777 00:46:23.800 --> 00:46:26.760 guess too offensive for America. I just can't buy that 778 00:46:27.199 --> 00:46:30.239 Hell was too offensive for Americans in nineteen twenty seven. 779 00:46:30.360 --> 00:46:33.480 But maybe it was. Maybe we were way too prudish 780 00:46:33.480 --> 00:46:37.440 with that. But come on, guys, it's a Norse goddess's name. 781 00:46:37.559 --> 00:46:41.880 It means light. It's not literal Hell. There's no double 782 00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:44.360 hockey stick on there, It's just one hockey stick. 783 00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:47.800 Yeah, no, no, All the instances of the time are 784 00:46:47.840 --> 00:46:50.039 perfectly okay with things like that. 785 00:46:50.480 --> 00:46:53.119 Right, I mean, this is pre code. 786 00:46:53.119 --> 00:46:55.000 If they were worried about it, all they had to 787 00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:57.679 do is put a little parenthetical. Hell was a Norse 788 00:46:57.719 --> 00:47:02.480 goddess of the city of the Dead, and incidentally the 789 00:47:03.360 --> 00:47:09.679 catacomb where Maria preaches. Did you notice that Josefat refers 790 00:47:09.719 --> 00:47:13.480 to that as the city of the dead. That makes 791 00:47:13.519 --> 00:47:17.719 a little bit of a parallel there between Hell and Maria, 792 00:47:18.199 --> 00:47:22.079 So there's sort of doppelgangers. What I found odd is 793 00:47:23.679 --> 00:47:31.679 rivalry between Lotvang and Yow for Hell. You do know 794 00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:37.679 that Telfon Habu was previously married to the actor who 795 00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:42.840 played Lotvang and then married Great Slang, so she was 796 00:47:42.920 --> 00:47:45.199 massed flit Slang when they were making this movie. But 797 00:47:45.239 --> 00:47:50.320 they were apparently still good friends, I guess with her 798 00:47:50.360 --> 00:47:54.280 first husband, and Flitz loved to cast him and he 799 00:47:54.320 --> 00:47:59.480 was wonderful And in this Movietang is just another version 800 00:47:59.559 --> 00:48:04.000 of Doctor Morbusa, which the Donald few years earlier. If 801 00:48:04.039 --> 00:48:07.840 you remember, Doctor Morbusa is one of my favorites. That 802 00:48:08.000 --> 00:48:11.800 the rivalry there that seemed to be a joke about 803 00:48:12.559 --> 00:48:15.079 what had happened in their personal lives. 804 00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:18.800 McGilligan says that they were married for ten years, they 805 00:48:18.800 --> 00:48:20.679 were married for one year, and then they waited to 806 00:48:20.679 --> 00:48:24.079 get divorced for not it was like a It was 807 00:48:24.119 --> 00:48:26.920 a partnership, a creative partnership, and there was no real 808 00:48:26.960 --> 00:48:29.719 love in it. In some sense that Lang was, you know, 809 00:48:29.760 --> 00:48:33.360 he had the wandering eye, constantly looking for new engineers, 810 00:48:33.400 --> 00:48:37.280 somebody you know, more precious, more pure for his for 811 00:48:37.320 --> 00:48:41.519 his taste. But Mike, you you keep mentioning the woman 812 00:48:41.519 --> 00:48:44.199 who plays Maria. But I think, like we got to 813 00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:50.119 talk Brigitte Helm. This film would not work without her performance, 814 00:48:50.119 --> 00:48:53.239 and this is her first on screen role and she 815 00:48:53.519 --> 00:48:56.440 hated acting. She did not want to do this. I mean, 816 00:48:56.480 --> 00:48:58.440 she she did. This is like a famous story of 817 00:48:58.719 --> 00:49:01.480 him going to see her and asking her, you know, 818 00:49:01.760 --> 00:49:04.280 she was on set and he said like, do you know, 819 00:49:04.360 --> 00:49:06.360 do you want to be an actor? Actress? And she said, 820 00:49:06.400 --> 00:49:10.440 I want anything but and her mother like was apoplectic 821 00:49:10.519 --> 00:49:13.960 because her mother was the standard stage mother pushing her 822 00:49:14.039 --> 00:49:17.119 daughter into it. But not only is this her first role, 823 00:49:17.280 --> 00:49:20.000 not only is she incredible as Maria, but she's playing 824 00:49:20.199 --> 00:49:24.800 five separate roles, like she's the machine man, the creative man, 825 00:49:25.400 --> 00:49:27.280 the seven Deadly Sins. I don't know how she played 826 00:49:27.280 --> 00:49:30.039 seven deadly sins, but she played death too. And she 827 00:49:30.119 --> 00:49:33.039 plays the false mother. That's a tall order for anybody, 828 00:49:33.440 --> 00:49:36.239 let alone somebody who was still growing at the time. 829 00:49:36.599 --> 00:49:40.079 Hence the costume like biting into her and her having 830 00:49:40.119 --> 00:49:43.000 it to be there for hours and hours hours. I mean, 831 00:49:43.119 --> 00:49:46.079 this is just a toward of force performance from her. 832 00:49:46.199 --> 00:49:49.119 And you mentioned the eye thing, you know, closing one 833 00:49:49.119 --> 00:49:51.199 eye to show that she's a false Maria, that she's 834 00:49:52.079 --> 00:49:55.760 a temptress. And her makeup, the makeup and design of 835 00:49:55.760 --> 00:49:58.039 her is just incredible too. At the very end, you 836 00:49:58.079 --> 00:50:01.159 see her in the worker City and she's saving children. 837 00:50:01.719 --> 00:50:04.760 I don't know how asexual, like, how how motherly you 838 00:50:04.760 --> 00:50:08.159 can get besides literally saving children from drowning. And her 839 00:50:08.440 --> 00:50:11.039 they're wearing the same costume, and her costume is straight 840 00:50:11.119 --> 00:50:13.960 laced and tight, and it's like a bodice. You cut 841 00:50:14.039 --> 00:50:17.559 to the false Maria. False Maria has bags under her eyes, 842 00:50:17.880 --> 00:50:21.679 disheveled hair, and the same costume, but it's like undone. 843 00:50:21.719 --> 00:50:24.119 So you're seeing more and more and more of her body, 844 00:50:24.159 --> 00:50:27.360 more and more of her cleavage, and it's just, you know, 845 00:50:27.440 --> 00:50:31.239 production design is just tw tiny little things. And bridget Helm, 846 00:50:32.079 --> 00:50:35.519 I mean, despite her not liking acting, which I don't 847 00:50:35.559 --> 00:50:39.039 blame her at all, she did an incredible job well. 848 00:50:38.880 --> 00:50:41.519 And the whole idea too, of doubling and having the 849 00:50:41.559 --> 00:50:44.559 two Marias. But then, like you said, all of the 850 00:50:44.599 --> 00:50:47.320 different parts that she's playing, and then you get even 851 00:50:47.400 --> 00:50:52.360 the very obvious doubling, but the whole idea of Georgie 852 00:50:52.400 --> 00:50:58.480 the worker that exchanges places with freighter, and the whole 853 00:50:58.519 --> 00:51:04.760 idea of them switching their hats and uniforms and you know, 854 00:51:04.880 --> 00:51:08.800 losing the job pers that that Freder wears throughout so 855 00:51:08.920 --> 00:51:11.840 much of this, and I really like that, and I 856 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:14.280 like to that the number. Georgie has a number that 857 00:51:14.320 --> 00:51:16.119 he's one one eight one one, So we've got that 858 00:51:16.199 --> 00:51:19.400 nice palindromic number, and you've got all the dumbles from 859 00:51:19.480 --> 00:51:22.000 one side to the other with that as well. I 860 00:51:22.039 --> 00:51:24.360 think that's great that they're doing these things and you've 861 00:51:24.400 --> 00:51:27.559 got like kind of the like Slim versus Joseph, Fat 862 00:51:27.840 --> 00:51:31.760 Joe versus rot Wang, like all the characters seem to 863 00:51:31.800 --> 00:51:35.840 have their other person other than just mentioned Georgie taking 864 00:51:35.840 --> 00:51:40.239 the place. But really we know that Freder is the one, 865 00:51:40.519 --> 00:51:42.639 like Neo, right, He's the one when it comes to 866 00:51:42.679 --> 00:51:46.440 this stuff. And I love the machine that he's running 867 00:51:46.480 --> 00:51:48.719 that this whole idea of this big it looks like 868 00:51:48.760 --> 00:51:51.679 a clock face with three hands and just moving the 869 00:51:51.960 --> 00:51:54.280 hands around and the lights will light up and he 870 00:51:54.360 --> 00:51:58.000 keeps moving his arms around toward Georgie is there just 871 00:51:58.039 --> 00:52:02.199 wiping his head off because such labor intensive stuff. And 872 00:52:02.239 --> 00:52:04.800 it's like, like you said Earlierrojie, it's like, what the 873 00:52:04.840 --> 00:52:07.239 hell does this machine do? We have no freakin' idea, 874 00:52:07.320 --> 00:52:10.119 And that became like a real stumbling block for somebody 875 00:52:10.159 --> 00:52:12.199 like an HG. Wells, where he's like, well, they don't 876 00:52:12.199 --> 00:52:14.840 explain what these machines do, and it's like, do they 877 00:52:14.920 --> 00:52:17.199 need to do we need to have an explanation as 878 00:52:17.280 --> 00:52:20.280 they like, what the what's being produced? I mean it's 879 00:52:20.280 --> 00:52:23.880 basically they're producing the guffins. You know, there's there's nothing 880 00:52:23.920 --> 00:52:26.840 to this, you know, it's just this is the point 881 00:52:26.880 --> 00:52:29.320 of it is the labor. It's not what they produce. 882 00:52:29.559 --> 00:52:33.440 The labor is the production. It is just all about 883 00:52:33.480 --> 00:52:37.239 that and having that ridiculous machine. And you know, like 884 00:52:37.280 --> 00:52:40.119 I said earlier, when I was growing up and watching 885 00:52:40.159 --> 00:52:44.440 the Radio Gaga video and having Freddie Mercury there, you know, 886 00:52:44.519 --> 00:52:46.880 moving the arms around and stuff, and just like, what 887 00:52:46.920 --> 00:52:47.840 the hell is he doing? 888 00:52:47.920 --> 00:52:49.119 What is here? 889 00:52:49.239 --> 00:52:51.880 I have no idea. As a little kid, I was like, 890 00:52:52.519 --> 00:52:55.679 all right, that's kind of cool, I guess, But then 891 00:52:55.719 --> 00:52:58.199 seeing it in context of this film, it's like, oh wow, 892 00:52:58.280 --> 00:53:01.719 this is wild. I like that. You know, it's this 893 00:53:01.880 --> 00:53:05.119 very brazil world. This would so much influence Brazil where 894 00:53:05.159 --> 00:53:07.840 it's like we don't know really what we're working at. 895 00:53:07.960 --> 00:53:09.320 We just have to work to work. 896 00:53:10.159 --> 00:53:13.159 It looks sort of like a clock with three hands. 897 00:53:13.679 --> 00:53:15.840 Did you notice at the beginning that one of the 898 00:53:15.920 --> 00:53:18.519 very first things we see as a clock, it's a 899 00:53:18.559 --> 00:53:22.559 ten hour clock and above it is a twenty four 900 00:53:22.599 --> 00:53:26.360 hour clock. So in those days in Germany people had 901 00:53:26.400 --> 00:53:32.079 ten hour shifts, but apparently in the movie ten hours 902 00:53:32.360 --> 00:53:36.719 is the equivalent of our twelve hours. They expanded the hours. 903 00:53:36.760 --> 00:53:37.920 It's a twenty hour day. 904 00:53:39.079 --> 00:53:42.519 Frederico, you mentioned China and the idea of like building 905 00:53:42.559 --> 00:53:44.599 into nature and everything, and when I saw that ten 906 00:53:44.639 --> 00:53:47.760 hour and twenty four hour clock, I kept thinking of 907 00:53:48.199 --> 00:53:51.559 how they treat time in China these days. Right now, 908 00:53:52.079 --> 00:53:55.239 there are no time zones in China. China is one 909 00:53:55.440 --> 00:53:58.559 time zone. So it's really crazy when you think about 910 00:53:58.559 --> 00:54:00.280 the people that are all the way to the east 911 00:54:00.280 --> 00:54:02.360 coast of this because China's, you know, about as big 912 00:54:02.360 --> 00:54:05.239 as America, if not bigger. I mean talking about continental 913 00:54:05.400 --> 00:54:08.440 United States. All the way on one side of it, 914 00:54:08.440 --> 00:54:11.519 it's seven am. All the way on the other side 915 00:54:11.519 --> 00:54:14.920 of it, it's seven am. The sun could rise around 916 00:54:15.519 --> 00:54:19.119 five or ten, doesn't really you know, like that was 917 00:54:19.159 --> 00:54:21.199 one of the things when the Communists came in, They're 918 00:54:21.239 --> 00:54:23.760 just like, yeah, nope, we control time. That is one 919 00:54:23.800 --> 00:54:26.239 of the things that we do. They're making the trains 920 00:54:26.280 --> 00:54:28.320 run on time. Was very easy since it's one big 921 00:54:28.360 --> 00:54:31.519 time zone. And yeah, I just found that very fascinating 922 00:54:31.559 --> 00:54:36.119 that controlling time is one of those rights that a 923 00:54:36.119 --> 00:54:39.760 fascistic government is going to impose. That we are the 924 00:54:39.760 --> 00:54:42.639 ones that tell you how long a day is and 925 00:54:42.679 --> 00:54:45.199 how long a shift is. Like you were saying, renji, 926 00:54:45.400 --> 00:54:49.599 the expansion of the ten into twelve hours, because that's 927 00:54:49.639 --> 00:54:50.719 just the way that things work. 928 00:54:50.800 --> 00:54:54.719 Sorry, the tyranny too of time being your mast I 929 00:54:54.719 --> 00:54:57.159 think about like the development of why time came around, 930 00:54:57.239 --> 00:55:00.239 like timekeeping devices was for monks so that they can 931 00:55:00.280 --> 00:55:02.719 know where that when their prayers were, and so it 932 00:55:02.760 --> 00:55:05.360 started with religion, and then it moved into the workplace, 933 00:55:05.800 --> 00:55:07.960 and you think about it's like, okay, if you're a 934 00:55:08.000 --> 00:55:10.760 peasant in that you know, what is it ten hundreds 935 00:55:10.800 --> 00:55:12.519 all this kind of stuff. You got up with the sun, 936 00:55:12.719 --> 00:55:15.360 you worked, you broke in the middle of the day, 937 00:55:16.079 --> 00:55:18.440 you worked, and then you went home and you slept, 938 00:55:18.599 --> 00:55:20.719 or sometimes you woke up in the middle of the 939 00:55:20.800 --> 00:55:22.239 night and you did a little bit of work and 940 00:55:22.239 --> 00:55:25.239 then you went back to sleep. And it's that primordial 941 00:55:25.400 --> 00:55:28.199 aspect of time is the only thing that we have. 942 00:55:28.559 --> 00:55:31.400 And so if a state can control it, like you 943 00:55:31.440 --> 00:55:34.480 bring up Brazil, but obviously the other big thing is 944 00:55:34.519 --> 00:55:36.800 nineteen eighty four with coming into your thoughts. You know, 945 00:55:36.880 --> 00:55:39.519 it's like your time, your thoughts, just the things that 946 00:55:39.559 --> 00:55:43.119 are so absolutely personal you just can't deal with it 947 00:55:43.199 --> 00:55:46.000 and run g eat to you. I never thought that 948 00:55:46.079 --> 00:55:48.840 they stretched ten to twelve. I always thought it was 949 00:55:49.079 --> 00:55:52.960 an evocation of the decimalization of time from it was 950 00:55:53.039 --> 00:55:55.440 after the French Revolution they tried to do the Republican 951 00:55:55.519 --> 00:55:58.280 time and it was like it was like a terrible, 952 00:55:58.800 --> 00:56:01.639 terrible thing. Nobody liked it because everybody was so used 953 00:56:01.679 --> 00:56:05.039 to the twelve hours that stuff. I thought of it 954 00:56:05.079 --> 00:56:08.039 as an eva that Mike. I just wanted to point 955 00:56:08.039 --> 00:56:11.800 out that technically the machine in Metropolis does have a name. 956 00:56:11.920 --> 00:56:15.280 It doesn't have a point, but it's explained terribly. It's 957 00:56:15.320 --> 00:56:18.039 not done in the in the film, but it's done 958 00:56:18.079 --> 00:56:21.320 in the novel that Harbor wrote. It's a Potter noster, 959 00:56:21.639 --> 00:56:23.599 which is the pattern noster lift, which is almost like 960 00:56:23.639 --> 00:56:25.639 the chain buckets that you see in the movie, where 961 00:56:25.679 --> 00:56:27.400 you get on them and then you get off at 962 00:56:27.440 --> 00:56:30.440 the at the stop that you want, at the floor 963 00:56:30.440 --> 00:56:33.599 that you want. They're like super prevalent in Germany, Vienna, 964 00:56:33.760 --> 00:56:36.519 they have a few in England, they're kind of dangerous, 965 00:56:36.719 --> 00:56:39.239 people get like limbs, you know, all this kind of stuff. 966 00:56:39.400 --> 00:56:43.119 But Potter is Latin for our Father, and there's this 967 00:56:43.159 --> 00:56:45.840 whole religious aspect to it, and it's in the novel 968 00:56:45.840 --> 00:56:48.960 by Harbor of just like a potternoster to the and 969 00:56:49.039 --> 00:56:54.039 those three blades essentially, and that Christ imagery when Freder 970 00:56:54.159 --> 00:56:58.480 is basically crucified on his own machine and he calls 971 00:56:58.519 --> 00:57:00.840 out for his own father. I mean, it's so on 972 00:57:00.960 --> 00:57:03.159 the youth. I mean, it's like one of the last 973 00:57:03.159 --> 00:57:04.800 things Jesus says is like my. 974 00:57:04.920 --> 00:57:09.760 God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 975 00:57:10.320 --> 00:57:13.000 It's right there in the movie, right there for you. 976 00:57:13.760 --> 00:57:16.159 The pottern Maaster. I need to go back and try 977 00:57:16.199 --> 00:57:18.920 to re listen to the commentary that's on the Masters 978 00:57:18.920 --> 00:57:22.800 of Cinema Desk, because it's I don't know what the 979 00:57:22.840 --> 00:57:25.960 hell was going on with that. I like David Collott, 980 00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:29.079 I like or call it. I like John the Rosenbaum, 981 00:57:29.199 --> 00:57:30.800 of course I like him Alott, he's been on the 982 00:57:30.800 --> 00:57:35.280 show before. But that commentary is recorded so poorly or 983 00:57:35.360 --> 00:57:40.360 presented so poorly. I hear the music so much louder 984 00:57:40.400 --> 00:57:42.639 than I hear the voices, and I'm just like what 985 00:57:42.800 --> 00:57:45.679 the hell, guys, And it sounds almost like Collot's like 986 00:57:45.800 --> 00:57:49.000 three feet away from the microphone and rosenbombs across the room, 987 00:57:49.280 --> 00:57:51.280 and I'm just like, what are you guys doing? What 988 00:57:51.320 --> 00:57:54.519 the hell? But I swear at one point they're talking 989 00:57:54.599 --> 00:57:57.440 about the pottern Noster and Klot's like, oh, yeah, that 990 00:57:57.840 --> 00:58:00.599 thing's impossible, like it doesn't exist or something like it's 991 00:58:00.599 --> 00:58:04.079 a science fiction invention. I'm like, uh, yeah, I've seen 992 00:58:04.119 --> 00:58:06.880 that in so many movies. Now, like, this is a 993 00:58:06.920 --> 00:58:08.039 real thing, guys. 994 00:58:08.239 --> 00:58:08.920 I love this. 995 00:58:08.880 --> 00:58:13.320 Elevator, yes, which is also it's great, but it's also 996 00:58:13.440 --> 00:58:16.760 another instance of something that's very old fashioned. 