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Oh No! Fritz Lang's Metropolis Being Remade?!

by Alex Billington
December 10, 2007
Source: Variety

First it was the sci-fi classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still, now it is the original sci-fi movie, Metropolis, that's getting an entirely unnecessary remake. German producer Thomas Schuehly (The Triumph of Love, Alexander) has acquired the remake rights to Fritz Lang's Metropolis and is looking to make an "updated version." They're currently in negotiations with a number of "top directors", but nothing besides that the rights were picked up is known about this remake.

For those that don't know, Metropolis is a silent movie first released in 1927 directed by legendary German filmmaker Fritz Lang. It was the first sci-fi movie ever made and has inspired almost every single sci-fi movie to follow, including Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, Gattaca and The Matrix. It's considered one of the most expensive films for its time, and is set in 2026 in a massive city-state characterized by its monumental skyscrapers and art-deco architecture. The film depicts the class struggle between the wealthy society of planners and thinkers, who live in luxury high above the Earth, and the workers, who live underground, toiling to sustain the lives of the privileged. The plot follows a man who meets a woman and comes to support the cause of the workers, and later his father makes a robot duplicate of the woman as to help disrupt their plans to unite the societies.

The fact that this is even being remade to begin with is a problem, but then you add in Thomas Schuehly, who produced one of the biggest filmmaking disasters in recent Hollywood history, Alexander, and we've really got a travesty on our hands! The only good side of this whole thing is what Schuehly had to say about the film, and how prevalent its values still are today.

"With the overwhelming role technology plays in our daily lives, the growing gap between rich and poor, including the gradual elimination of the middle class, the story of 'Metropolis' is a frightening reflection of our society that takes place in an all too possible not too distant future."

Even to me, Metropolis is too much of a scared classic to be remade. Much of what makes it so incredible and timeless is that it was created in 1927 and the production values at that time. It's such a phenomenal movie and it's quite a sad story to see it being remade. They don't remake Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz, so why remake all these sci-fi classics?

Metropolis

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IHateChildren

Would SciFi's Tin Man count as a Wizard of Oz remake?
Nathan

I guess only sci fi affecionados like ourselves only hold these movies sacred, not producers. However, I'll reserve judgement on this one...with the right people it could be good.
Ramon

So what if they do re-makes? i myself dont really care if movies are re-made, it still doesnt change the impact the orginal has made. and if it means more people watch the original classic, the better for it.
Zach D.

Not sure about this one. As much as I don't like remakes and as pointless as it would be to remake this, it could actually be good if in the right hands.
AR

You have got to be kidding me, this movie was genius, I hope every director turns it down, and trash the producer for even thinking this.
http://www.silentsf.com Barbenfouillis

Metropolis is definitely *not* the first science fiction film ever made....great as it was.
Johnny Boy

the first sci fi film is probably Voyage to the Moon.
Hozilla

Ok I agree with the fact that NO this movie does not to be remade and it SHOULD NOT be remade. However, there are other movies out there that this is happening to and it's starting to make me sick. For instance, AKIRA. No matter how cool you think this is going to be LEO is NOT KANADA and NEW MANHATTEN is NOT TOKYO. They are going to rape this story badly with every one who is involved in it. The other movie is "The Day the Earth Stood Still". Fuck if you want to remake a movie fuckin remake "1984" or "Brave New World" Jesus Christ the world is beginning to become mad and all this hurts my head! And who the fuck cares if this was the first Sci Fi movie made? All Hollywood wants to do is reap the profits from shit they couldn't come up with even if they spent 10 days in the dessert on LSD. No one in Hollywood has any imagination anymore and remaking Metropolis defiantly shows that. People are as dense and naiev as cattle and thus they have to make movies dumbed down enough for the cattle to understand. Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck
studdert

This is not good news. Metropolis is not just a classic amongst sci-fi films, it is a classic amongst all films. Remaking Metropolis is just as bad as Remaking immortal classics such as "Gone with the wind" and "Cassablanca". You cannot remake this film. don't go there, bad idea. It's going to kill me when I hear people talking about it: "hey! want to go and see that new movie "Metropolis?"", "jee, that film was really original!", "why didn't anyone think of a movie like that before?" and what would be even worse would be if the film was a disaster; ""METROPOLIS" is a terrible film!", ""METROPOLIS" is crap!", it will link the title of the great film to a bad film, it will bring shame upon it! However, there is hope the film wont