997 00:58:16.480 --> 00:58:18.280 And also physically implausible. 998 00:58:18.920 --> 00:58:21.280 There's no way you could actually build such a thing 999 00:58:21.719 --> 00:58:22.480 and have it work in. 1000 00:58:22.440 --> 00:58:23.079 A real building. 1001 00:58:24.079 --> 00:58:27.880 That is not science fiction. That's a genuine article. And yeah, 1002 00:58:27.920 --> 00:58:30.360 we don't seem to use those here in the States. 1003 00:58:30.400 --> 00:58:33.039 I've never actually seen one in real life, but I've 1004 00:58:33.039 --> 00:58:36.000 seen it in plenty of movies and almost all German movies, 1005 00:58:36.159 --> 00:58:39.039 and I was just baffled by that take on it 1006 00:58:39.079 --> 00:58:42.079 that it wasn't even a real thing. But yeah, I 1007 00:58:42.159 --> 00:58:44.960 love that take of our Father and just the whole 1008 00:58:45.920 --> 00:58:49.039 father imagery that goes through this whole thing, going back 1009 00:58:49.039 --> 00:58:51.639 to the whole rot Wing versus Show thing. The one 1010 00:58:51.679 --> 00:58:53.880 thing that I've found very surprising is that there's no 1011 00:58:54.159 --> 00:58:57.880 real resolution of their relationship in this as opposed to 1012 00:58:57.960 --> 00:59:02.199 the book that actually has more of a resolution. And 1013 00:59:02.239 --> 00:59:03.760 I wanted to say, what was it that it was? 1014 00:59:04.559 --> 00:59:08.360 It was it Joe's mother that had a letter from 1015 00:59:08.559 --> 00:59:12.199 Hell and gives it to him at the end of it, 1016 00:59:12.320 --> 00:59:15.239 and it basically is a letter from Hell saying like, 1017 00:59:15.360 --> 00:59:18.639 I've always loved you, I really never liked Rotlong. Your 1018 00:59:18.719 --> 00:59:21.280 whole thing of me falling in love with him. It 1019 00:59:21.440 --> 00:59:24.599 was a complete lie, like no, I've always been you know, 1020 00:59:24.760 --> 00:59:28.239 your woman kind of thing. And Joe's mother refused to 1021 00:59:28.239 --> 00:59:30.239 give it to him until he had a change of heart, 1022 00:59:30.320 --> 00:59:32.920 and so I guess, like the worker Revolution is what 1023 00:59:33.119 --> 00:59:36.719 caused that change. So I'm like, okay, but that's not 1024 00:59:36.920 --> 00:59:40.519 really found in this. There's not real real resolution between 1025 00:59:40.519 --> 00:59:41.880 those two characters. 1026 00:59:42.440 --> 00:59:46.000 And it was a nice sending the book, very brilliant 1027 00:59:46.039 --> 00:59:48.800 because all the way as you're reading the book, you 1028 00:59:48.840 --> 00:59:52.719 think this is a story of Reda and Maria, and 1029 00:59:52.760 --> 00:59:55.000 then right at the end you discovered, no, it wasn't 1030 00:59:55.000 --> 00:59:58.679 their story. It was a story of you all all alone. 1031 00:59:59.199 --> 01:00:02.440 It was beautiful, but how do you film that? So 1032 01:00:02.599 --> 01:00:05.000 they never filmed an ending for the movie. They just 1033 01:00:05.039 --> 01:00:10.199 stopped it, which is rather unfortunate. But after I saw 1034 01:00:10.239 --> 01:00:12.679 the movie about fifty times, I realized why they had 1035 01:00:12.719 --> 01:00:17.519 stopped it there. And then I just put my face 1036 01:00:17.599 --> 01:00:20.159 in my hands and I thought, oh, guys, no, no, 1037 01:00:20.360 --> 01:00:21.480 that was the wrong idea. 1038 01:00:22.360 --> 01:00:25.280 Before I forget, I should mention that the potternoster left 1039 01:00:25.360 --> 01:00:28.119 in Germany is actually named after the rosary beads that 1040 01:00:28.239 --> 01:00:30.800 go into a chain that when you pray you spin 1041 01:00:30.920 --> 01:00:32.840 them and so it looks like that, and so they 1042 01:00:32.880 --> 01:00:36.760 named the chain lift after it. But now that it's 1043 01:00:36.840 --> 01:00:38.280 just something else. 1044 01:00:38.880 --> 01:00:41.480 Yeah, very few of them left. I'd love to ride 1045 01:00:41.480 --> 01:00:44.840 one someday, but I don't travel anymore because my cat 1046 01:00:44.920 --> 01:00:47.679 told me not to, so I'll never see about their 1047 01:00:47.760 --> 01:00:48.239 nosk with. 1048 01:00:49.320 --> 01:00:53.079 Got to listen to that cat. I dislike this idea. 1049 01:00:53.360 --> 01:00:54.920 You know, we're talking about all of these things that 1050 01:00:54.960 --> 01:00:58.519 have kind of glombed onto Metropolis over the years. And 1051 01:00:58.559 --> 01:01:01.639 I'm sure Renchie you crazy, because I know you're You're 1052 01:01:01.880 --> 01:01:04.840 very particular when it comes to facts and figures and 1053 01:01:04.880 --> 01:01:07.559 all these things, you know, seventeen frames a second versus 1054 01:01:07.599 --> 01:01:10.159 sixteen frames kind of thing. And you hear all of 1055 01:01:10.199 --> 01:01:14.360 these stories that just get attributed to Metropolis where it's like, oh, yeah, 1056 01:01:14.480 --> 01:01:16.440 Fritz Lang went to New York City and saw the 1057 01:01:16.480 --> 01:01:20.400 lights and that's what's inspired him for Metropolis. It's like, well, 1058 01:01:20.519 --> 01:01:23.119 actually there was a treatment that he wrote all these 1059 01:01:23.199 --> 01:01:25.400 years ago, or a script that he wrote that was 1060 01:01:25.719 --> 01:01:29.159 very much like Metropolis, and don't forget that they tey 1061 01:01:29.239 --> 01:01:32.440 Von Harbo was working on this book and the script, 1062 01:01:32.440 --> 01:01:34.679 and it feels very two thousand and one to space 1063 01:01:34.679 --> 01:01:37.280 outussy as far as the idea of when was the 1064 01:01:37.280 --> 01:01:39.960 script versus the book? And was the script being written 1065 01:01:40.000 --> 01:01:42.159 at the same time as the book? And I don't 1066 01:01:42.199 --> 01:01:45.039 know if anybody's really pulled that thing apart to say 1067 01:01:45.079 --> 01:01:47.480 like this is what happened when kind of thing. But 1068 01:01:48.000 --> 01:01:50.079 it wasn't a trip to New York City that made 1069 01:01:50.119 --> 01:01:52.440 Metropolis happen. I mean, the trip to New York City 1070 01:01:52.519 --> 01:01:55.440 was what twenty four or twenty six, and it's like, yeah, 1071 01:01:55.519 --> 01:01:58.440 this was already in production, so like calm your jets 1072 01:01:58.519 --> 01:02:01.400 kind of thing. The the other thing that I really 1073 01:02:01.440 --> 01:02:03.800 hate is this idea and I think this maybe came 1074 01:02:03.880 --> 01:02:08.519 from our dear friend Louis Bnwell, where it's like, all 1075 01:02:08.599 --> 01:02:11.039 the good things in the movie are Fritz Lang, all 1076 01:02:11.079 --> 01:02:13.719 the bad things in the movie are Taevan Harbo, and 1077 01:02:13.920 --> 01:02:18.719 she was this horrible, cheesy person that just added all 1078 01:02:18.760 --> 01:02:22.239 the schlock to it. And it's like, no, she came 1079 01:02:22.320 --> 01:02:24.320 up with a lot of these ideas on her own, 1080 01:02:24.440 --> 01:02:27.119 or they worked together as a team. It wasn't just 1081 01:02:27.199 --> 01:02:29.679 you know, And it feels to me very misogynistic as 1082 01:02:29.679 --> 01:02:31.960 far as like, oh, yeah, the woman comes up with 1083 01:02:32.000 --> 01:02:33.920 all the bad ideas, the guy comes up with all 1084 01:02:33.960 --> 01:02:36.960 the great ideas, and it's as simple as that. And 1085 01:02:36.960 --> 01:02:39.880 it's like, no, there's a little bit more shading to 1086 01:02:39.960 --> 01:02:40.519 the story. 1087 01:02:41.519 --> 01:02:47.280 Yeah, and even it's stood up for and defended on 1088 01:02:47.440 --> 01:02:51.000 Harbor for all the rest of his days. He was 1089 01:02:51.039 --> 01:02:54.039 apparently still fond of her even after he divorced her. 1090 01:02:54.480 --> 01:02:55.960 Even after she became a Nazi. 1091 01:02:56.360 --> 01:02:59.639 Yeah, she wasn't shoving people in. 1092 01:02:59.559 --> 01:03:03.719 The Auburn unlike that imagery of Moloch, which just seemed 1093 01:03:03.760 --> 01:03:06.440 to really presage what was going to happen in Germany 1094 01:03:06.440 --> 01:03:07.239 in a few years. 1095 01:03:08.039 --> 01:03:09.960 I feel like you guys are bearing the lead here 1096 01:03:10.559 --> 01:03:14.079 with thea von Harbor. I feel like that's a super 1097 01:03:14.119 --> 01:03:15.960 important part of the story. And the thing that I 1098 01:03:15.960 --> 01:03:18.800 always love to bring up about Metropolis was like, I 1099 01:03:18.800 --> 01:03:20.320 don't want to be that guy. You know, it's like, 1100 01:03:20.440 --> 01:03:22.039 did you know that it was written by a Nazi? 1101 01:03:22.119 --> 01:03:23.760 You know, all this kind of stuff, because that's that's 1102 01:03:23.960 --> 01:03:27.039 that's coming afterwards, that's that's the crisis during the war. 1103 01:03:27.440 --> 01:03:31.000 But the aspect of him leaving Germany and leaving his 1104 01:03:31.159 --> 01:03:33.719 white behind, you know, quasi wife, you know, all this 1105 01:03:36.159 --> 01:03:38.920 is that shock of Oh I didn't know that, but 1106 01:03:39.000 --> 01:03:42.360 it kind of explains some aspects of the story. I 1107 01:03:42.400 --> 01:03:44.039 don't want to say that I fell for it hook 1108 01:03:44.039 --> 01:03:46.360 line and sinker, but I did believe for the longest 1109 01:03:46.400 --> 01:03:48.639 time that Harbor was the one that inserted all of 1110 01:03:48.679 --> 01:03:51.639 the I don't want to say fascist imagery, but the 1111 01:03:52.039 --> 01:03:55.480 quasi fascist imagery, the reef install stuff you were mentioning 1112 01:03:55.519 --> 01:03:58.360 at the beginning, kind of like trying to find a 1113 01:03:58.400 --> 01:04:01.119 way to meld the two, because I think it's it's 1114 01:04:01.760 --> 01:04:05.920 an idiotic prospect to try in bridge fascism and socialism, 1115 01:04:06.519 --> 01:04:09.159 like you make basically a demon baby in the middle. 1116 01:04:09.599 --> 01:04:12.880 There's no way, there's no way you're gonna square that circle. 1117 01:04:13.239 --> 01:04:17.679 But Harbu being a member of the Nazi Party, living 1118 01:04:17.719 --> 01:04:21.880 through the war, staying there and then being blacklisted and 1119 01:04:21.880 --> 01:04:24.400 then struggling to get work after the war and dying 1120 01:04:24.440 --> 01:04:27.639 pretty is tragedy. But like Ron said, I mean, he 1121 01:04:27.800 --> 01:04:30.199 was in an interview with Bogdanovic. I think he mentioned 1122 01:04:30.679 --> 01:04:35.280 that he was fifty percent responsible for everything wrong with Metropolis. 1123 01:04:35.360 --> 01:04:38.000 He did defend her, even after he was no longer 1124 01:04:38.480 --> 01:04:41.119 say what you will about long like his imperious ways 1125 01:04:41.599 --> 01:04:45.880 on set, all this kind of stuff, But he had 1126 01:04:45.880 --> 01:04:46.800 his moments. 1127 01:04:47.559 --> 01:04:49.320 Was he the one that called her a Nazi bitch? 1128 01:04:49.400 --> 01:04:50.360 Or was that somebody else? 1129 01:04:50.960 --> 01:04:53.440 Oh, I don't remember who called her that. He never 1130 01:04:53.559 --> 01:04:54.320 called her that. 1131 01:04:55.000 --> 01:04:57.199 Okay, because I seem to remember hearing that at some 1132 01:04:57.320 --> 01:05:00.519 point that that was attributed to him. I guess I 1133 01:05:00.559 --> 01:05:03.920 think it's even in something that Rosenbaum wrote. But I'm 1134 01:05:04.000 --> 01:05:07.639 just like, yeah, it didn't seem from that back down 1135 01:05:07.679 --> 01:05:09.639 of his interview. I was like, yeah, it doesn't sound 1136 01:05:09.679 --> 01:05:12.920 like he harbors that many bad feelings. I mean, the 1137 01:05:12.960 --> 01:05:15.559 whole idea of you know, the way that Lang's first 1138 01:05:15.639 --> 01:05:18.920 wife ended up and what happened with the escape from Germany, 1139 01:05:19.000 --> 01:05:20.559 and all that stuff. Like I talked about the whole 1140 01:05:20.840 --> 01:05:24.119 self mythology that Lang was just steeped in. I love. 1141 01:05:24.199 --> 01:05:27.760 There's a book by Howard A. Rodman called What Is 1142 01:05:27.800 --> 01:05:31.000 the Destiny Express It is kind of a fictionalization of 1143 01:05:31.039 --> 01:05:35.239 that time in Lang's life. Really great book, but it 1144 01:05:35.280 --> 01:05:38.599 also then helps muddy the waters as to what's real 1145 01:05:38.679 --> 01:05:41.880 and what's not, what's a theory versus what's true. I 1146 01:05:41.880 --> 01:05:44.079 don't know again if we'll ever find out all of 1147 01:05:44.119 --> 01:05:47.920 the things around there, but yeah, they highly recommend that 1148 01:05:47.960 --> 01:05:50.719 book if people are interested in reading some good fiction 1149 01:05:50.760 --> 01:05:51.159 around this. 1150 01:05:52.280 --> 01:05:56.079 And I am not at all convinced that they had 1151 01:05:56.119 --> 01:05:59.559 a wife prior to the fun Harbor. I have no 1152 01:05:59.599 --> 01:06:03.039 reason to believe it. It sounds like the story that 1153 01:06:03.079 --> 01:06:06.880 Fitz came up with after he read a newspaper article 1154 01:06:07.159 --> 01:06:10.760 about something vaguely similar. I had to put it into 1155 01:06:10.800 --> 01:06:13.599 a movie script, didn't work on it, told a few 1156 01:06:13.599 --> 01:06:16.639 people the idea, then it got blown out of all proportion. 1157 01:06:17.559 --> 01:06:20.280 I don't think there was a previous wife. If I 1158 01:06:20.320 --> 01:06:22.519 were to live in Germany for two or three years, 1159 01:06:22.599 --> 01:06:24.880 I think i'd like to research that. But I'll never 1160 01:06:24.920 --> 01:06:28.360 go to Germany. And you know why, that darn yead. 1161 01:06:28.840 --> 01:06:31.960 That was Tom Gunning the films of Fritz Lang. He 1162 01:06:32.559 --> 01:06:35.480 said that, So it's not even it's not even like 1163 01:06:35.519 --> 01:06:38.360 a media personality or you know, like a filmmaker that 1164 01:06:38.480 --> 01:06:39.599 called her a Nazi bitch is. 1165 01:06:39.639 --> 01:06:41.679 Just oh so he's the one that called her a 1166 01:06:41.760 --> 01:06:44.840 Nazi bitch. M hm okay, because when I look at 1167 01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:51.159 the Rosenbaum thing, it says a Fisher attributable acclaim by 1168 01:06:51.159 --> 01:06:54.679 many to the Harbowlange collaboration with the good do to 1169 01:06:54.840 --> 01:06:57.840 Lang and the bad due to quote that Nazi bitch. 1170 01:06:58.280 --> 01:07:01.400 But there's not a footnote to this. All right, thank 1171 01:07:01.440 --> 01:07:06.000 you for putting that in there. I've always been a 1172 01:07:06.039 --> 01:07:10.719 student of the way that other races are portrayed, especially 1173 01:07:10.920 --> 01:07:14.039 Asian people are portrayed in films. I mean to have 1174 01:07:14.159 --> 01:07:18.880 the nightclub, the very lascivious nightclub called Yoshiwara, which is 1175 01:07:18.880 --> 01:07:22.119 a reference to the red light district in I think 1176 01:07:22.119 --> 01:07:27.360 it's Tokyo. Yeah, to just greatantly call it, yeah, the 1177 01:07:27.440 --> 01:07:31.639 Yoshiwara club. And then one of those deleted images that 1178 01:07:31.679 --> 01:07:36.880 we have from the Argentinian cut is three faces that 1179 01:07:36.920 --> 01:07:41.199 are kind of overlaid, cross dissolved kind of thing of 1180 01:07:42.039 --> 01:07:45.400 there's a black person, a woman's face in the middle, 1181 01:07:45.440 --> 01:07:48.599 and then an Asian face on the other side, and 1182 01:07:48.960 --> 01:07:51.719 I'm not sure if they are. The woman in the 1183 01:07:51.719 --> 01:07:53.639 middle is definitely a woman, but I don't know if 1184 01:07:53.639 --> 01:07:58.360 the Asian person or the black person are men or women. 1185 01:07:58.480 --> 01:08:00.960 I don't know if they're female and pers at the 1186 01:08:01.000 --> 01:08:04.360 time or not. But I find that othering and the 1187 01:08:04.400 --> 01:08:08.280 whole idea of Yoshiwara being this den of iniquity to 1188 01:08:08.360 --> 01:08:13.119 be fascinating. I always appreciate seeing, you know, like I 1189 01:08:13.199 --> 01:08:16.319 was shown broken blossoms and a woman in film class 1190 01:08:16.520 --> 01:08:19.680 years ago, and it's like, oh, the way that Griffith 1191 01:08:19.800 --> 01:08:22.359 would like, you know, all the bad things we're going 1192 01:08:22.439 --> 01:08:25.159 to put onto the Asian people. You know, we gotta 1193 01:08:25.439 --> 01:08:28.880 we're okay. Us white people are okay, but all the 1194 01:08:28.920 --> 01:08:30.960 bad things come from the Asian, you know. You see 1195 01:08:31.000 --> 01:08:34.920 that even in like The Big Sleep with Geiger's den 1196 01:08:35.000 --> 01:08:39.239 and the Asian imagery having the camera behind the Buddha 1197 01:08:39.279 --> 01:08:42.239 heead statue, all of that stuff. So to see that 1198 01:08:42.479 --> 01:08:44.680 here again, and then to see the way that black 1199 01:08:44.720 --> 01:08:49.399 bodies are used just as ornamentation, like when Maria does 1200 01:08:49.399 --> 01:08:52.520 her big dance and that she's lifted up onto this 1201 01:08:52.680 --> 01:08:55.439 dais and the what's holding the dais? And are all 1202 01:08:55.439 --> 01:08:58.840 these black men with it literally on their back. I'm 1203 01:08:58.880 --> 01:09:03.319 just like, wow, that's that's such powerful imagery. And it's 1204 01:09:03.359 --> 01:09:07.479 that introduction of Yoshiwara which really takes us more into 1205 01:09:08.079 --> 01:09:11.319 and it's just kind of a some imagery that's happening 1206 01:09:11.359 --> 01:09:15.359 when Georgie is in the back of that limousine and 1207 01:09:15.600 --> 01:09:18.960 it's almost like again he's picturing what's going on there 1208 01:09:19.279 --> 01:09:22.840 because a leaflet ends up in the car. But it's 1209 01:09:22.960 --> 01:09:26.520 very shortly after that that imagery that we get to 1210 01:09:26.800 --> 01:09:29.119 rot Wang and really start to see more of him, 1211 01:09:29.199 --> 01:09:30.760 and we get to see more of like the Hell 1212 01:09:30.880 --> 01:09:33.920 statue and things, and again rot Wang just being this 1213 01:09:34.079 --> 01:09:36.680 fascinating character, and I love this whole idea of him. 1214 01:09:38.039 --> 01:09:42.199 I don't know what happened when Frader was born, but 1215 01:09:42.680 --> 01:09:46.279 that Hell died in childbirth, it sounds like. But then 1216 01:09:46.680 --> 01:09:50.479 also something to do with Hell is why rot Wang 1217 01:09:50.520 --> 01:09:52.039 only has the one hand. 1218 01:09:53.319 --> 01:09:58.359 When he was making the robot, burned his hand at 1219 01:09:58.600 --> 01:10:03.079 burned his wa and in the book he says that 1220 01:10:03.279 --> 01:10:07.720 was because of the mixture of eighty old oil. I 1221 01:10:07.760 --> 01:10:10.119 can't remember the name of it, but what is that? 1222 01:10:10.199 --> 01:10:12.640 And I looked it up and there's nothing in the dictionary, 1223 01:10:13.000 --> 01:10:15.439 nothing on Google, so maybe she just made that up. 1224 01:10:15.920 --> 01:10:21.039 But fixing that oil with quicksilver, which is mercury, So 1225 01:10:21.079 --> 01:10:25.199 that's explained there. In the movie, they just delied over it. 1226 01:10:25.239 --> 01:10:27.600 Wasn't it worth losing my arm to recreate? 1227 01:10:27.640 --> 01:10:27.800 Hell? 1228 01:10:28.640 --> 01:10:34.199 Yeah, he's essentially an alchemist, Marcer a wizard, not a scientist. 1229 01:10:35.079 --> 01:10:37.479 The whole thing about the house that he lives in, 1230 01:10:38.319 --> 01:10:40.039 I think it's in the book they talk about how 1231 01:10:40.039 --> 01:10:43.199 a magician had lived there and then after the magician died, 1232 01:10:43.359 --> 01:10:48.199 Rottling took over the house and you see the inverted pentagram. 1233 01:10:48.319 --> 01:10:51.760 I mean it goes into so many of these spiritual 1234 01:10:51.960 --> 01:10:57.039 in magic and just all of these more ethereal realms 1235 01:10:57.079 --> 01:10:59.880 and the hard machines that we have, And that's kind 1236 01:10:59.920 --> 01:11:04.920 of mix again of the scientific plus the fantastic. Even 1237 01:11:04.960 --> 01:11:07.560 when in the intro, like you had a note Renjie 1238 01:11:07.560 --> 01:11:09.439 where you're like, I don't really consider this a science 1239 01:11:09.479 --> 01:11:12.680 fiction film. I consider the science fiction film just because 1240 01:11:12.680 --> 01:11:15.560 there's a freaking robot in it. But there are so 1241 01:11:15.680 --> 01:11:19.319 many things around magic and stuff, and like, you know, 1242 01:11:19.399 --> 01:11:23.119 how would rot Wing's hand even work. You know, it 1243 01:11:23.159 --> 01:11:26.600 feels like it shouldn't even be there, but again, you 1244 01:11:26.640 --> 01:11:30.239 know it's I see this being such an influence. Of course, 1245 01:11:30.279 --> 01:11:33.359 Maria is so an influence on C three PO. You 1246 01:11:33.399 --> 01:11:36.039 see those Ralph mcquarie drawings and you're just like, oh, yeah, 1247 01:11:36.600 --> 01:11:39.840 totally this is Maria. And then you see you know, 1248 01:11:39.880 --> 01:11:42.399 the fake hand and stuff, and you're just like, okay, yeah, 1249 01:11:42.439 --> 01:11:46.720 that's Luke Skywalker. I mean, hands are always in danger 1250 01:11:46.840 --> 01:11:49.399 in Star Wars film Star Wars films. I mean it's 1251 01:11:49.439 --> 01:11:51.279 even like Return of the Jedi we're going to talk 1252 01:11:51.319 --> 01:11:55.119 about later on this month, and it's when Luke chops 1253 01:11:55.159 --> 01:11:57.880 off his own father's hand, which I always see as 1254 01:11:57.960 --> 01:12:02.319 being kind of a a more of a castration type 1255 01:12:02.359 --> 01:12:05.119 of thing. I mean, for me, like the whole chopping 1256 01:12:05.159 --> 01:12:08.520 off of Luke's hand is so like he chops off 1257 01:12:08.560 --> 01:12:11.600 his son's dick basically, and the whole idea of like 1258 01:12:11.720 --> 01:12:16.239 rotwying having this mechanical hand. It's it's so to me, like, yes, 1259 01:12:16.319 --> 01:12:19.359 he's not a full human being anymore, he's missing something 1260 01:12:19.399 --> 01:12:22.880 super vital from him, and that to me, the hand 1261 01:12:23.079 --> 01:12:27.279 really influences what happens inside of Star Wars. But just 1262 01:12:27.319 --> 01:12:29.960 as a real quick aside. I love the idea of 1263 01:12:30.560 --> 01:12:35.560 rotwaying and the performance of rotwaying so influencing Nick Cage 1264 01:12:36.000 --> 01:12:40.319 in Moonstruck. Yes, Cage himself was like, yes, Like when 1265 01:12:40.319 --> 01:12:41.399 he holds up his hand and. 1266 01:12:42.399 --> 01:12:47.680 I lost my hand, I lost my bride, Johnny his hand, Johnny, 1267 01:12:47.640 --> 01:12:48.920 it's says, bride, you want. 1268 01:12:48.760 --> 01:12:51.199 Me to take my heartbreak put her away, and forgot. 1269 01:12:51.920 --> 01:12:55.439 He was pulling directly from Metropolis. So I'm like, that's brilliant, 1270 01:12:55.520 --> 01:12:56.920 Nick Cage, thank you so much. 1271 01:12:57.840 --> 01:13:02.640 I lost my hand. I lo's my bride. I love that. 1272 01:13:03.039 --> 01:13:04.000 I had no idea. 1273 01:13:04.279 --> 01:13:07.800 That's so interesting. Yeah, I mean Cage is a pick. 1274 01:13:08.119 --> 01:13:11.199 You know, he researches. I mean that's the funny thing. 1275 01:13:11.279 --> 01:13:13.520 I mean we're getting sidetracked, but that's the funny thing 1276 01:13:13.560 --> 01:13:17.319 is everybody thinks he's like, you know this surface levels whatever. No, 1277 01:13:17.399 --> 01:13:21.079 he's a Coppola, Like he has the artistic background, he 1278 01:13:21.760 --> 01:13:24.039 has the teaching all that kind of stuff. And you 1279 01:13:24.079 --> 01:13:26.359 guys are talking about Rank. I mean, can we just 1280 01:13:26.399 --> 01:13:30.600 talk about him in general. It's just rog The actor 1281 01:13:30.760 --> 01:13:35.560 is just electric, just like the scene of him during 1282 01:13:35.560 --> 01:13:39.039 the transformation, Like there are things that you have to 1283 01:13:39.039 --> 01:13:40.960 put into a movie. You have to have shot to shot, 1284 01:13:41.039 --> 01:13:42.960 you have to have conversations, and then you have to 1285 01:13:43.000 --> 01:13:45.960 have you know, exposition. You do it some way. There's 1286 01:13:46.000 --> 01:13:49.439 a scene in this where it's his scientific laboratory and 1287 01:13:49.479 --> 01:13:51.880 it's all the bubbling stuff and you're thinking to yourself, well, 1288 01:13:51.920 --> 01:13:54.920 this is before Frankenstein. This is before a lot of 1289 01:13:55.000 --> 01:13:57.359 things that would go on to be influenced by this. 1290 01:13:57.840 --> 01:14:01.119 And it's just him paling around pressing dials and knobs. 1291 01:14:01.560 --> 01:14:04.720 But the way that he walks, the way that he moves, 1292 01:14:04.960 --> 01:14:08.159 the artificiality of every part of him. It's not just 1293 01:14:08.239 --> 01:14:12.600 the hand, it's like his his piercing gaze, you know, 1294 01:14:12.640 --> 01:14:15.279 the eyes, like even when he's at the nightclub and 1295 01:14:15.319 --> 01:14:18.840 he just points to the curtain of the false marine 1296 01:14:18.880 --> 01:14:22.439 about to open. And his relationship to Yo Frederson Jofriederson 1297 01:14:22.560 --> 01:14:25.680 is literally the god of this world. At the beginning, 1298 01:14:25.760 --> 01:14:27.920 when we're in the office with him and the numbers 1299 01:14:27.920 --> 01:14:31.039 are coming down and he's holding forth with all of 1300 01:14:31.079 --> 01:14:35.079 his minions, one of them messes up, done out, he 1301 01:14:35.159 --> 01:14:38.399 loses his job because he's, you know, so perfect. He's 1302 01:14:38.439 --> 01:14:42.520 the master of Metropolis. They even rename him John Masterson. 1303 01:14:42.680 --> 01:14:46.560 In the American release, which is just you know, a thing. Besides, 1304 01:14:46.720 --> 01:14:49.439 but rot Wang is the only one that can stand 1305 01:14:49.479 --> 01:14:53.000 up to him, and I think that most importantly. The 1306 01:14:53.079 --> 01:14:55.239 interesting thing about that is in the novel they talk 1307 01:14:55.279 --> 01:14:59.199 about how rot Wang like invented Metropolis, he gave him 1308 01:14:59.199 --> 01:15:02.680 the technology necessary to build it. That Yo Fraderson is not, 1309 01:15:03.279 --> 01:15:07.000 you know, the luminary, all encompassing genius. He did need 1310 01:15:07.079 --> 01:15:10.720 rot Wang, And it's this melding between science and you know, 1311 01:15:11.039 --> 01:15:13.600 you know, one needs the other to survive and to exist. 1312 01:15:13.800 --> 01:15:17.680 And that battle over Hell. I don't know how you 1313 01:15:17.800 --> 01:15:20.279 watch this movie without Hell. I don't know how you 1314 01:15:20.319 --> 01:15:22.800 watch this movie without Yoshiwara, I have to say. I 1315 01:15:22.800 --> 01:15:25.279 mean I watched the twenty ten restored version, so I 1316 01:15:25.319 --> 01:15:27.800 only have that to go on. But they're like fundamental 1317 01:15:27.840 --> 01:15:30.560 aspects to the story. Is the battle over a dead 1318 01:15:30.600 --> 01:15:35.159 woman and rot Wang resenting Freder for taking both of them. 1319 01:15:35.239 --> 01:15:39.079 You know, they resent Freighter the Sun and that it's incestuous. 1320 01:15:39.119 --> 01:15:42.279 It really is incestuous. And I just wanted to like 1321 01:15:42.319 --> 01:15:46.319 bring up to that aspect the Youngian aspects too, of 1322 01:15:46.359 --> 01:15:49.039 like the the top, middle and below, where you have 1323 01:15:49.199 --> 01:15:52.479 like Yo Fraderson is like the super ego, he's all 1324 01:15:52.520 --> 01:15:56.079 the way at the top. He's asexual, he's almost like celibate. 1325 01:15:56.199 --> 01:15:58.119 He has no time for that. He only has time 1326 01:15:58.119 --> 01:16:00.359 for work. Then you have like freder As the egg 1327 01:16:00.560 --> 01:16:03.359 as the ego, who's like, you know, flitting in between 1328 01:16:03.399 --> 01:16:04.960 all this kind of stuff. And then you have Maria, 1329 01:16:05.279 --> 01:16:08.680 who technically I suppose in her like vaunted, you know, 1330 01:16:08.960 --> 01:16:13.800 pious mother mary Way is also super ego, but she's 1331 01:16:13.920 --> 01:16:17.119 in the depths and she just has that aspect of 1332 01:16:17.159 --> 01:16:19.760 pure Id when she turns into the false Maria and 1333 01:16:19.760 --> 01:16:20.640 she does the dance. 1334 01:16:21.399 --> 01:16:23.680 Well, I think that's also brought up by the levels 1335 01:16:23.680 --> 01:16:26.600 of the city. You know, the super ego above and 1336 01:16:26.640 --> 01:16:31.439 the layer where the workers live is probably pure id. 1337 01:16:31.640 --> 01:16:33.760 You know, there's in somewhere in the middle. We've got 1338 01:16:33.800 --> 01:16:37.640 the ego to balance those things out, but to have 1339 01:16:37.800 --> 01:16:41.079 those layers, I mean, whenever I see things happening in 1340 01:16:41.119 --> 01:16:43.359 an attic or things happening in a basement and a 1341 01:16:43.399 --> 01:16:46.399 horror film, I'm just like, okay, And you know, kind 1342 01:16:46.399 --> 01:16:49.399 of to your point, there are a lot of science fiction, 1343 01:16:49.439 --> 01:16:51.479 there's a lot of mysticism in here, but there's a 1344 01:16:51.479 --> 01:16:53.359 little bit of horror as well. I mean, the idea 1345 01:16:53.399 --> 01:16:57.600 of the demons and Moloch, you know, eating these slaves 1346 01:16:57.640 --> 01:17:03.079 to the machine is very horrific and gosh, just the 1347 01:17:03.119 --> 01:17:05.960 idea of going down in those catacombs, and it's it's 1348 01:17:06.039 --> 01:17:10.039 fascinating to me that I think in the version that 1349 01:17:10.079 --> 01:17:12.800 we've seen, you know, not the restored version. I think 1350 01:17:12.840 --> 01:17:16.600 in the Americanized version of this, they cut out this 1351 01:17:16.680 --> 01:17:21.039 whole idea of having to go to rot Wang in 1352 01:17:21.159 --> 01:17:24.359 order to look at that map and see what's happening 1353 01:17:24.479 --> 01:17:26.920 on the map. Because two of the people that die 1354 01:17:27.079 --> 01:17:29.479 early on in the film have this drawing of a 1355 01:17:29.520 --> 01:17:32.560 map inside of their thing. And then when Frader is 1356 01:17:32.600 --> 01:17:38.000 wearing the uniform of Georgie, he finds the exact same 1357 01:17:38.119 --> 01:17:41.840 map as well. And Joe, meanwhile, at the exact same time, 1358 01:17:41.920 --> 01:17:45.600 is going to rot Wang saying, you know, what is this? Well, 1359 01:17:45.840 --> 01:17:47.840 where is this part of the city. It's like he 1360 01:17:47.920 --> 01:17:51.199 doesn't even know his own city. And that's the catacombs 1361 01:17:51.239 --> 01:17:55.039 where Maria is, and I think there's you know, skeletons 1362 01:17:55.079 --> 01:17:57.560 and all these kind of like horror show things. I 1363 01:17:57.600 --> 01:18:00.399 want to say that there's it's very similar to set 1364 01:18:00.479 --> 01:18:04.760 in The Nevable Nee Below, which I cannot pronounce, So 1365 01:18:04.800 --> 01:18:07.399 I apologize, and I apologize to everybody for all my 1366 01:18:07.680 --> 01:18:11.800 horrific pronunciations of German words. It just does not roll 1367 01:18:11.800 --> 01:18:16.359 off the tongue for me very well at all. Thank you. 1368 01:18:16.960 --> 01:18:18.800 I just need to hire you to say that whenever 1369 01:18:18.840 --> 01:18:20.079 I refer to that movie. 1370 01:18:20.640 --> 01:18:25.560 Yeah, there's imagery in its long movies that pops up 1371 01:18:25.560 --> 01:18:29.000 again and again, and he improves it from film to film. 1372 01:18:29.720 --> 01:18:32.159 It's under watch his silent movies. I only like his 1373 01:18:32.239 --> 01:18:34.079 silent movies off there for his talkies. 1374 01:18:34.920 --> 01:18:37.159 Yeah, the talkies are interesting to me, kind of like 1375 01:18:37.199 --> 01:18:40.520 you were saying, Federico, as far as seeing how things 1376 01:18:40.520 --> 01:18:43.000 are reflected back to us. You know, how the American 1377 01:18:43.119 --> 01:18:46.199 version of this film is different than the German, different 1378 01:18:46.199 --> 01:18:50.399 than even the key we year the Australian versions. To 1379 01:18:50.520 --> 01:18:55.239 see Lang working in the American system, it's interesting to 1380 01:18:55.279 --> 01:19:00.000 see how his germanness gets translated through in American life, 1381 01:19:00.479 --> 01:19:03.720 you know, and to see what a German filmmaker is doing. 1382 01:19:04.000 --> 01:19:06.720 I mean, I love like a Billy Wilder where it's 1383 01:19:06.760 --> 01:19:11.159 like seeing how he reflects American culture back to us, 1384 01:19:11.239 --> 01:19:14.359 and just things like Double Indemnity where it's like, yes, 1385 01:19:14.479 --> 01:19:18.239 people are really super Venal and just will do anything 1386 01:19:18.239 --> 01:19:20.399 to fuck over each other just to get you know, 1387 01:19:20.439 --> 01:19:22.920 Fred mcmuurr will do anything to get laid by Felix 1388 01:19:23.119 --> 01:19:27.359 Philis Dietrichson. Great, you know, and I think that's very 1389 01:19:28.279 --> 01:19:31.960 fun to watch how other cultures reflect back to us. 1390 01:19:32.399 --> 01:19:34.760 Yeah, and Mike, you are the perfect person to back 1391 01:19:34.760 --> 01:19:37.920 me up on this because you were there at Nitrate 1392 01:19:37.960 --> 01:19:40.319 when they played You and Me right nineteen thirty six. 1393 01:19:40.960 --> 01:19:43.239 Ron Jay, you say you don't watch the American versions 1394 01:19:43.279 --> 01:19:45.119 of Fritz Long films, and I have to say, you know, 1395 01:19:45.279 --> 01:19:48.720 I haven't seen many Fritz Long films, but I think 1396 01:19:48.960 --> 01:19:51.600 two years ago we saw You and Me, and then 1397 01:19:51.720 --> 01:19:55.039 this year we saw You only Live once. The nineteen 1398 01:19:55.119 --> 01:19:58.439 thirty seven they called it a proto war. I don't 1399 01:19:58.439 --> 01:20:00.479 know what they're talking about. That's war. One of the 1400 01:20:00.479 --> 01:20:04.159 most amazing noras I've ever seen. And Long is just 1401 01:20:04.319 --> 01:20:06.840 on a different You can say all you want about 1402 01:20:06.880 --> 01:20:09.880 him come to America and not comparing to the German films, 1403 01:20:10.319 --> 01:20:14.159 but he is a master in like a child's playground. 1404 01:20:14.239 --> 01:20:16.079 It's the same thing that happened with Murnow when he 1405 01:20:16.159 --> 01:20:18.800 came here. It's the same thing. It's the same thing 1406 01:20:18.880 --> 01:20:21.960 that happen with Lubitch, same thing with happened with them 1407 01:20:21.960 --> 01:20:25.720 all is that they hone their skills absolutely to the 1408 01:20:25.760 --> 01:20:29.760 peak that they could in Europe, and then the economics 1409 01:20:29.800 --> 01:20:32.680 set in, and then they came to America because America 1410 01:20:32.760 --> 01:20:35.800 had the production facilities, They had everything. I mean, I 1411 01:20:35.880 --> 01:20:38.840 was reading the interview with Fritz Long and he was 1412 01:20:38.840 --> 01:20:40.920 talking about how in order to get light on the 1413 01:20:40.920 --> 01:20:44.520 sets when they made Metropolis, they used coal furnaces. They 1414 01:20:44.520 --> 01:20:47.479 didn't like I mean, they had electricity in some aspects, 1415 01:20:47.479 --> 01:20:49.119 but when they were shooting in the Zeppelin hanger for 1416 01:20:49.159 --> 01:20:52.439 the Tower of Babel sequence, they had coal furnaces to 1417 01:20:52.960 --> 01:20:56.239 do and light reflectors, and in between takes because it 1418 01:20:56.279 --> 01:20:58.960 was so cold, all the extras huddled around the coal furnaces. 1419 01:20:59.640 --> 01:21:03.000 So it's just like when Wang comes to America, he 1420 01:21:03.039 --> 01:21:05.000 has that aspect too, of like, it's no longer a 1421 01:21:05.039 --> 01:21:08.359 strong man. You know, the German national character is Siegfried. 1422 01:21:08.720 --> 01:21:11.600 It's basically a demigod. And then when he comes to 1423 01:21:11.640 --> 01:21:14.000 America he has to learn no, it's America is the 1424 01:21:14.079 --> 01:21:16.600 land of the common man, and I have to give 1425 01:21:16.640 --> 01:21:18.920 it to Long. He said, he came here and he 1426 01:21:18.960 --> 01:21:23.079 started reading newspaper comics. He read them every single day. 1427 01:21:23.119 --> 01:21:26.039 He read thousands of them, because he said they're not 1428 01:21:26.600 --> 01:21:28.920 high art, but they speak to the people, and they're 1429 01:21:28.960 --> 01:21:31.920 so popular. And you can tell, you can tell aism 1430 01:21:32.039 --> 01:21:35.520 in his American works, that he has a sensibility that 1431 01:21:35.640 --> 01:21:39.079 is so so sharp about America. 1432 01:21:39.840 --> 01:21:42.800 A lot of people will call this an expressionistic film, 1433 01:21:42.840 --> 01:21:45.600 because that, of course is what it was, kind of 1434 01:21:45.640 --> 01:21:47.760 stock in trade of a lot of UFA films, was 1435 01:21:47.800 --> 01:21:51.439 the idea of expressionism. And I don't necessarily see a 1436 01:21:51.479 --> 01:21:57.199 lot of expressionistic things inside of Metropolis, other than really 1437 01:21:57.319 --> 01:21:59.279 some of the set design, of course, But really when 1438 01:21:59.319 --> 01:22:03.560 it comes to the altar that Maria has and all 1439 01:22:03.640 --> 01:22:06.439 of those crosses behind her, because it's not just one 1440 01:22:06.520 --> 01:22:11.840 big cross, it's several crosses, and they're different sizes, different shapes, 1441 01:22:11.840 --> 01:22:15.079 they're not all standing upright, some are tilted, and just 1442 01:22:15.279 --> 01:22:17.760 all of those crosses, to me, feel like the most 1443 01:22:17.760 --> 01:22:22.279 expressionistic part of this film. This is not Caligari, with 1444 01:22:22.439 --> 01:22:29.039 the painted sets and the very outward mental projections of things. 1445 01:22:29.520 --> 01:22:31.399 If there was anything, I would say maybe some of 1446 01:22:31.439 --> 01:22:34.039 the title cards. And I like that the title cards, 1447 01:22:34.039 --> 01:22:36.039 so many of them, especially at the beginning of the film. 1448 01:22:36.239 --> 01:22:38.319 They're in a triangle shape, and it really, to me 1449 01:22:38.439 --> 01:22:44.520 represents that whole heart, hand and head type of triumvirant 1450 01:22:44.560 --> 01:22:46.359 that we have, even when it comes to the Tower 1451 01:22:46.399 --> 01:22:49.960 of Babel. Very very triangular when it comes to that. 1452 01:22:50.439 --> 01:22:53.119 And I never really realized how much the Tower of 1453 01:22:53.119 --> 01:22:57.760 Babel was the inspiration for Minas Tirif in the Lord 1454 01:22:57.760 --> 01:23:01.359 of the Rings movies until I was rewinded this and going, oh, yeah, 1455 01:23:01.439 --> 01:23:04.520 that's that's or sorry, I said, minister as I meant Gondor, 1456 01:23:04.680 --> 01:23:09.039 the White City of Gondor is so Tower of Babel. 1457 01:23:09.159 --> 01:23:12.600 As far as this designed, this same who is it 1458 01:23:13.000 --> 01:23:16.680 Breugel painting of the Tower Babyl. It's like, oh, okay, 1459 01:23:16.720 --> 01:23:18.680 I can see that. And I don't know if that 1460 01:23:18.800 --> 01:23:21.119 was in Tolkien. It's been a while since I've read 1461 01:23:21.159 --> 01:23:24.439 Returned the King, but definitely when it came to the 1462 01:23:24.479 --> 01:23:26.920 Peter Jackson versions, it's like, yeah, there it is. 1463 01:23:26.960 --> 01:23:27.000 That. 1464 01:23:27.479 --> 01:23:29.680 Basically that's the Tower of Babel right there, and the 1465 01:23:29.720 --> 01:23:33.399 way that you kind of go up the stairway to 1466 01:23:33.520 --> 01:23:36.640 the top and to the steward of Gondor. I really 1467 01:23:36.720 --> 01:23:38.880 appreciate the whole triangular thing, and I want to say 1468 01:23:38.880 --> 01:23:41.199 that some of the bodies towards the end are also 1469 01:23:41.239 --> 01:23:44.479 in a triangle shape when it comes to post flood 1470 01:23:44.520 --> 01:23:47.479 and all that. And to go back to what you're saying, Frederico, 1471 01:23:47.520 --> 01:23:49.800 as far as the coal and all that, to hear 1472 01:23:49.880 --> 01:23:54.960 the miserable conditions, especially during that flood, and how people 1473 01:23:54.960 --> 01:23:58.399 are just not having a good time. I mean, you 1474 01:23:58.720 --> 01:24:05.359 mentioned the idea of the the outfit that Maria is sorry, 1475 01:24:05.359 --> 01:24:07.760 I forget the actress's name that she's in, and the 1476 01:24:07.800 --> 01:24:10.800 way that it would cut into her legs and things 1477 01:24:10.840 --> 01:24:13.199 that it was not meant to be sat in. But 1478 01:24:13.319 --> 01:24:16.840 then Lang had her sitting in it for who knows 1479 01:24:16.880 --> 01:24:19.920 how many takes. Yeah, it sounds like this was just 1480 01:24:20.000 --> 01:24:22.560 a miserable production to be on in that it took 1481 01:24:22.800 --> 01:24:25.079 what was it three hundred days or something to make 1482 01:24:25.119 --> 01:24:27.479 this film just seems like it went out forever. 1483 01:24:27.920 --> 01:24:32.000 I'm glad you brought up triangles, because that's why they 1484 01:24:32.119 --> 01:24:35.159 ended the film without ending it. It's all the way 1485 01:24:35.239 --> 01:24:38.840 through from the very first shot you see all the 1486 01:24:38.840 --> 01:24:42.720 buildings in the background and drawing of Metropolis, the cluster 1487 01:24:42.800 --> 01:24:45.920 of buildings closest to us is in the shape of 1488 01:24:45.920 --> 01:24:49.359 a triangle. Then we go to the pistons up and down, 1489 01:24:49.520 --> 01:24:53.039 upper class, lower class, upper class, lower class. The only 1490 01:24:53.079 --> 01:24:56.399 way we can see the pistons move is because they 1491 01:24:56.439 --> 01:25:02.920 have cones, sections of cones stuck on them. Then when 1492 01:25:03.119 --> 01:25:06.399 the children rush up to Maria during the flood, they 1493 01:25:06.439 --> 01:25:08.880 all have their hands up and as they rush toward her, 1494 01:25:09.399 --> 01:25:13.199 they form a triangle. At the club, when the robot 1495 01:25:13.239 --> 01:25:15.760 does her dance, all the men rush up to her 1496 01:25:15.800 --> 01:25:20.439 with their hands up. They form a triangle. And you're right. 1497 01:25:20.520 --> 01:25:23.840 The triangle is the three parts head, heart and hands. 1498 01:25:25.399 --> 01:25:29.560 And at the end, when you have y'all on one side, 1499 01:25:30.119 --> 01:25:33.800 grow up on the other. In the middle, he grabs 1500 01:25:33.840 --> 01:25:37.119 their two hands. He forces them to shake hands. The 1501 01:25:37.319 --> 01:25:41.279 very frame we're all hands touched. They've completed the triangle 1502 01:25:41.720 --> 01:25:47.600 cut end of movie go home, no doubt there. 1503 01:25:49.520 --> 01:25:52.399 Even the whistle to get back to work, and everything 1504 01:25:52.479 --> 01:25:54.880 is in a triangle shape. And the idea of the 1505 01:25:54.920 --> 01:25:57.439 movie being in three parts right there with a triangle 1506 01:25:57.439 --> 01:26:00.239 as well, in three very uneven parts too. I mean, 1507 01:26:00.279 --> 01:26:04.079 I also, like you said, Frederico, I laugh out loud 1508 01:26:04.119 --> 01:26:06.600 when they go okay end of overture, and you're like, wait, 1509 01:26:06.720 --> 01:26:10.439 what what type is? This was the overture. How much 1510 01:26:10.479 --> 01:26:11.079 longer is. 1511 01:26:10.960 --> 01:26:13.439 This going to go on? Every time I watch it, 1512 01:26:13.439 --> 01:26:16.640 I always forget that they do the musical moment for 1513 01:26:16.680 --> 01:26:19.479 the third act and it actually says the tone that 1514 01:26:19.479 --> 01:26:22.199 it's supposed to be. They say furioso, you know, like 1515 01:26:22.279 --> 01:26:26.439 it's sheet music. It's just incredible. I mean, maybe we 1516 01:26:26.479 --> 01:26:28.560 can take a moment now, or we can wait until 1517 01:26:28.600 --> 01:26:30.920 later to talk about the Hubert score, because I do 1518 01:26:31.039 --> 01:26:33.479 kind of want to, like mention you know, just how 1519 01:26:34.199 --> 01:26:36.479 modern it is, because when I first put it on 1520 01:26:36.960 --> 01:26:40.600 and the title started, like the music starts halfway through 1521 01:26:40.640 --> 01:26:45.840 the credits, and then it hits that triumphant absolute peak 1522 01:26:46.359 --> 01:26:49.600 when the when the beautiful titles, the hand drawn titles 1523 01:26:49.640 --> 01:26:53.119 in animated titles come up and the lightmotifs that are 1524 01:26:53.239 --> 01:26:57.079 so Lugnerian that come from like, you know, Nibologian, all 1525 01:26:57.119 --> 01:26:59.359 that kind of stuff, the German background of how you 1526 01:26:59.359 --> 01:27:03.359 write the music, and then that developed into film music itself. 1527 01:27:03.880 --> 01:27:08.039 And I had, I guess, the opportunity to watch Metropolis 1528 01:27:08.039 --> 01:27:11.039 live score by a musician and it was at a Wurlitzer, 1529 01:27:11.359 --> 01:27:13.560 but it was technically not piped. It was like a 1530 01:27:13.640 --> 01:27:17.079 digital like a mixture. And I talked to him afterwards, 1531 01:27:17.279 --> 01:27:19.439 and I mentioned how much I love the hooprit and 1532 01:27:19.479 --> 01:27:22.199 he said, but it's so terribly repetitive, don't you find it? 1533 01:27:22.199 --> 01:27:25.159 It tires you. And it's like, I don't know, it's 1534 01:27:25.199 --> 01:27:29.000 like the fundamental basis of modern film music. It's just 1535 01:27:29.079 --> 01:27:31.439 like you could take the score out of this movie 1536 01:27:31.439 --> 01:27:34.119 and put it to any movie and it would work. 1537 01:27:34.520 --> 01:27:37.000 And the score is like so much of the emotional 1538 01:27:37.039 --> 01:27:40.199 power of it. For me, all the themes get me 1539 01:27:40.840 --> 01:27:42.720 every time every time I watch it. 1540 01:27:43.600 --> 01:27:48.079 The use of the Marseillees is fascinating, especially because last 1541 01:27:48.079 --> 01:27:51.159 film that you and I talked about, Federico is Casablanca, 1542 01:27:51.680 --> 01:27:54.319 that plays such an important role in there. But to 1543 01:27:54.439 --> 01:27:58.520 have the it's almost like an off to Marseilles that 1544 01:27:58.640 --> 01:28:01.640 plays through here. It's almost like it reminds me of 1545 01:28:01.680 --> 01:28:06.720 watching King Solomon's Minds, the Richard Chamberlain version, which was 1546 01:28:07.079 --> 01:28:10.359 and I know King Solomon's Minds came way before Raiders 1547 01:28:10.359 --> 01:28:13.199 of the Lost Arc, but then you watch the film, 1548 01:28:13.279 --> 01:28:17.079 which is after Raiders, and it feels like the main 1549 01:28:17.199 --> 01:28:20.800 theme of King Solomon's Minds is like that da da 1550 01:28:20.960 --> 01:28:24.359 da da da du you know, like we're playing with it, 1551 01:28:24.439 --> 01:28:26.680 but we can't do the theme. We have to do 1552 01:28:26.840 --> 01:28:29.439 like a few notes off, and the Marseille is when 1553 01:28:29.439 --> 01:28:32.239 it comes up during the revolution in the third act 1554 01:28:32.319 --> 01:28:35.359 or the third movement of this. It's so close but 1555 01:28:35.520 --> 01:28:37.760 not quite there. It's just a little off key kind 1556 01:28:37.760 --> 01:28:41.560 of thing. But it's definitely so reminiscent that you're just like, oh, 1557 01:28:41.800 --> 01:28:44.600 I get it. This is the French Revolution, this is 1558 01:28:44.640 --> 01:28:49.000 a revolutionary theme. Okay, I got it. But that for 1559 01:28:49.119 --> 01:28:51.159 me was the only sour note where it was like 1560 01:28:51.239 --> 01:28:53.199 literally a sour note where I was like, ah, why 1561 01:28:53.239 --> 01:28:55.319 can't you guys just play the damn song? You know? 1562 01:28:55.399 --> 01:28:58.199 But instead it's like a little twisted Yeah, it's like 1563 01:28:58.479 --> 01:29:01.720 it's not quite there. Maybe the twisting is the point, 1564 01:29:02.000 --> 01:29:04.800 but it just every time you hear it, it's kind 1565 01:29:04.800 --> 01:29:07.880 of like the Yosemite Sam when he hears bugs Bunny 1566 01:29:07.880 --> 01:29:10.279 playing that song wrong. Every single time he's like. 1567 01:29:10.279 --> 01:29:20.800 No, no, rabbit, Oh you stupid rabbit. 1568 01:29:21.319 --> 01:29:31.600 Like that, I wanted to kind of run in there 1569 01:29:31.600 --> 01:29:34.359 and do that, probably only to have the piano explode 1570 01:29:34.399 --> 01:29:36.560 my face and have keys instead of teeth. 1571 01:29:36.600 --> 01:29:38.720 Afterwards, you were on such a role that I didn't 1572 01:29:38.720 --> 01:29:41.000 want to interrupt you and say like, hey, Mike, it's 1573 01:29:41.039 --> 01:29:42.680 technically the Internationale. 1574 01:29:42.920 --> 01:29:44.479 It's the communists. 1575 01:29:44.560 --> 01:29:49.039 Yeah, it's technically it's technically the communist anthem, the world anthem. 1576 01:29:49.279 --> 01:29:53.560 Thank you. It sounded so much like Marcelle is the Internationale. 1577 01:30:17.520 --> 01:30:33.760 The Metropolis score by Gottfried Hoopert's La Marseilles. 1578 01:30:42.159 --> 01:30:45.800 Written by Eugene Potier who was a French communist, and 1579 01:30:45.840 --> 01:30:49.159 he wrote the words and he had it to the 1580 01:30:49.199 --> 01:30:51.880 melody of the Marciells. So you're not wrong. It is 1581 01:30:51.920 --> 01:30:54.279 technically the Marciells too. But I think it is a 1582 01:30:54.439 --> 01:30:59.000 very deliberate artistic decision because the revolt of the workers 1583 01:30:59.159 --> 01:31:03.359 is fomented by basically the creation of the depth. So 1584 01:31:03.520 --> 01:31:08.119 if they played the Internacionale in nineteen twenty seven Berlin, 1585 01:31:08.680 --> 01:31:11.520 there would be people sitting in that theater who sing 1586 01:31:11.600 --> 01:31:14.079 that song at their political meetings and they would take 1587 01:31:14.159 --> 01:31:17.399 umbrage with that. So I think by tuning it a 1588 01:31:17.399 --> 01:31:21.640 little bit out of whack, it's saying, Okay, we know 1589 01:31:21.760 --> 01:31:25.479 that what they're saying is the slogan of the Communist party, 1590 01:31:25.960 --> 01:31:29.680 you know, smash the smash, the means of production, take 1591 01:31:29.680 --> 01:31:33.840 over everything, all this kind of stuff. But it's it's twisted. 1592 01:31:34.159 --> 01:31:36.800 So that's why we're able to like demonize them and 1593 01:31:36.840 --> 01:31:39.239 make them, you know, fools that leave their own children. 1594 01:31:39.560 --> 01:31:42.000 You know, they're just in a frenzy that go to 1595 01:31:42.119 --> 01:31:45.920 buy a thing. I think it's a very deliberate artistic decision. 1596 01:31:46.439 --> 01:31:48.000 All right, let's go ahead and take a break and 1597 01:31:48.039 --> 01:31:50.319 we'll be back after these brief messages. 1598 01:31:58.199 --> 01:32:01.840 Hello everyone, this is Malcolm mc I just want to 1599 01:32:01.880 --> 01:32:06.279 say that this is a request to listeners of the 1600 01:32:06.399 --> 01:32:11.920 Projection Booth podcast to become patrons of the show via 1601 01:32:12.439 --> 01:32:19.319 Patreon dot com, PA t eo n dot com slash 1602 01:32:19.600 --> 01:32:20.720 Projection Booth. 1603 01:32:21.399 --> 01:32:23.359 That's pretty simple. I think you can do that. 1604 01:32:24.079 --> 01:32:27.920 It's a great show and Mike he provides hours of 1605 01:32:28.079 --> 01:32:31.640 great entertainment. So now it's time to give back my 1606 01:32:31.760 --> 01:32:35.479 little drovies. Settle down and take a listen and have 1607 01:32:35.600 --> 01:32:38.520 a sip of the old Molocco and then. 1608 01:32:38.399 --> 01:32:41.279 You'll be ready for a little of the old in out, 1609 01:32:41.319 --> 01:32:46.880 in out real horror show. Bye bye. 1610 01:32:47.840 --> 01:32:49.840 All right, we're back, and we were talking about. 1611 01:32:49.560 --> 01:32:54.800 Metropolis mcgilligan's book and something in it that really knocked 1612 01:32:54.880 --> 01:32:59.880 the wind own. So it's was attending Los Angeles County 1613 01:33:00.279 --> 01:33:05.720 Museum retrospective of his work in nineteen sixty nine. Long 1614 01:33:05.840 --> 01:33:11.399 appreciated the retrospectives, but also enjoyed finding details to complain about. 1615 01:33:12.279 --> 01:33:15.880 He didn't like the musical score the La Museum used 1616 01:33:15.880 --> 01:33:19.600 to accompany one of his silent films. I don't like 1617 01:33:19.760 --> 01:33:22.680 music with my films. They were made to be silent. 1618 01:33:23.119 --> 01:33:28.079 They should stay silent. Anytime there is music, somebody obstructs 1619 01:33:28.119 --> 01:33:29.039 my rhythms. 1620 01:33:30.000 --> 01:33:31.319 Why on earth. 1621 01:33:31.239 --> 01:33:35.760 Would he say that the silent filk Roberston with music? 1622 01:33:36.640 --> 01:33:39.439 But then that makes me wonder. That was nineteen sixty nine. 1623 01:33:40.319 --> 01:33:44.399 I don't know if you've seen the PBS version of Metropolis. 1624 01:33:44.680 --> 01:33:47.720 I put it on my website. It opens my website 1625 01:33:47.760 --> 01:33:51.399 so you can watch it. It's damaged, but it'll give 1626 01:33:51.439 --> 01:33:55.000 you the idea. There was no music in it. They 1627 01:33:55.159 --> 01:34:02.760 use the East German restoration performed solo at Katyanka. It 1628 01:34:02.880 --> 01:34:09.079 was the very first film restoration ever released, not just 1629 01:34:09.119 --> 01:34:12.399 for Metropolis, but of any movie ever. It was the 1630 01:34:12.560 --> 01:34:16.119 very first respiration ever to be shown through the pubblic 1631 01:34:16.800 --> 01:34:20.079 so it was revolutionary in that sense. It made absolutely 1632 01:34:20.199 --> 01:34:23.439 no impression when it was first shown, but over the 1633 01:34:23.520 --> 01:34:26.680 next couple of years it gained some traction, and people 1634 01:34:26.720 --> 01:34:29.359 got the idea that maybe it's a maybe it would 1635 01:34:29.359 --> 01:34:32.560 be good to start restoring all movies. But they ran 1636 01:34:32.600 --> 01:34:38.000 it on BBC two nineteen seventy five. They got a 1637 01:34:38.000 --> 01:34:40.960 thirty five millimeter full aperture print. They ran it at 1638 01:34:41.000 --> 01:34:43.800 twenty frames per second. Why they chose that speed, I 1639 01:34:43.800 --> 01:34:47.560 don't know. It looked nice though, and there was no music. 1640 01:34:48.279 --> 01:34:54.600 The accompaniment was electronic sound effects. That's the version I 1641 01:34:54.640 --> 01:34:58.439 saw on PBS Movie Theater in May nineteen seventy seven. 1642 01:34:59.279 --> 01:35:02.119 Now I'm quite to a purists when it comes to silent movies. 1643 01:35:02.199 --> 01:35:04.760 I want to see them presented the way they were 1644 01:35:04.800 --> 01:35:09.680 originally presented, with this sort of music that would originally 1645 01:35:09.720 --> 01:35:15.840 have accompanied them. This one I forgave because it worked perfectly, 1646 01:35:16.640 --> 01:35:21.159 And I am wondering. Fitzlong was still alive in seventy five, 1647 01:35:22.039 --> 01:35:25.479 and the East German ARC guy was in contact with him. 1648 01:35:25.920 --> 01:35:29.479 Did somebody ask him what sort of music would you 1649 01:35:29.640 --> 01:35:33.279 like on this? And did he say I don't want 1650 01:35:33.319 --> 01:35:37.479 any music on it? And did they then suggest, well, 1651 01:35:37.520 --> 01:35:40.760 what if we put electronic sound effects? And he said, okay, fine, 1652 01:35:41.560 --> 01:35:44.640 I don't know, but it worked beautifully. You should watch it. 1653 01:35:45.520 --> 01:35:48.399 Your website is that the RJA Buffalo dot com. I 1654 01:35:48.439 --> 01:35:50.000 will point people to the right place. 1655 01:35:50.560 --> 01:35:52.920 I went to your site. I love it. It's very interesting. 1656 01:35:53.359 --> 01:35:54.800 Like I told you, I wish I had seen it 1657 01:35:54.880 --> 01:35:57.319 months ago so I could peruse it in more detail 1658 01:35:57.319 --> 01:36:00.760 in preparation for this. But Ronja, you pulled down McGill 1659 01:36:00.760 --> 01:36:03.439 again physically first, So I'm gonna hit you with my 1660 01:36:03.560 --> 01:36:09.640 McGilligan story. You know, I love that his assistant Long's assistant, 1661 01:36:09.880 --> 01:36:12.920 Gustav Putka. Is that how you say p U T 1662 01:36:12.920 --> 01:36:19.479 T c h e er. He was basically the slim character. 1663 01:36:19.840 --> 01:36:22.399 He was on set all the time, but he was 1664 01:36:22.439 --> 01:36:25.039 also the court jester. They would make fun of him, 1665 01:36:25.119 --> 01:36:28.199 kind of to diffuse tension on set. They'd play practical 1666 01:36:28.279 --> 01:36:31.000 jokes on him. They did horrible, awful things. He led 1667 01:36:31.039 --> 01:36:34.319 a terrible life. But there was one stipulation in his 1668 01:36:34.399 --> 01:36:37.399 contract Long at the beginning of production of every single 1669 01:36:37.399 --> 01:36:40.199 film with Gota Vienna, and they'd have a perfectly cut 1670 01:36:40.239 --> 01:36:43.960 suit made for him, tailored absolutely, and he would put 1671 01:36:43.960 --> 01:36:45.920 it on at the start of the day and he 1672 01:36:45.960 --> 01:36:47.760 would take it off at the end of the day. 1673 01:36:48.079 --> 01:36:52.479 Basically essentially ceremonial work clothes and put Kerr. His reward 1674 01:36:52.680 --> 01:36:55.119 for having to put up with Long, dealing with all 1675 01:36:55.119 --> 01:36:57.840 of this stuff day after day after day, was he 1676 01:36:57.920 --> 01:37:00.279 got that suit at the end of production, the end 1677 01:37:00.319 --> 01:37:02.960 of every production, he got a little piece of Long, 1678 01:37:03.479 --> 01:37:06.760 and I I just love that. It's just weird German stuff. 1679 01:37:07.439 --> 01:37:09.159 We talked a little bit about the music, but we 1680 01:37:09.239 --> 01:37:13.760 really haven't talked about the effects, which are absolutely amazing. 1681 01:37:13.960 --> 01:37:17.079 And that's one of the things that I think is 1682 01:37:17.239 --> 01:37:19.600 why we still talk about this movie today is just 1683 01:37:20.039 --> 01:37:25.319 how audacious this film is and just how wonderful it 1684 01:37:25.359 --> 01:37:29.119 all comes together. The use of the models, the use 1685 01:37:29.159 --> 01:37:32.239 of you know, I mentioned the title cards. The title 1686 01:37:32.279 --> 01:37:36.880 cards are wild because they are not just title cards, 1687 01:37:36.960 --> 01:37:39.199 you know, like we think of title cards and like 1688 01:37:39.520 --> 01:37:41.720 people will be like, oh, well, yeah, Alfred Hitchcott got 1689 01:37:41.760 --> 01:37:44.319 to start making title cards and most people yawn and 1690 01:37:44.319 --> 01:37:46.520 be like, okay, great he could type. You know. It's 1691 01:37:46.520 --> 01:37:49.920 like no title cards were part of the experience, and 1692 01:37:49.960 --> 01:37:53.520 the title cards for a movie like this so important. 1693 01:37:53.560 --> 01:37:56.399 I mean to have animations of title cards, you know, 1694 01:37:56.439 --> 01:37:59.399 the idea of the upper and lower having the title 1695 01:37:59.439 --> 01:38:03.600 cards animate on the screen and having those words telling 1696 01:38:03.680 --> 01:38:05.880 us the story, but also telling us the story through 1697 01:38:05.920 --> 01:38:08.960 the shape, through the form of things to have, you know, 1698 01:38:09.039 --> 01:38:12.520 even just the use of the title of Metropolis when 1699 01:38:12.560 --> 01:38:18.079 the title comes on screen, beautiful animation and just really stunning, 1700 01:38:18.560 --> 01:38:21.720 and that they even use animation in the movie itself. 1701 01:38:21.760 --> 01:38:24.760 I mean, I think Frederico, you were going to call 1702 01:38:24.800 --> 01:38:27.239 out the whole idea of the way that Death's scythe 1703 01:38:27.439 --> 01:38:31.880 is being animated across freighter when he's having his visions, 1704 01:38:32.000 --> 01:38:34.880 and it's just wonderful that they do that. It's just 1705 01:38:34.920 --> 01:38:37.640 a slight little thing, but it makes such a difference. 1706 01:38:38.600 --> 01:38:41.479 No, it's incredible. Ronjit, I wanted to ask you, what 1707 01:38:41.600 --> 01:38:44.479 is the German phrase they use for the great United 1708 01:38:44.520 --> 01:38:48.199 work geselschef Kunst or something like that they had, like 1709 01:38:48.239 --> 01:38:51.399 a German industry had for where they would combine all 1710 01:38:51.399 --> 01:38:54.439 of the arts into one like great and it's something kunst. 1711 01:38:54.560 --> 01:38:57.399 I know, it's like a great art, But yeah, I 1712 01:38:57.119 --> 01:38:59.000 did want of you guys have been talking about the 1713 01:38:59.000 --> 01:39:01.279 triangles and the title, and I've just been like itching 1714 01:39:01.319 --> 01:39:05.279 to talk about the fact that they cut from the 1715 01:39:05.319 --> 01:39:08.079 film itself into the titles and then the titles cut 1716 01:39:08.119 --> 01:39:11.960 back into the It's so naturalistic, it's done so expertly, 1717 01:39:12.239 --> 01:39:15.800 and that's why the film works so well. I mean, 1718 01:39:15.840 --> 01:39:18.760 it's two and a half hours long, like a've blabored saying, 1719 01:39:19.039 --> 01:39:21.800 but it moves so well because the titles allow you 1720 01:39:21.880 --> 01:39:24.279 to breathe and they get you in. And this is 1721 01:39:24.319 --> 01:39:27.199 like the Tower of Babbel sequence. They have these beautiful 1722 01:39:27.279 --> 01:39:30.319 glass light bars all around the to kind of tell 1723 01:39:30.319 --> 01:39:32.880 you this is a separate story of Maria's. You know, 1724 01:39:32.960 --> 01:39:35.239 this is like a biblical story. This is something different. 1725 01:39:35.359 --> 01:39:38.319 And when the Tower of Babbel comes up on the titles, 1726 01:39:38.600 --> 01:39:42.279 it's dripping light. I mean, honestly, it should be dripping blood, 1727 01:39:42.760 --> 01:39:45.640 but you know, we'll take it. And this, I mean, 1728 01:39:45.840 --> 01:39:49.600 I die every single time I mentioned this, every single 1729 01:39:49.600 --> 01:39:52.279 time I talk about Metropolis, is that there's one shot 1730 01:39:52.359 --> 01:39:55.039 when the workers are in the elevator and we start 1731 01:39:55.159 --> 01:39:58.359 at the top with the human actors in the elevator 1732 01:39:58.359 --> 01:40:01.079 for the set, and then they moved down. Then we 1733 01:40:01.239 --> 01:40:04.199 cut and we're in the model shot, and rather than 1734 01:40:04.279 --> 01:40:07.720 doing some kind of like optical they just have a 1735 01:40:07.880 --> 01:40:11.119 hand drawing of the workers Like this is one of 1736 01:40:11.159 --> 01:40:14.079 the few films I've seen where they have just artists 1737 01:40:14.239 --> 01:40:17.720 work straight in front of the camera and I live 1738 01:40:17.760 --> 01:40:20.479 for it every time. The opening titles are just art. 1739 01:40:20.880 --> 01:40:27.399 It's the blending of music, technical draftsmanship, art, anime, all 1740 01:40:27.439 --> 01:40:30.760 of that model shots and stop motion. I mean, it 1741 01:40:30.800 --> 01:40:32.800 goes on and on and on and on. 1742 01:40:33.520 --> 01:40:36.239 Well, the music is really what helped with the restoration 1743 01:40:36.359 --> 01:40:39.279 as well, because so many of those cues, like every 1744 01:40:39.359 --> 01:40:43.439 scene has its own cue, and those notes, I think, 1745 01:40:43.640 --> 01:40:45.880 what was it Like the scripts were missing for a while, 1746 01:40:45.920 --> 01:40:49.319 some of them were reprinted or pages were reprinted, I think, 1747 01:40:49.359 --> 01:40:52.159 but like, I don't think that there was a complete 1748 01:40:52.239 --> 01:40:54.600 version of the script for a while when they're trying 1749 01:40:54.640 --> 01:40:56.800 to put stuff back together. But it was the music 1750 01:40:56.880 --> 01:41:00.640 cues that helped guide the hand of the restoration people 1751 01:41:01.000 --> 01:41:04.600 to say where things were supposed to be properly, just 1752 01:41:04.680 --> 01:41:07.239 because it was such a complete score. I mean, the 1753 01:41:07.279 --> 01:41:10.119 whole idea of showing a silent movie without any music 1754 01:41:10.520 --> 01:41:12.840 really hurts my heart because that's how I saw a 1755 01:41:12.880 --> 01:41:15.199 lot of silent films in one of the film classes 1756 01:41:15.239 --> 01:41:19.880 I took in college, where professor Ukatake was like, no, no, 1757 01:41:20.000 --> 01:41:24.359 silent films were never shown with accompaniment or soundtracks. I'm like, 1758 01:41:24.760 --> 01:41:28.880 what are you talking about. So watching Strike with no 1759 01:41:29.119 --> 01:41:32.520 music whatsoever, It was one of the weirdest experiences I've 1760 01:41:32.560 --> 01:41:36.760 ever seen. I love you, Sergey Eisenstein, But my god, 1761 01:41:37.560 --> 01:41:40.319 there's a reason why there was a score to that movie. 1762 01:41:40.359 --> 01:41:44.880 It's not supposed to be shown absolutely silent, because I 1763 01:41:44.960 --> 01:41:47.319 had a hard time keeping my eyes open, no matter 1764 01:41:47.359 --> 01:41:51.159 how wonderful the montage was. The eyes were closing without 1765 01:41:51.159 --> 01:41:54.159 the music to give me a little jug and I 1766 01:41:54.159 --> 01:41:54.560 hate it. 1767 01:41:54.600 --> 01:41:58.159 Went in the seventies and I would go see silent movies. 1768 01:41:58.239 --> 01:42:02.880 Usually they were the most horrible sixteen millimeter print, a 1769 01:42:03.000 --> 01:42:12.239 bridge to blotchy flickery and no music all. So you 1770 01:42:12.359 --> 01:42:14.600 really have to have a strong stomach to get through. 1771 01:42:14.640 --> 01:42:17.520 That strong stomach and a lot of caffeine. 1772 01:42:17.560 --> 01:42:18.479 I didn't that be. 1773 01:42:18.960 --> 01:42:21.520 You did another one. I found out what it's called. 1774 01:42:21.560 --> 01:42:26.760 It's called a gesumpt Kunstvek. It's a synthesis of the arts. 1775 01:42:27.359 --> 01:42:31.119 I'm sorry you guys had to expense I filmed that way. 1776 01:42:31.199 --> 01:42:33.600 I'm kind of glad I'm younger than you guys, because 1777 01:42:33.880 --> 01:42:36.600 i've you know, dealt with restorations primarily. But I have 1778 01:42:36.760 --> 01:42:39.880 had my my times, you know. I watched I Think Earth, 1779 01:42:40.720 --> 01:42:45.359 What is it that that Russian posts to the Soviet movie. 1780 01:42:45.520 --> 01:42:46.560 Yeah, wonderful movie. 1781 01:42:46.600 --> 01:42:49.880 Yoh, Ukrainian, thank you very much. Oh, I'm sure it's 1782 01:42:49.920 --> 01:42:53.600 a wonderful, beautiful movie. I watched it in a giant 1783 01:42:53.680 --> 01:42:56.880 movie theater on a DVD with like terrible music and 1784 01:42:56.920 --> 01:42:59.680 a child crying in the back. So with silent movies, 1785 01:43:00.000 --> 01:43:03.039 it's so important to get the music. It's just like 1786 01:43:03.359 --> 01:43:07.439 they say that the music and sound effects are basically 1787 01:43:07.479 --> 01:43:11.000 half of the emotional power of film, but in silence 1788 01:43:11.039 --> 01:43:14.640 it might as well be like sixty seventy percent, because 1789 01:43:14.640 --> 01:43:17.720 if you have a terrible a terrible time, then you're 1790 01:43:17.760 --> 01:43:19.119 not going to enjoy the film at all. 1791 01:43:19.960 --> 01:43:23.159 No, I've noticed that the best silent movie with a 1792 01:43:23.199 --> 01:43:28.079 bad music score is unwatchable. The worst silent movie with 1793 01:43:28.199 --> 01:43:31.039 a good music score is perfectly watchable. 1794 01:43:31.720 --> 01:43:34.039 Yeah, And going back to the special effects again, talking 1795 01:43:34.039 --> 01:43:37.319 about like the double exposures that they had, and just 1796 01:43:37.560 --> 01:43:41.720 I mean everything is done with such care, like you're saying, Federico, 1797 01:43:41.760 --> 01:43:45.840 as far as the marriage of the visuals, the title cards, 1798 01:43:45.920 --> 01:43:51.359 the special effects, the music, everything's just seemed so well 1799 01:43:51.399 --> 01:43:54.840 planned and it doesn't feel like there is a real 1800 01:43:55.000 --> 01:43:58.359 misstep as far as the way that we're putting this together. 1801 01:43:58.479 --> 01:44:01.359 It just feels like there's so much gill that comes 1802 01:44:01.439 --> 01:44:05.800 in from these German crafts, people that just make it, 1803 01:44:06.720 --> 01:44:09.720 just make it shine, make it sane. And even just 1804 01:44:09.800 --> 01:44:12.760 the art style of things. You're talking about again the 1805 01:44:13.800 --> 01:44:16.840 title cards, but also the title of Metropolis itself. Just 1806 01:44:16.920 --> 01:44:19.560 that use of the Bauhaus or is it art Deco. 1807 01:44:19.800 --> 01:44:24.239 Just the style of the stuff looks so good. You're 1808 01:44:24.319 --> 01:44:28.319 in Joe's office and you can see lines in the 1809 01:44:28.359 --> 01:44:31.079 background where it's like, Okay, there's something going on. These 1810 01:44:31.079 --> 01:44:36.600 aren't just flat walls. Everything is made with purpose, and 1811 01:44:36.920 --> 01:44:39.560 even in like a you know, a cave scenario, the 1812 01:44:39.600 --> 01:44:44.239 catacombs that they're in, everything looks very well put together. 1813 01:44:44.439 --> 01:44:48.239 I just love the production design of this movie and 1814 01:44:48.279 --> 01:44:51.399 the special effects of this movie. I mean, again, I 1815 01:44:51.439 --> 01:44:54.640 won't say it's a perfect film, but it's sure put together, 1816 01:44:54.880 --> 01:44:55.640 very very well. 1817 01:44:56.399 --> 01:44:59.079 I always go to Blade Runner as my pick for 1818 01:44:59.239 --> 01:45:02.680 like a film that the production design is almost better 1819 01:45:02.720 --> 01:45:04.520 than the story. You know, it kind of has like 1820 01:45:04.560 --> 01:45:06.960 a similar aspect. I mean, I love the story Blade Runner. 1821 01:45:07.000 --> 01:45:09.640 I love the story of Roy Baddick, but that aspect 1822 01:45:09.680 --> 01:45:12.159 of yeah, everything is just designed to within an inch 1823 01:45:12.239 --> 01:45:14.319 of his life and then you see Blade Runner, then 1824 01:45:14.319 --> 01:45:16.880 you watch Metropolis and it's like, oh, okay, so you 1825 01:45:16.920 --> 01:45:19.439 now I understand, you know, and people kind of labor, 1826 01:45:19.720 --> 01:45:21.640 people kind of like talk over the fact, you know, 1827 01:45:21.680 --> 01:45:23.960 all the kind of this time around was the first 1828 01:45:24.000 --> 01:45:27.720 time activist art in general, like there's not a lot 1829 01:45:27.720 --> 01:45:30.840 of adorment on walls in terms of like you know, 1830 01:45:30.960 --> 01:45:34.920 paintings or like prints. There's a few, but generally they're 1831 01:45:35.119 --> 01:45:37.439 they're kept for the upper classes, which is in keeping 1832 01:45:37.479 --> 01:45:39.800 with you know, Europe at a certain point in time. 1833 01:45:40.000 --> 01:45:42.760 You know, the workers barracks are completely bare. There's stone, 1834 01:45:42.880 --> 01:45:45.479 there's no adornment, there's no nothing. I mean, there's not 1835 01:45:45.560 --> 01:45:50.800 even like windows or anything. It's just straight cut. But 1836 01:45:51.079 --> 01:45:54.840 In's visions when he's in bed and he sees the 1837 01:45:54.920 --> 01:45:56.840 dance and Slim is at the foot of his bed. 1838 01:45:56.880 --> 01:45:59.319 If you look closely on the wall, there's a single 1839 01:46:00.039 --> 01:46:01.960 i want to say, maybe like a watercolor, like a 1840 01:46:02.880 --> 01:46:06.520 like a ukiyoe, like a woodblock print of like Japanese art, 1841 01:46:06.520 --> 01:46:10.199 and you were talking about orientalism and the Yoshiwara stuff, 1842 01:46:10.239 --> 01:46:13.880 and it's just running under the surface constantly, like all 1843 01:46:14.039 --> 01:46:17.800 the design like Bajau's the Vienna Secession movement too was 1844 01:46:17.840 --> 01:46:20.600 like a very important like influence on this, like not 1845 01:46:20.640 --> 01:46:24.880 only Clint but his contemporaries too. There's an incredible book 1846 01:46:24.880 --> 01:46:27.399 I don't know, Ranja, if you, I was lucky enough 1847 01:46:27.439 --> 01:46:31.960 to find it in my library catalog. It's called German 1848 01:46:32.000 --> 01:46:36.159 Film ar Charchitecture nineteen eighteen to nineteen thirty three. It's 1849 01:46:36.199 --> 01:46:38.800 in German and English both at the same time. Thank 1850 01:46:38.800 --> 01:46:41.079 you very much for whoever decided to do that was 1851 01:46:41.079 --> 01:46:44.159 published in twenty nineteen by a gallery and they have 1852 01:46:44.239 --> 01:46:48.720 the original production drawings for the Tower of Babel. They 1853 01:46:48.760 --> 01:46:52.840 have depictions of Metropolis itself, they have how they're going 1854 01:46:52.920 --> 01:46:55.520 to set up. This is where I learned that the 1855 01:46:55.520 --> 01:47:00.479 production designers on Metropolis actually dictated the shot composite, which 1856 01:47:00.560 --> 01:47:03.600 I had no idea what it previously On Niva Longan, 1857 01:47:04.039 --> 01:47:08.359 the production designers actually drew where the camera would be placed, 1858 01:47:08.680 --> 01:47:11.640 the platform, the height, the actors where they would be 1859 01:47:11.720 --> 01:47:14.960 placed in the frame. And then they show the drawing 1860 01:47:15.399 --> 01:47:20.000 and the film and it's the same image. And they 1861 01:47:20.039 --> 01:47:26.279 even have most incredibly, they have hands scrolled out drawings 1862 01:47:26.359 --> 01:47:29.239 of Metropolis, like the city center, the shot of the 1863 01:47:29.279 --> 01:47:33.319 cathedral where Fritz long actually dictated. He said, I don't 1864 01:47:33.359 --> 01:47:37.159 want a standard office building here, I want a cathedral. 1865 01:47:37.279 --> 01:47:40.640 And he just wrote straight on straight on the paper 1866 01:47:40.840 --> 01:47:42.479 and he said, this is what I want. I want 1867 01:47:42.520 --> 01:47:45.239 the cathedral. And it's like you have the cathedral that 1868 01:47:45.359 --> 01:47:49.399 is old and you have Rotwang like lair, and those 1869 01:47:49.399 --> 01:47:51.840 are the two kind of like you know, talking about 1870 01:47:51.880 --> 01:47:55.520 the German expressionist things where it's like kind of tips 1871 01:47:55.520 --> 01:47:59.119 over into old Germany. You know, this is quote unquote 1872 01:47:59.119 --> 01:48:02.279 modern Germany or way into the future, but then we 1873 01:48:02.399 --> 01:48:05.359 kind of dip dip into the past and it becomes 1874 01:48:05.439 --> 01:48:07.960 a totally different film. I just wanted to mention in 1875 01:48:08.039 --> 01:48:10.600 Passing if we don't get to it, that the scene 1876 01:48:10.640 --> 01:48:15.159 of Rotvang chasing Maria in the catacombs, it could be 1877 01:48:15.199 --> 01:48:18.159 from a movie from last year, Like it is the 1878 01:48:18.199 --> 01:48:25.279 most startling, startlingly contemporary like editing feat I've seen in ages, 1879 01:48:25.319 --> 01:48:27.319 and every time I watch the movie, it takes me, 1880 01:48:27.800 --> 01:48:30.760 it takes my breath away. That's probably my favorite part 1881 01:48:30.800 --> 01:48:35.079 of the entire movie because Rodvang has the lighting is 1882 01:48:35.119 --> 01:48:37.960 intentional where he has the light in his hand and 1883 01:48:38.039 --> 01:48:40.560 so you see the light move as the gaze of 1884 01:48:40.600 --> 01:48:43.159 the cameras and you try to find Maria and her 1885 01:48:43.239 --> 01:48:46.119 face of bridget Helm, just afraid of what this man 1886 01:48:46.199 --> 01:48:48.520 is going to do to her, and it's oh, it's 1887 01:48:48.600 --> 01:48:49.279 so good. 1888 01:48:49.800 --> 01:48:52.680 Well rot Wang, there's a lot of spirals when it 1889 01:48:52.720 --> 01:48:56.119 comes to rot Wang. There's a it looks like a 1890 01:48:56.239 --> 01:48:59.439 Neon sculpture on his desk that is a spiral. When 1891 01:49:00.319 --> 01:49:03.239 Fader opens up the door to rot Wang's place, which 1892 01:49:03.319 --> 01:49:05.760 is protected by a pentagram on the door, it's like 1893 01:49:05.920 --> 01:49:08.359 supposed to be sealed that way, but he manages to 1894 01:49:08.359 --> 01:49:12.680 get in. I think the door opens almost magically for him. 1895 01:49:12.920 --> 01:49:15.880 And there's these two spirals that are hanging down and 1896 01:49:15.960 --> 01:49:19.159 there again there's this Neon shape. When he goes down 1897 01:49:19.199 --> 01:49:22.359 to find rot Wang, he's coming down a spiral staircase. 1898 01:49:22.439 --> 01:49:25.880 You know, it's very much associated with that character. And 1899 01:49:26.000 --> 01:49:27.399 I don't know if it's supposed to be like, oh, 1900 01:49:27.439 --> 01:49:30.680 he's twisted or something. You know, usually when I see 1901 01:49:30.680 --> 01:49:34.000 a spiral staircase, it's a symbol of you know, going 1902 01:49:34.479 --> 01:49:37.239 to the lower depths. You know, like you see spiral 1903 01:49:37.279 --> 01:49:40.079 staircases and Hitchcock films all the time. You know, think 1904 01:49:40.079 --> 01:49:43.159 of Scotty going up to the top of the tower 1905 01:49:43.239 --> 01:49:46.279 and vertigo kind of thing. You know, there's just all 1906 01:49:46.319 --> 01:49:49.079 of this spiral stuff. And then that also plays into 1907 01:49:49.119 --> 01:49:50.840 the Tower of Babble. Like I was talking about, how 1908 01:49:50.880 --> 01:49:52.399 it feels like you go up and up and up 1909 01:49:52.520 --> 01:49:55.960 going around these spirals. It's very Guggenheim ask, you know, 1910 01:49:56.039 --> 01:49:58.640 with the way that that's almost like a Nautilus shell. 1911 01:49:59.520 --> 01:50:02.159 Oh sorry again with the spirals, the up and down 1912 01:50:02.239 --> 01:50:05.640 of the stuff across Maria's body, and especially across the 1913 01:50:05.640 --> 01:50:09.079 false Maria across the robot. I find that fascinating to 1914 01:50:09.319 --> 01:50:15.199 the almost Leleu esque dress of the straps across Maria, 1915 01:50:15.520 --> 01:50:17.760 the real Maria when you see her in the chamber. 1916 01:50:18.319 --> 01:50:21.399 But it's very interesting that he's associated with that. And 1917 01:50:21.439 --> 01:50:24.720 then going back to also the idea of the expressionism 1918 01:50:24.800 --> 01:50:30.000 versus not expressionism. The I love that when rot Wang 1919 01:50:30.199 --> 01:50:35.840 is taunting and not necessarily torturing Maria, but he's got 1920 01:50:35.840 --> 01:50:39.039 her in that room. In the attic again an attic 1921 01:50:39.479 --> 01:50:43.079 that the shadows on the wall are not just painted 1922 01:50:43.119 --> 01:50:46.640 on shadows, that these are real shadows created by light 1923 01:50:46.920 --> 01:50:51.479 from a light source. So it's not that caligary effect 1924 01:50:51.640 --> 01:50:54.680 of you know, painting the shadows onto things that it's 1925 01:50:54.720 --> 01:50:57.159 an actual thing, like when she moves in front of that, 1926 01:50:57.279 --> 01:51:01.680 you see those shadows on her dress that it's actually there. 1927 01:51:02.520 --> 01:51:04.359 The one thing that we haven't talked about during this 1928 01:51:04.399 --> 01:51:06.760 whole thing, too, is the use of the moving camera. 1929 01:51:07.319 --> 01:51:10.600 We don't have too many shots of a moving camera, 1930 01:51:10.760 --> 01:51:14.079 but when those shots come around, they're very striking to me. 1931 01:51:14.239 --> 01:51:16.199 I think the very first time you see it is 1932 01:51:16.800 --> 01:51:20.560 when the explosion is happening in the factory and the 1933 01:51:20.560 --> 01:51:24.079 way the camera kind of swoops in on freighter, and 1934 01:51:24.119 --> 01:51:27.159 then there's also a swoop in later on when he 1935 01:51:27.399 --> 01:51:29.920 is in rot Wang's place and he goes to reach 1936 01:51:30.079 --> 01:51:32.840 for I don't remember what it is, but I just 1937 01:51:32.880 --> 01:51:36.920 remember the camera moves and it's almost following his more 1938 01:51:37.039 --> 01:51:39.720 like emotional state than his physical state. But it is 1939 01:51:39.800 --> 01:51:41.800 supposed to be his hand reaching out for this. 1940 01:51:42.760 --> 01:51:45.520 That's my single favorite shot of the whole movie. What 1941 01:51:45.600 --> 01:51:47.600 is it, Ronja? It's a piece of address, right, I 1942 01:51:48.079 --> 01:51:49.079 think it's a scarf. 1943 01:51:49.159 --> 01:51:52.079 I'm not sure. I looked at it again and I thought, 1944 01:51:52.159 --> 01:51:55.439 I think that's a scarf, but I can't. I won't 1945 01:51:55.439 --> 01:51:59.760 swear to it. But that startled me when I saw 1946 01:52:00.119 --> 01:52:03.880 the restoration because i've seen other versions of the movie before. 1947 01:52:04.359 --> 01:52:08.039 There was no camera movement in that sed and then 1948 01:52:08.079 --> 01:52:12.640 they do this new restoration and the camera moves. Where'd 1949 01:52:12.640 --> 01:52:15.760 that come from? That's the American negative. They didn't put 1950 01:52:16.000 --> 01:52:18.720 the German version of the export version. Oh okay. 1951 01:52:19.640 --> 01:52:22.520 The other thing that's so strange about this is, I 1952 01:52:22.560 --> 01:52:25.359 know it's something that happened in other films. This wasn't 1953 01:52:25.479 --> 01:52:29.960 unique to Metropolis. But this idea of shooting with multiple cameras. 1954 01:52:29.960 --> 01:52:32.520 And when I say multiple cameras, of course we think, 1955 01:52:32.760 --> 01:52:34.760 you know, shot reverse shot, We're going to shoot with 1956 01:52:34.800 --> 01:52:37.920 two cameras. No, I'm talking more more of a Tommy 1957 01:52:37.960 --> 01:52:42.079 Wiseou type of thing. Where are you shooting with multiple 1958 01:52:42.119 --> 01:52:46.039 cameras that are standing next to each other and one 1959 01:52:46.119 --> 01:52:48.920 might be closer, one might be farther. You get a 1960 01:52:49.000 --> 01:52:51.720 slightly different angle of course, just because of the geometry 1961 01:52:51.720 --> 01:52:55.800 of the space. And there's a great documentary about the 1962 01:52:55.840 --> 01:52:59.600 restoration of the film, the whole finding of the Argentinian 1963 01:52:59.640 --> 01:53:02.800 print and all this where they show a picture and 1964 01:53:02.880 --> 01:53:05.119 this could be from Metrupolis, could be something else, but 1965 01:53:05.199 --> 01:53:08.039 of three cameramen standing next to each other, and then 1966 01:53:08.079 --> 01:53:11.000 they do a side by side comparison of here's what's 1967 01:53:11.000 --> 01:53:13.399 in one version, Here's what's in the other version, and 1968 01:53:13.439 --> 01:53:16.439 you can see that the framing is slightly different. Some 1969 01:53:16.520 --> 01:53:18.560 of the takes are actually different. 1970 01:53:18.319 --> 01:53:18.520 You know. 1971 01:53:18.680 --> 01:53:22.640 So it feels very much like that new is that 1972 01:53:22.720 --> 01:53:25.159 the documentary about Brian Eno, where it's like it's never 1973 01:53:25.199 --> 01:53:27.560 the same movie twice. Every single time you see it, 1974 01:53:27.560 --> 01:53:31.279 it's different. And so this idea of and I imagine 1975 01:53:31.359 --> 01:53:33.720 if you tried to catalog and maybe you've tried to 1976 01:53:33.760 --> 01:53:35.760 do this right cheap, but if you tried to catalog 1977 01:53:36.359 --> 01:53:39.640 what's going on in these different versions of it, it 1978 01:53:39.680 --> 01:53:41.760 feels like you would lose your mind. It feels like 1979 01:53:41.800 --> 01:53:43.319 you can't what started talking to you. 1980 01:53:44.119 --> 01:53:48.199 I Tom Bob Sadi, who's another expert on the movie. 1981 01:53:47.960 --> 01:53:52.079 He and Michael Orgon have done marvelous work on this movie. 1982 01:53:52.880 --> 01:53:58.279 I Tom did the first few minutes of Netropolis's German version, 1983 01:53:59.000 --> 01:54:04.199 US version Export version side by side, and you could 1984 01:54:04.239 --> 01:54:09.159 see they never match. And I've caught that myself and 1985 01:54:09.279 --> 01:54:13.439 people would gripe about the Blu ray release of the 1986 01:54:13.520 --> 01:54:16.239 Georgia Morauder version. You know, why are they using this 1987 01:54:16.359 --> 01:54:19.239 old print when they could have just substituted the new 1988 01:54:19.279 --> 01:54:22.359 restoration well, you can't substitute it. It's all different. 1989 01:54:22.439 --> 01:54:24.600 Take all right, let's go ahead and take a break 1990 01:54:24.600 --> 01:54:26.800 and we'll be back after these brief messages. 1991 01:54:32.199 --> 01:54:34.680 You obviously love podcasts, but are you also a fan 1992 01:54:34.720 --> 01:54:37.359 of movies and television? Do you want to listen to 1993 01:54:37.359 --> 01:54:40.760 a show that reviews entertainment honestly and cast pretentiousness to 1994 01:54:40.800 --> 01:54:43.720 the wind, that debates both film and TV topics in 1995 01:54:43.760 --> 01:54:46.159 a fun, good spirited way while still getting to the 1996 01:54:46.159 --> 01:54:48.800 heart of why we all love them so much, then 1997 01:54:48.840 --> 01:54:51.840 don't miss the award winning weekly podcast, The Hollywood Outsider, 1998 01:54:52.079 --> 01:54:54.720 now available on your favorite podcast app or at the 1999 01:54:54.920 --> 01:54:59.000 Hollywood Outsider dot com. All right, we are back and 2000 01:54:59.199 --> 01:55:05.439 talking about Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The Marauder version is interesting. 2001 01:55:06.319 --> 01:55:10.319 Can't say I'm a big ban of it, obviously. 2002 01:55:09.880 --> 01:55:12.800 Since that came out in eighty four, it was very 2003 01:55:12.880 --> 01:55:15.239 much a thing when I was younger. I would have 2004 01:55:15.279 --> 01:55:17.840 been twelve years old when it came out, so I 2005 01:55:17.880 --> 01:55:23.199 always associated this film with the Marauder version, and I 2006 01:55:23.239 --> 01:55:27.680 remember the TV commercials, I remember discussions on in articles 2007 01:55:27.720 --> 01:55:31.760 and things about this version. I only finally watched it 2008 01:55:32.039 --> 01:55:36.159 just recently for this discussion. I don't think that the 2009 01:55:36.439 --> 01:55:40.000 pop music really works very well at all in it. 2010 01:55:40.079 --> 01:55:43.159 I actually would have rather have had more of When 2011 01:55:43.159 --> 01:55:45.279 I think of Georgia or Morouder, I think of the 2012 01:55:45.319 --> 01:55:48.239 work that he was doing with Donna Summers and just 2013 01:55:48.279 --> 01:55:51.840 the idea of the more electronic type of thing that 2014 01:55:51.920 --> 01:55:54.680 he was doing. I would rather have had something like 2015 01:55:54.800 --> 01:55:57.359 that or give me, you know. And of course there 2016 01:55:57.359 --> 01:56:00.520 have been you know, you're talking Federico's far all of 2017 01:56:00.560 --> 01:56:04.600 the different scores and things, and there have been like 2018 01:56:04.640 --> 01:56:07.159 the Ally Orchestra has done a score. There's so many 2019 01:56:07.159 --> 01:56:10.319 different versions of the score for this. If you look 2020 01:56:10.359 --> 01:56:13.720 on Wikipedia, they're just like scads and scads of people 2021 01:56:13.760 --> 01:56:17.000 that have done scores for this. Moroder, as far as 2022 01:56:17.000 --> 01:56:19.880 I know, he really pushed as far as like doing 2023 01:56:20.000 --> 01:56:22.720 yet another edit of the film and then doing some 2024 01:56:22.800 --> 01:56:26.119 interesting things as far as still frames or like images 2025 01:56:26.159 --> 01:56:28.359 that they had from the film and then he would 2026 01:56:28.359 --> 01:56:32.760 try to animate those. Almost reminded me of like a 2027 01:56:32.760 --> 01:56:35.680 Alan Parsons project music video with the way that he 2028 01:56:35.680 --> 01:56:38.760 would move the images along and he would have like, 2029 01:56:38.840 --> 01:56:42.279 you know, the Yoshiwara logo in the back and kind 2030 01:56:42.319 --> 01:56:44.560 of go through the window to show us that thing. 2031 01:56:44.880 --> 01:56:47.840 It was interesting as far as that goes, Like, Yeah, 2032 01:56:47.880 --> 01:56:51.159 the pop music itself just didn't fit with the rest 2033 01:56:51.199 --> 01:56:53.359 of the film. Sometimes it felt like the songs was 2034 01:56:53.520 --> 01:56:55.960 just kind of fade out, fade back in later on, 2035 01:56:56.279 --> 01:56:57.720 and I'm like, no, no, just give me a whole 2036 01:56:57.720 --> 01:57:02.359 electronic score. Give me Ahex Twins version of Metropolis. I 2037 01:57:02.399 --> 01:57:04.079 would like to see that personally. 2038 01:57:04.920 --> 01:57:09.319 Give me Wendy Carlos any day. Oh my goodness. Can 2039 01:57:09.359 --> 01:57:11.840 you imagine what this would be like with Wendy behind 2040 01:57:11.600 --> 01:57:15.840 the synth board? Oh a dream? No. I was just 2041 01:57:15.920 --> 01:57:18.520 like you. I was like, oh, Georgia Moroder, who I 2042 01:57:18.560 --> 01:57:22.159 know from the you know the two Frenchmen. What are 2043 01:57:22.199 --> 01:57:25.159 the deaf Punk? I know them, you know Backfilled? But 2044 01:57:25.279 --> 01:57:27.600 I like Moroder. I watched it and I was like 2045 01:57:27.680 --> 01:57:31.000 I turned it on and I was like, wait, why 2046 01:57:31.079 --> 01:57:33.800 are people singing? Like why? Why is this pop music? 2047 01:57:33.880 --> 01:57:37.000 I don't want this. I want synth music. It's just like, 2048 01:57:37.239 --> 01:57:40.000 this is not what I signed up for. I will 2049 01:57:40.000 --> 01:57:43.119 say I do love Blood from a Stone, the one 2050 01:57:43.199 --> 01:57:46.880 song from this that I actually can stand of them working. 2051 01:57:47.079 --> 01:57:50.159 I think it's kind of haunting and beautiful. You know, 2052 01:57:50.319 --> 01:57:53.960 Moroder hint like he tinted the film, and he did 2053 01:57:53.960 --> 01:57:56.520 what he could to restore it at the point of 2054 01:57:56.600 --> 01:58:00.159 the footage that was extant, and at the end of it, 2055 01:58:00.239 --> 01:58:02.520 I said, you know, it's not for me, but I 2056 01:58:02.560 --> 01:58:05.039 really respect him for putting up the money. You know, 2057 01:58:05.119 --> 01:58:06.960 he put up his own money to make a restoration 2058 01:58:07.000 --> 01:58:09.119 of the droplets and share it with people, and that 2059 01:58:09.359 --> 01:58:11.960 just it's a testament to the continuing like power of 2060 01:58:12.000 --> 01:58:14.720 the film that somebody would be willing to do and 2061 01:58:14.840 --> 01:58:17.159 show it to people, so that people could take it 2062 01:58:17.319 --> 01:58:20.239 within themselves and carry it and show it to more people, 2063 01:58:20.479 --> 01:58:23.560 even if it has you know, the Bonnie Tyler songs. 2064 01:58:24.119 --> 01:58:26.720 At least you've seen a version of Metropolis. You'll see 2065 01:58:26.720 --> 01:58:28.840 another in ten seconds. 2066 01:58:29.079 --> 01:58:33.039 When the version was first announced, friend of mine and 2067 01:58:33.079 --> 01:58:35.520 I were talking about it. We've both seen it on PBS, 2068 01:58:36.479 --> 01:58:39.119 and the press release was saying that this was going 2069 01:58:39.159 --> 01:58:42.039 to be the most complete ever. George and Mark Well 2070 01:58:42.159 --> 01:58:47.079 to travel the world to find every piece of missing film, 2071 01:58:47.239 --> 01:58:49.520 put it all back together, and the result is something 2072 01:58:49.600 --> 01:58:52.520 like eighty three minutes. My friend and I looked at 2073 01:58:52.600 --> 01:58:55.199 each other and said, eighty three minutes what we saw 2074 01:58:55.279 --> 01:58:57.880 in PBS it was more than two hours. 2075 01:58:58.359 --> 01:59:01.079 Oh, what seemed that most complete. 2076 01:59:01.119 --> 01:59:03.880 Well, he did find some interesting footage. He did put 2077 01:59:03.880 --> 01:59:07.399 it back in. I'm glad the quality was much better 2078 01:59:07.479 --> 01:59:12.279 than what we saw from Thunderbird or Griggs, that's for sure. 2079 01:59:13.239 --> 01:59:17.520 But I went to see it at at Paseo in 2080 01:59:17.800 --> 01:59:21.039 Santa Fe. I said, before I see this, I want 2081 01:59:21.039 --> 01:59:23.960 to talk to the projectionist. Go on up. Back in 2082 01:59:24.000 --> 01:59:26.399 those days, they let you go to the booth. So 2083 01:59:26.520 --> 01:59:28.960 I go to the booth. He's running it in wide 2084 01:59:29.000 --> 01:59:31.800 screen one point eight five to one. Why are you 2085 01:59:31.880 --> 01:59:35.680 running in wide screen? The distributor sent us this lens 2086 01:59:35.720 --> 01:59:37.439 in this aperture, but I don't know what to do 2087 01:59:37.479 --> 01:59:38.760 with it. I don't know what they're for, so I 2088 01:59:38.800 --> 01:59:41.840 just left him on the shelf. My god, is the 2089 01:59:41.920 --> 01:59:44.600 Academy aperture. This is what you're supposed to use. It's 2090 01:59:44.640 --> 01:59:50.760 an Academy reduction. But anyway, he didn't switch it, so 2091 01:59:50.840 --> 01:59:54.119 I I'm not gonna watch this. So I waited years 2092 01:59:54.239 --> 01:59:57.000 until it popped up at University of Buffalo and there 2093 01:59:57.039 --> 02:00:00.319 was one projectionist there I liked and he trusted me. 2094 02:00:01.079 --> 02:00:04.520 I thought, okay, there are about four projections there, one 2095 02:00:04.520 --> 02:00:07.560 and four chants. He'll be there tonight, So I went 2096 02:00:07.640 --> 02:00:11.520 he was there. I had Howard reached into my pot. 2097 02:00:12.199 --> 02:00:17.399 Use these apertures bring down the tall screen, and so 2098 02:00:17.520 --> 02:00:21.079 I got to see the full image, as probably the 2099 02:00:21.119 --> 02:00:23.880 only time that was ever shown at a cinema without 2100 02:00:23.920 --> 02:00:28.359 being cropped. I watched it, and this tells me a 2101 02:00:28.359 --> 02:00:31.000 lot about me, and it will tell you a lot 2102 02:00:31.039 --> 02:00:34.520 about me. I watched the whole movie, and when it ended, 2103 02:00:34.560 --> 02:00:36.479 I thought, I thought there was going to be singing 2104 02:00:36.479 --> 02:00:38.520 in this. I didn't hear any singing. I heard lots 2105 02:00:38.560 --> 02:00:41.479 of loud music. I didn't hear any singing because I 2106 02:00:41.560 --> 02:00:46.600 was so concentrating on the images, I didn't notice that 2107 02:00:46.640 --> 02:00:51.119 many of one was singing on the ground track. But 2108 02:00:51.199 --> 02:00:53.520 what I did notice about the movie is that this 2109 02:00:53.680 --> 02:00:55.720 is not what I saw on PBS. This is not 2110 02:00:55.760 --> 02:00:58.720 what I saw don ponchos. This is some other version 2111 02:00:58.760 --> 02:01:01.319 of the movie. I wish I could put the three 2112 02:01:01.399 --> 02:01:04.399 side by side to see what the differences are. I 2113 02:01:04.439 --> 02:01:06.840 can't put my finger on what the differences are. And 2114 02:01:06.960 --> 02:01:12.000 I've seen them such great different times. I you know, 2115 02:01:12.199 --> 02:01:14.119 it's not like I watched one and then an hour 2116 02:01:14.239 --> 02:01:17.359 later I watched another, and I saw one months later, 2117 02:01:17.399 --> 02:01:21.039 I saw another more than a decade later, I saw another, 2118 02:01:21.439 --> 02:01:24.279 and so I could. I couldn't remember what the differences were. 2119 02:01:24.319 --> 02:01:28.880 I just knew they were very, very different. But yeah, 2120 02:01:28.880 --> 02:01:32.199 I have nothing against the moral de version, so long 2121 02:01:32.479 --> 02:01:37.520 as people know it's not the original. It's what Georgio 2122 02:01:37.600 --> 02:01:42.600 Moroder paid his dues paid for the paid the licenses 2123 02:01:43.479 --> 02:01:46.479 to do with the film. It's a Georgia Morada film. 2124 02:01:46.520 --> 02:01:49.000 It's not a fitzlan film anymore. And if you like 2125 02:01:49.079 --> 02:01:52.520 a Georgia morad film, fine, if you'd rather see the 2126 02:01:52.560 --> 02:01:57.680 fitz long version that's available too, I'm okay with it. 2127 02:01:57.680 --> 02:02:00.279 It did not get a big release because it didn't 2128 02:02:00.840 --> 02:02:03.840 get a good distributor. Well I don't know where you 2129 02:02:03.920 --> 02:02:07.279 two saw it, but it did not play at the 2130 02:02:07.279 --> 02:02:09.840 big houses, led at the mom and pops. 2131 02:02:10.079 --> 02:02:12.880 I'm just glad that Freddie Mercury was involved with that 2132 02:02:13.000 --> 02:02:15.680 Moroda version because there was a deal that was made 2133 02:02:16.319 --> 02:02:21.199 that then Queen could use the footage, the better footage 2134 02:02:21.239 --> 02:02:23.359 that you know, because he did, like you said, put 2135 02:02:23.359 --> 02:02:26.159 his money into it. There was some restoration that was happening. 2136 02:02:26.560 --> 02:02:28.640 They were able to use that footage for that Radio 2137 02:02:28.800 --> 02:02:32.880 Gaga video, which I think is pretty great. And that 2138 02:02:33.119 --> 02:02:36.479 was my introduction, and that was so strange that music 2139 02:02:36.560 --> 02:02:39.720 videos for years have been kind of an introduction for 2140 02:02:39.840 --> 02:02:43.840 some people to classic silent cinema. Will you talk about 2141 02:02:44.159 --> 02:02:47.239 I keep going back to Caligari. There's a great video 2142 02:02:47.399 --> 02:02:50.920 for Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie or White Zombie. 2143 02:02:50.960 --> 02:02:53.079 I don't remember if it's a solo or a band 2144 02:02:53.079 --> 02:02:57.840 act that is all Caligari or even And I'm not 2145 02:02:57.920 --> 02:03:00.359 a fan of this band at all, but Smashing Pumps 2146 02:03:00.479 --> 02:03:04.399 one of their videos was basically a redo of a 2147 02:03:04.399 --> 02:03:07.039 trip to the Moon, So it's like, okay, this is 2148 02:03:07.079 --> 02:03:09.800 a good way at least to introduce people. So like 2149 02:03:10.000 --> 02:03:13.279 Moroder and that version of his thing. At least it's 2150 02:03:13.279 --> 02:03:17.720 a way to get people introduced to old classic cinema. 2151 02:03:17.880 --> 02:03:21.600 And yes it's very boulderized, but at least it's there 2152 02:03:21.720 --> 02:03:25.039 and it's a way for people, hopefully to go. I'm 2153 02:03:25.039 --> 02:03:26.640 interested in finding out more about this. 2154 02:03:27.800 --> 02:03:30.399 Speaking about vulgarized, I just wanted to bring up thing 2155 02:03:30.479 --> 02:03:33.680 about there's a version on YouTube now of a four 2156 02:03:33.760 --> 02:03:37.119 k sixty frames per second of Maria's The False Marias 2157 02:03:37.199 --> 02:03:39.560 Like Dance, and I don't know if either of you 2158 02:03:39.600 --> 02:03:41.880 guys got a chance to look at it. Even in passing. 2159 02:03:42.880 --> 02:03:46.119 It's it's interesting because it's almost like culture wants to 2160 02:03:46.159 --> 02:03:49.319 pull Metropolis with it. It's like it changes for the 2161 02:03:49.399 --> 02:03:54.439 times and people now they want it to be in color, 2162 02:03:54.680 --> 02:03:56.560 and they want it to be the speed that they 2163 02:03:56.640 --> 02:03:59.520 like and at the resolution that even if it's you know, bastardized, 2164 02:03:59.520 --> 02:04:02.840 even if it's not whatded I mean you say Long 2165 02:04:02.840 --> 02:04:05.239 didn't want any music. I'm not going to go that far. 2166 02:04:05.439 --> 02:04:07.479 I'm not going to watch Metropolis without music. I can't 2167 02:04:07.479 --> 02:04:08.600 do it. Don't make me. 2168 02:04:08.840 --> 02:04:10.680 But watch the PBS person. 2169 02:04:10.840 --> 02:04:13.960 Watching that version that like four point three million people, 2170 02:04:14.159 --> 02:04:16.640 four point three million views on YouTube. It's like one 2171 02:04:16.640 --> 02:04:19.960 of the most popular videos. And it's talking about like 2172 02:04:20.000 --> 02:04:23.159 the striking aspect of the filmmaking itself, reaching from the 2173 02:04:23.199 --> 02:04:26.600 past and grabbing you. It's that it's just completely universal, 2174 02:04:27.119 --> 02:04:31.840 and you know, seeing that transposed to the metrics of 2175 02:04:31.880 --> 02:04:34.960 our time of what film and what basically internet media 2176 02:04:35.000 --> 02:04:38.359 is supposed to look like, it's the it's almost Metropolis 2177 02:04:38.399 --> 02:04:40.680 itself saying, you know, I'm going to be here for 2178 02:04:40.720 --> 02:04:43.640 a long time. If we're coming up on one hundred years, 2179 02:04:44.119 --> 02:04:46.199 there is no doubt in my mind that one hundred 2180 02:04:46.239 --> 02:04:49.359 years from now the image of the false Maria in 2181 02:04:49.399 --> 02:04:53.640 that chair with the rings around her will be where. 2182 02:04:53.840 --> 02:04:55.279 You know, it might be in a book, it might 2183 02:04:55.319 --> 02:04:57.119 be on the internet, it might be an art you're 2184 02:04:57.159 --> 02:05:00.359 talking about music videos. I mean, it just rolls on 2185 02:05:00.479 --> 02:05:03.119 and on and on. And that's how silent cinema survives. 2186 02:05:03.199 --> 02:05:07.680 And I'm so happy the Metropolis survives because so many 2187 02:05:08.079 --> 02:05:11.439 films of that era just completely got butchered and destroyed, 2188 02:05:11.520 --> 02:05:15.520 lost and fires everything, and we have, you know, lunatics 2189 02:05:15.560 --> 02:05:19.159 and film fanatics to thank for keeping it, you know, 2190 02:05:19.199 --> 02:05:25.159 the Argentinian Film Archive, all just it just it just endures. 2191 02:05:25.479 --> 02:05:27.560 Oh yeah, we've been talking about this movie for what 2192 02:05:27.680 --> 02:05:31.039 two and a half hours now or two ten. I 2193 02:05:31.039 --> 02:05:33.039 could talk about it for another four hours if we 2194 02:05:33.119 --> 02:05:35.760 needed to, because there's so much about this. This is 2195 02:05:35.840 --> 02:05:39.920 tip of the iceberg kind of stuff. And yeah, it's fascinating. 2196 02:05:39.960 --> 02:05:42.159 You're talking about the way that culture pulls along with it, 2197 02:05:42.520 --> 02:05:45.319 that influence. You know, we've mentioned so many films that 2198 02:05:45.359 --> 02:05:48.920 have been influenced by this, so many music videos. I 2199 02:05:49.000 --> 02:05:51.079 know that I think it was the might have been 2200 02:05:51.079 --> 02:05:55.600 the Rosenbomb and commentary, or might have been another commentary 2201 02:05:55.640 --> 02:05:58.600 that I heard where they're talking about was it Express 2202 02:05:58.640 --> 02:06:02.000 Yourself the Madonna where it's like, yep, here we go. 2203 02:06:02.079 --> 02:06:05.600 Here's another influence on Metropolis. And we haven't even talked 2204 02:06:05.600 --> 02:06:09.000 about the two thousand and one anime version, which I 2205 02:06:09.039 --> 02:06:11.479 was reading more about that, and it was based on 2206 02:06:11.720 --> 02:06:16.399 manga from was it the forties, but it was definitely 2207 02:06:16.439 --> 02:06:20.439 older than the two thousand and one date. But that 2208 02:06:20.640 --> 02:06:24.680 two thousand and one version apparently takes takes a different 2209 02:06:24.720 --> 02:06:29.880 track than the Are Attacked than the manga and really 2210 02:06:29.880 --> 02:06:35.039 feels like it's more like beholden to Metropolis itself, but 2211 02:06:35.079 --> 02:06:37.880 then also with a lot of Blade Runner inside of there, 2212 02:06:37.880 --> 02:06:42.439 because it's not just a society of a few replicants 2213 02:06:42.439 --> 02:06:45.520 are few robots, but it's many, many robots. And this 2214 02:06:45.600 --> 02:06:49.600 whole idea of the robot underclass, I mean very I 2215 02:06:49.880 --> 02:06:54.439 robot again with an influence very this idea of the servants, 2216 02:06:54.520 --> 02:06:57.399 you know, the planet of the apeseness of it, where 2217 02:06:57.399 --> 02:07:00.960 you've got that underclass of difference and then the way 2218 02:07:01.000 --> 02:07:03.640 that the difference gets played out, and some of that 2219 02:07:03.960 --> 02:07:07.119 was I'm not a big anime guy, obviously, We've only 2220 02:07:07.159 --> 02:07:09.439 done a few anime films on this podcast over the 2221 02:07:09.520 --> 02:07:13.279 last fourteen years, but it was decent and it was interesting. 2222 02:07:13.359 --> 02:07:15.439 I'm not a big fan of the character design where 2223 02:07:15.439 --> 02:07:19.640 they look very cartoonish and things, but yeah, I found 2224 02:07:19.680 --> 02:07:22.680 some of it to be kind of interesting and just 2225 02:07:22.720 --> 02:07:24.680 a new way of looking at the material. 2226 02:07:24.720 --> 02:07:28.359 I suppose I haven't seen it. Michael Lorgan told me 2227 02:07:28.399 --> 02:07:30.479 I should see it, but I've never seen it. I 2228 02:07:30.479 --> 02:07:35.800 guess I will someday. My understanding from a press release 2229 02:07:35.880 --> 02:07:39.520 is it was based on just one single still from 2230 02:07:39.640 --> 02:07:43.439 the Metropolis movie and that's all that the artists ever 2231 02:07:43.520 --> 02:07:46.640 saw of Metropolis. I don't know if that's true. 2232 02:07:46.960 --> 02:07:49.399 I really would love to hear your thoughts on the 2233 02:07:49.439 --> 02:07:52.720 Metropolis version, because, like Mike says it, it feels like 2234 02:07:52.760 --> 02:07:56.560 a blend, and I think you'd get something out of it, absolutely, 2235 02:07:56.600 --> 02:07:59.119 because I mean, I wanted to ask you, Runjit, how 2236 02:07:59.119 --> 02:08:01.319 many times have you seen Metropolis? 2237 02:08:01.640 --> 02:08:07.680 I never counted, but probably close to fifty now, but 2238 02:08:08.119 --> 02:08:09.399 usually in different versions. 2239 02:08:10.199 --> 02:08:12.640 Mike, have you seen anything fifty times? 2240 02:08:12.880 --> 02:08:15.520 I probably have seen the ORIGINALT Star Wars at least 2241 02:08:15.520 --> 02:08:17.920 fifty times, and probably Black Shampoo as well. 2242 02:08:18.720 --> 02:08:22.600 I've probably seen the General about one hundred times, but 2243 02:08:22.760 --> 02:08:28.199 again that's because I was trying to research why every 2244 02:08:28.239 --> 02:08:32.359 sixteen millimeter, eight milimeter, thirty five millimeter print, every VHS, 2245 02:08:32.399 --> 02:08:36.039 every laser was different, And so I bought them all 2246 02:08:36.720 --> 02:08:41.359 but bankrupt and I compared themalhel and I learned a 2247 02:08:41.399 --> 02:08:44.600 lot that way, that the history of how the prints 2248 02:08:44.640 --> 02:08:49.880 migrated over a century that would interest absolutely nobody except me. Yeah, 2249 02:08:49.920 --> 02:08:54.159 most movies I can't even get through once. But Metropolis, 2250 02:08:54.199 --> 02:08:56.800 I think I made it probably fifty times by now, 2251 02:08:56.960 --> 02:09:01.119 or close to it. But I've seen the Museum Modern 2252 02:09:01.199 --> 02:09:06.479 Art version, the Australian version that I sent you the 2253 02:09:06.520 --> 02:09:10.840 links to that on YouTube. I saw the nineteen sixty 2254 02:09:10.840 --> 02:09:15.119 three German version with Mulis score. I saw the nineteen 2255 02:09:15.159 --> 02:09:19.000 sixty five version with the Cornard Elcher score. I saw 2256 02:09:19.079 --> 02:09:22.560 it the BBC two version which was shown on PBS 2257 02:09:22.560 --> 02:09:26.800 with the Electronics score. Yeah, this goes on and on. 2258 02:09:26.880 --> 02:09:30.680 Every time. It's something different, and it's edited differently, and 2259 02:09:30.760 --> 02:09:34.600 different scenes are missing a lot of them. They don't 2260 02:09:34.600 --> 02:09:39.439 even have Malhias dance in the middle. It's gone censors did. 2261 02:09:40.239 --> 02:09:43.600 It is fascinating to watch that restored version where you 2262 02:09:43.640 --> 02:09:45.960 can see the difference between the quality of the print 2263 02:09:45.960 --> 02:09:49.119 and see a few extra shots of Maria's dance, and 2264 02:09:49.239 --> 02:09:53.199 especially to see the guy who gets really jealous of 2265 02:09:53.239 --> 02:09:56.720 his friend, and then they cut to him having a 2266 02:09:56.800 --> 02:09:59.760 duel with his friend, and like the duel was in there, 2267 02:10:00.079 --> 02:10:03.239 looks like, but then the shot of him looking at 2268 02:10:03.239 --> 02:10:06.399 his friend jealously was not in there. And it's like, 2269 02:10:06.880 --> 02:10:10.359 it's so fascinating to try to peel back these layers 2270 02:10:10.399 --> 02:10:13.479 and just say who made these decisions and why were 2271 02:10:13.520 --> 02:10:17.199 these decisions made? So obviously Maria's bear back, Oh that 2272 02:10:17.319 --> 02:10:21.560 might be too titillating, you know, but like why the look, 2273 02:10:21.760 --> 02:10:24.239 why was that cut? Why are some of these reaction 2274 02:10:24.359 --> 02:10:28.960 shots cut? And it's just I love watching these kind 2275 02:10:29.000 --> 02:10:32.920 of film mode where you can say, like, oh, okay, 2276 02:10:32.680 --> 02:10:37.039 what was the logic behind removing all of hell? You know? 2277 02:10:37.520 --> 02:10:40.840 And obviously, like we're saying it can't be censorship. Is 2278 02:10:40.880 --> 02:10:44.399 it just we're gonna remove that subplot? And that seems 2279 02:10:44.520 --> 02:10:46.880 much more logical to me, is we're going to remove 2280 02:10:46.920 --> 02:10:49.960 all references to the mother. And then when you start 2281 02:10:50.039 --> 02:10:52.520 removing references to mothers, then you start talking about like 2282 02:10:52.520 --> 02:10:54.880 feminist film theory and all these things, And I just 2283 02:10:54.920 --> 02:10:57.199 love that there are so many different ways of looking 2284 02:10:57.239 --> 02:11:00.680 at this. I like that Rosenbaum really comes to things 2285 02:11:00.680 --> 02:11:04.880 from more of a Freudian point of view. I love 2286 02:11:04.960 --> 02:11:07.399 to read films that way, and you know, talking about 2287 02:11:07.439 --> 02:11:09.640 the id in the underground and all these kind of things. 2288 02:11:09.800 --> 02:11:12.840 But there are so many different ways to to you know, 2289 02:11:12.920 --> 02:11:15.399 skin this cat, sorry Ranjie, to skin this cat that 2290 02:11:15.840 --> 02:11:19.960 it's just wild to be able to see. Like well, Marouder, 2291 02:11:20.079 --> 02:11:22.399 he removed a lot of the use of the montage 2292 02:11:22.399 --> 02:11:25.039 and things, and you know, within the American version is 2293 02:11:25.119 --> 02:11:27.640 much more straight shot, reverse shot kind of stuff, and 2294 02:11:28.000 --> 02:11:32.640 like Lang's original montage and montage being so important, especially 2295 02:11:32.680 --> 02:11:36.039 in silent cinema, but still, you know, montage is one 2296 02:11:36.079 --> 02:11:39.479 of like my favorite things. I love the use of editing, 2297 02:11:39.520 --> 02:11:42.840 and I love the power of editing to be able 2298 02:11:42.880 --> 02:11:46.520 to see those edits right there in your face. Watching 2299 02:11:46.560 --> 02:11:50.399 that restored twenty ten was a version of it. It's 2300 02:11:50.479 --> 02:11:54.680 just great. And it seems amazing that it's gone fifteen 2301 02:11:54.760 --> 02:11:58.079 years and we haven't had yet another update of this. 2302 02:11:58.560 --> 02:12:00.920 It feels like we're maybe on the brink of yet 2303 02:12:00.960 --> 02:12:04.880 another discovery because there are still versions out there, there's 2304 02:12:05.159 --> 02:12:09.119 shot differences, there's all of these things I would almost 2305 02:12:09.159 --> 02:12:12.720 love to see, like the every single different version of 2306 02:12:12.760 --> 02:12:15.880 this that there's available. I mean, where's the box set 2307 02:12:16.000 --> 02:12:18.920 of here's all of these different versions. 2308 02:12:19.279 --> 02:12:23.079 If anyone is rich enough and foolish enough, and rich 2309 02:12:23.159 --> 02:12:27.159 enough and richer enough under that, I would like to 2310 02:12:27.199 --> 02:12:30.720 be in charge of that and if you go, Oh, 2311 02:12:30.920 --> 02:12:33.079 they pulled it down from YouTube, but I caught it 2312 02:12:33.119 --> 02:12:37.520 and I embedded it on my site, the Patescope nine 2313 02:12:37.600 --> 02:12:41.600 point five millimeter version from I think nineteen thirty five. 2314 02:12:42.720 --> 02:12:46.520 It has a couple of seconds in Maria's dance that 2315 02:12:46.560 --> 02:12:50.880 are missing even from the latest restoration, And for this 2316 02:12:51.199 --> 02:12:55.159 I wanted to prepare. I wanted to intercut them and 2317 02:12:55.800 --> 02:12:58.640 put them back in. See you don't have the time. 2318 02:13:00.000 --> 02:13:02.319 Someone needs to do that. I'm sure more of the 2319 02:13:02.359 --> 02:13:05.319 film will pop up. I'm almost convinced that there's a 2320 02:13:05.359 --> 02:13:11.039 complete print incost film a fund that's mislabeled and that 2321 02:13:11.119 --> 02:13:15.119 I hope ticks up before I broke what that's. 2322 02:13:14.880 --> 02:13:19.560 The heartbreak for me is watching that Metropolis Refound documentary, 2323 02:13:19.560 --> 02:13:22.079 and unfortunately the only version I was able to find 2324 02:13:22.399 --> 02:13:25.399 was a horrible quality and really tough to watch. But 2325 02:13:26.199 --> 02:13:28.560 I still got the story out of it, and to 2326 02:13:28.760 --> 02:13:32.720 watch them talk about oh, yeah, we originally had this 2327 02:13:32.840 --> 02:13:36.800 on nitrate and because of night End. Of course, Frederico, 2328 02:13:36.840 --> 02:13:39.079 you're very familiar with all the stories of nitrate. I 2329 02:13:39.119 --> 02:13:41.720 know you are as well, Ronjie. The idea of how 2330 02:13:41.840 --> 02:13:45.800 dangerous the stock is. We were going to transfer all 2331 02:13:45.880 --> 02:13:50.960 of these night Trates prints to thirty five, Oh you know, 2332 02:13:51.199 --> 02:13:53.600 it would cost way too much, so we have to 2333 02:13:53.800 --> 02:13:57.399 transfer it to sixteen. I'm like, oh God, that just 2334 02:13:57.720 --> 02:14:01.159 hurts so much to hear. And you see the loss 2335 02:14:01.159 --> 02:14:04.960 of the quality and the different aspect ratios and all this, 2336 02:14:05.000 --> 02:14:08.960 and you're just like, oh, somebody just to make a 2337 02:14:09.079 --> 02:14:12.159 cost seeming thing. And when they were talking about how 2338 02:14:12.199 --> 02:14:14.960 it was stored and it wasn't stored correctly, and you're 2339 02:14:15.039 --> 02:14:18.439 just like, you see all of these mistakes from the past, 2340 02:14:18.560 --> 02:14:21.199 just adding up to where we're at now and just 2341 02:14:21.239 --> 02:14:24.560 going Yep, because people were fucking cheap or they couldn't 2342 02:14:24.600 --> 02:14:28.079 store the nitrate film, this is what we're ending up with. 2343 02:14:29.119 --> 02:14:34.000 That made me so sad. In what's his name, Fernando Pana, 2344 02:14:34.439 --> 02:14:37.760 I can't remember. He'd been a little booklet how he 2345 02:14:37.880 --> 02:14:42.000 Found Metropolis, which is difficult for me to read because 2346 02:14:42.039 --> 02:14:45.239 it's in a language I don't speak, but I got 2347 02:14:45.279 --> 02:14:49.840 through it courtesy of Google Translator and other little tools. 2348 02:14:50.439 --> 02:14:54.399 He mentioned that just before they destroyed the print, they 2349 02:14:54.439 --> 02:14:58.600 gave it one final screening in thirty five millimeter at 2350 02:14:58.640 --> 02:15:04.159 a brand new cinema on a panoramic screen, which probably 2351 02:15:04.199 --> 02:15:08.279 means one point eight five to one wide screen. You 2352 02:15:08.319 --> 02:15:12.239 can't watch it. Run a full aperture movie at one 2353 02:15:12.239 --> 02:15:15.399 point eight five and see anything that's cutting off half 2354 02:15:15.439 --> 02:15:19.760 the image. The film by then was shriveled, so a 2355 02:15:19.800 --> 02:15:23.239 guy went up to the projection booth and put his 2356 02:15:23.279 --> 02:15:26.680 fingers at the top of the gate to hold the 2357 02:15:26.800 --> 02:15:30.000 rails in tightly so that it wouldn't buckle as much. 2358 02:15:30.960 --> 02:15:33.920 That's why I got so scratched. If they had just 2359 02:15:34.000 --> 02:15:38.479 left it alone, not shown it, donated it to a 2360 02:15:38.560 --> 02:15:44.119 German archive, we'd have the movie. And they when they 2361 02:15:44.159 --> 02:15:47.359 printed it through sixteen millimeter, they didn't even print it 2362 02:15:47.439 --> 02:15:52.359 through the proper gate, so they pumped it to the 2363 02:15:52.479 --> 02:15:57.279 Academy aperture and lost the top on the side. Knuckle heads, 2364 02:15:57.960 --> 02:15:59.840 something more is going to pop up, I'm certain. 2365 02:16:00.560 --> 02:16:00.720 Yeah. 2366 02:16:00.760 --> 02:16:04.640 I remember that story about the guy pressing it and 2367 02:16:04.800 --> 02:16:07.520 him saying, I held my finger there for two and 2368 02:16:07.560 --> 02:16:09.680 a half hours and people are like, wait, no, the 2369 02:16:09.680 --> 02:16:11.840 movie's not two and a half hours long. He's like no, no, 2370 02:16:11.920 --> 02:16:15.439 I held it for two and a half hour. It's like, well, yeah, 2371 02:16:15.439 --> 02:16:17.399 because there was that version of the film two and 2372 02:16:17.439 --> 02:16:18.600 a half hour long version. 2373 02:16:19.319 --> 02:16:22.600 When they gave the sixty milimeters dupneg to the archive, 2374 02:16:23.479 --> 02:16:26.640 they just cataloged it and put it on the shelf, 2375 02:16:26.680 --> 02:16:29.880 wouldn't let anyone see it. But I thought, wait a minute, guys, 2376 02:16:30.359 --> 02:16:32.479 you know how long it should be, and you can 2377 02:16:32.520 --> 02:16:35.239 see how much film there is on the reels. Doesn't 2378 02:16:35.280 --> 02:16:38.040 it dawn on you that there's an extra thirty forty 2379 02:16:38.079 --> 02:16:41.639 minutes of film on these reels. It didn't dawn on them. 2380 02:16:41.719 --> 02:16:44.159 They didn't check it against anything. They just put it 2381 02:16:44.200 --> 02:16:46.760 on the shelf and wouldn't let anyone look at it. 2382 02:16:46.879 --> 02:16:48.600 Wonderful world of film restoration. 2383 02:16:49.360 --> 02:16:51.399 I have to feel like I have to be the 2384 02:16:51.440 --> 02:16:54.799 one to defend the Argentinians from onslaught. 2385 02:16:55.159 --> 02:16:58.159 You know, Oh, I'm not saying anything bad about them. 2386 02:16:58.239 --> 02:17:01.639 I'm just saying, like the that those things that happened 2387 02:17:01.719 --> 02:17:06.120 then still have resonance today. And it's like, oh, okay. 2388 02:17:06.440 --> 02:17:08.760 Mike, you weren't there for the talk this year? At Nitrate, 2389 02:17:08.799 --> 02:17:11.559 where you with the archivists from Buenos Aires, right, I 2390 02:17:11.639 --> 02:17:12.479 remember you weren't know. 2391 02:17:12.639 --> 02:17:15.000 But I remember watching that noir that they showed, and 2392 02:17:15.040 --> 02:17:16.159 that was marvelous. 2393 02:17:16.719 --> 02:17:20.200 You guys call them knuckleheads, and I completely understand the 2394 02:17:20.239 --> 02:17:22.719 anger of a lot of silent film fans. Ronja. You 2395 02:17:22.760 --> 02:17:24.760 mentioned d why didn't they give it to the bundest 2396 02:17:24.799 --> 02:17:27.239 film Archive? Why didn't they give it to the Germans? 2397 02:17:27.639 --> 02:17:30.399 Hurt and just in general with film archiving in that 2398 02:17:30.440 --> 02:17:31.760 part of the world. I don't know if if you 2399 02:17:31.799 --> 02:17:33.680 guys have been to South America, but it's almost like 2400 02:17:33.760 --> 02:17:36.920 traveling back in time. The economic principles down there just 2401 02:17:36.959 --> 02:17:40.239 do not function at that level. I mean in Uruguay 2402 02:17:40.280 --> 02:17:43.799 they had a leftist film archive that was made during 2403 02:17:43.840 --> 02:17:46.520 the Junta years and it was destroyed for political reasons. 2404 02:17:46.879 --> 02:17:50.280 It's just a totally different ballgame, like art is superfluous. 2405 02:17:50.600 --> 02:17:52.840 I mean, the people that run that film archive, they're 2406 02:17:52.840 --> 02:17:56.840 not even federally funded through Argent. It's just like a museum. 2407 02:17:57.319 --> 02:18:00.840 We can lament the past. I'm lad that we have it, 2408 02:18:01.000 --> 02:18:04.000 like you guys have saying, but there is that aspect too, 2409 02:18:04.079 --> 02:18:08.079 where Metropolis was found, like in the two thousands, and 2410 02:18:08.120 --> 02:18:10.280 they got a lot of funding from ZDF and art 2411 02:18:10.479 --> 02:18:12.440 and a bunch of like German film archives that are 2412 02:18:12.479 --> 02:18:15.239 all credited at the end all over the world. But 2413 02:18:15.479 --> 02:18:17.680 still to this day they're struggling to get funding to 2414 02:18:17.680 --> 02:18:21.000 save their films, the films that they still have. And 2415 02:18:21.040 --> 02:18:22.760 you can like say, well, you know, you should have 2416 02:18:22.799 --> 02:18:26.559 kept your nitrate, you know, climate controlled vaults, all this 2417 02:18:26.680 --> 02:18:29.440 kind of and it's like, have you ever been to Brazil. 2418 02:18:30.079 --> 02:18:32.239 It's not going to happen with a with a country 2419 02:18:32.280 --> 02:18:37.840 under a military dictatorship. It's just you know, the Western 2420 02:18:38.040 --> 02:18:40.399 the Western powers they have they have the money to 2421 02:18:40.799 --> 02:18:44.079 put into art as soft power and propaganda, but South 2422 02:18:44.120 --> 02:18:48.719 America doesn't have the power projection to be worth that well. 2423 02:18:48.760 --> 02:18:52.760 And that there was so much doubt from the Germans 2424 02:18:52.799 --> 02:18:56.360 when the Argentinians contacted them and said, hey, we have 2425 02:18:56.479 --> 02:19:01.120 this longer version of Metropolis, and they're just like didn't 2426 02:19:01.120 --> 02:19:05.159 respond like to the original query or anything. It took 2427 02:19:05.520 --> 02:19:10.479 a guy going to Spain and meeting with a person 2428 02:19:10.520 --> 02:19:13.639 who knows a ton of you know, like basically Spain's 2429 02:19:13.680 --> 02:19:17.239 Renji Sandhu and saying like, hey, here's this and let's 2430 02:19:17.239 --> 02:19:20.200 sit down and we're gonna watch a dupe that I 2431 02:19:20.280 --> 02:19:25.159 created on VHS and see the differences. And then even 2432 02:19:25.200 --> 02:19:27.760 when they took it to then that finally opened up 2433 02:19:27.799 --> 02:19:32.319 doors and got them to go to actual like Berlin 2434 02:19:32.440 --> 02:19:35.239 or wherever in Germany and show it there. And they 2435 02:19:35.239 --> 02:19:38.280 were showing either a VHS or DBDR at that point, 2436 02:19:38.959 --> 02:19:42.319 and they're just like m hmm, yeah, oh yeah, there's 2437 02:19:42.360 --> 02:19:44.879 a slight difference here. Oh there's a slight difference there. 2438 02:19:44.920 --> 02:19:46.680 And they're not seeing a lot of stuff in the 2439 02:19:46.719 --> 02:19:49.000 first few reels. And then finally it starts to kick 2440 02:19:49.000 --> 02:19:52.159 in and they're just like everybody sits up in their chairs, 2441 02:19:52.200 --> 02:19:56.399 so they're like, oh, okay, this is interesting, you know. 2442 02:19:56.879 --> 02:19:59.040 Then they finally start to believe him. And it just 2443 02:19:59.120 --> 02:20:01.760 felt like kind of like you're saying, Federico, and this 2444 02:20:01.879 --> 02:20:03.840 is not the attitude I want to have, which is 2445 02:20:04.559 --> 02:20:08.799 all these these simpletons in Argentina. No, they're doing a 2446 02:20:08.840 --> 02:20:14.520 fantastic job. And yes, under very bad circumstances. I mean, 2447 02:20:14.559 --> 02:20:20.159 the Perone regime was not very kind to anyone, much 2448 02:20:20.239 --> 02:20:25.040 less film restorationists or film keepers, and so yeah, and 2449 02:20:25.079 --> 02:20:27.719 it's really only again going back to what I was 2450 02:20:27.719 --> 02:20:30.760 saying at the very beginning thanks to this guy who 2451 02:20:30.959 --> 02:20:34.079 was had kept a copy of this. It was kind 2452 02:20:34.079 --> 02:20:36.479 of like that, hopefully, one of these days we're going 2453 02:20:36.559 --> 02:20:39.680 to see the copy that was sent from of Magnificent 2454 02:20:39.719 --> 02:20:43.920 Amberson's during the editing phase down from Brazil to Orson 2455 02:20:43.959 --> 02:20:46.360 Wells when he's you know, that's the theory and hopefully 2456 02:20:46.399 --> 02:20:48.959 one of these days is going to pan out. They 2457 02:20:49.159 --> 02:20:51.719 said this version down to Argentina, this guy's like, oh, 2458 02:20:51.760 --> 02:20:54.200 I fucking love this movie. This is fantastic. And then 2459 02:20:54.239 --> 02:20:57.120 I love too that he changed the ending, that he 2460 02:20:57.239 --> 02:20:59.879 took a little bit of the early part of it 2461 02:21:00.079 --> 02:21:02.879 Tropolis and put it at the end to show the 2462 02:21:02.920 --> 02:21:07.840 city still or has been restored, and basically like, now 2463 02:21:07.879 --> 02:21:10.040 we have our happy ending. So we do have a 2464 02:21:10.079 --> 02:21:13.840 slightly different end to that version of it, just because 2465 02:21:13.879 --> 02:21:16.680 the guy was like, no, no, let's give this a 2466 02:21:16.719 --> 02:21:17.520 happier ending. 2467 02:21:18.520 --> 02:21:22.520 They also had a thirty five nitrate of Pandora's Box 2468 02:21:23.680 --> 02:21:27.520 that they incinerated at the same time they incinerated Metropolis. 2469 02:21:28.319 --> 02:21:31.680 Oh my god, that would have the extra eight minutes 2470 02:21:31.680 --> 02:21:38.120 in it, and that might have the proper English broadside 2471 02:21:38.639 --> 02:21:43.120 posted up rather than the German translation, and they incinerated 2472 02:21:43.120 --> 02:21:43.799 it and I will. 2473 02:21:43.680 --> 02:21:48.319 Never see it. So many things lost like tears in 2474 02:21:48.360 --> 02:21:48.760 the rain. 2475 02:21:49.600 --> 02:21:50.360 Never say never. 2476 02:21:51.120 --> 02:21:52.840 All right, guys, we're going to take another break and 2477 02:21:52.879 --> 02:21:55.200 play a preview for next week's show right after these 2478 02:21:55.239 --> 02:21:56.040 brief messages. 2479 02:22:01.399 --> 02:22:06.040 Ruthless Invaders, you will accept me as your master. A 2480 02:22:06.079 --> 02:22:17.639 defenseless planet, Battle beyond the Stars alone, you that escapes 2481 02:22:17.680 --> 02:22:21.000 on a last ditch mission five third fire, you. 2482 02:22:20.959 --> 02:22:23.719 Fight, and you've got a Snowball's chancing. 2483 02:22:23.479 --> 02:22:33.639 Here, Gathering a daring band of mutants, aliens and space 2484 02:22:33.719 --> 02:22:37.360 adventurers in a journey that begins at the edge of 2485 02:22:37.399 --> 02:22:40.600 the universe and ends in a desperate gamble. 2486 02:22:40.920 --> 02:22:42.000 They'll be able to us. 2487 02:22:42.520 --> 02:22:43.920 It won't make any difference. 2488 02:22:45.719 --> 02:22:58.520 A Battle beyond Time, Beyond Space, Battle beyond the Stars 2489 02:22:58.520 --> 02:23:07.280 starring Richard Thomas, now, Robert Vaughan, John Saxophone, George Patard. 2490 02:23:08.319 --> 02:23:09.639 About thirty seconds doing that. 2491 02:23:12.120 --> 02:23:16.840 The Battle beyond the Stars in Fading your space soon. 2492 02:23:18.799 --> 02:23:20.639 That's right. We'll be back next week when they look 2493 02:23:20.680 --> 02:23:23.479 at Battle Beyond the Stars. Until then, I want to 2494 02:23:23.520 --> 02:23:26.120 think my co hosts Federica and Renjeet, so Ranjeet, what 2495 02:23:26.200 --> 02:23:27.760 is keeping you busy these days? 2496 02:23:28.079 --> 02:23:33.399 Trying to recover my senses? After eight tragic years. That's 2497 02:23:33.440 --> 02:23:38.959 about it. Not doing anything publicly right now well, and. 2498 02:23:39.079 --> 02:23:42.600 I highly recommend that people go to RJ Buffalo dot 2499 02:23:42.639 --> 02:23:46.280 com and read some of your writing and especially all 2500 02:23:46.319 --> 02:23:49.479 the work that you've done documenting all of this stuff, 2501 02:23:49.559 --> 02:23:54.799 especially around Metropolis the general. So many good things, and Federico, 2502 02:23:54.840 --> 02:23:55.920 what's keeping you busy, sir? 2503 02:23:56.559 --> 02:23:58.879 I got a super eight film camera and I've been 2504 02:23:58.879 --> 02:24:01.000 losing my mind with it a little bit shortly, so 2505 02:24:01.600 --> 02:24:03.760 I've been shooting a lot of stuff. I don't know 2506 02:24:03.840 --> 02:24:05.959 if you saw me at Nitrate, but I have a 2507 02:24:05.959 --> 02:24:08.399 bunch of stuff. I have a YouTube channel it's just 2508 02:24:08.440 --> 02:24:11.559 my name Federik Colbertolini this. I also have an Instagram 2509 02:24:11.680 --> 02:24:14.079 that's a little bit more difficult. You can find me 2510 02:24:14.399 --> 02:24:18.360 under my name Federik Olbertolini, but it's at Duels decorum 2511 02:24:18.479 --> 02:24:23.959 Es propetri dulsa dicorm I'm also kind of in the 2512 02:24:24.000 --> 02:24:26.920 planning phase. I really want to do kind of like 2513 02:24:26.959 --> 02:24:30.520 a breakdown of this year's Nitrate with my friend to 2514 02:24:30.600 --> 02:24:32.440 like talk about the movies and keep it as kind 2515 02:24:32.440 --> 02:24:34.920 of like a memo, and especially the last film. I 2516 02:24:34.959 --> 02:24:37.079 really want to go into that and get people's like 2517 02:24:37.479 --> 02:24:41.360 discussions because everybody at the festival was talking about it, 2518 02:24:41.399 --> 02:24:44.520 but it's in like scattered, tiny little discussions, so it'd 2519 02:24:44.520 --> 02:24:47.680 be nice to pull it all together. So, Mike, if 2520 02:24:47.760 --> 02:24:50.159 you get a message for me asking for your thoughts 2521 02:24:50.479 --> 02:24:53.479 on nitread as a whole and specific films in particular, 2522 02:24:54.000 --> 02:24:54.840 don't be surprised. 2523 02:24:55.399 --> 02:24:57.319 Thank you so much folks for being on the show. 2524 02:24:57.319 --> 02:24:59.239 Thanks everybody for listening. If you want to hear more 2525 02:24:59.239 --> 02:25:00.719 of me shooting off my I'll check out some of 2526 02:25:00.760 --> 02:25:02.520 the other shows that I work on. They are all 2527 02:25:02.559 --> 02:25:06.479 available at Winningwaymedia dot com. Thanks especially to our Patreon community. 2528 02:25:06.520 --> 02:25:09.120 If you want to join the community, visit patreon dot 2529 02:25:09.120 --> 02:25:12.120 com Slash Projection Booth. Every donation we get helps a 2530 02:25:12.200 --> 02:26:43.879 projection booth. Take over the world, Shoot supp. 2531 02:26:44.159 --> 02:26:45.799 Shoot shot. 2532 02:26:47.120 --> 02:28:29.239 Stop step stop Stop Stop, Student sperience, supposing student exposor 2533 02:28:30.200 --> 02:30:17.040 stop SPTT STOTT Sweet. 2534 02:30:18.440 --> 02:30:27.680 Exchange to those not. 2535 02:30:34.239 --> 02:30:54.159 Expect to spot Expect. 2536 02:30:53.760 --> 02:30:54.799 School is a 2537 02:31:05.799 --> 02:31:06.440 Res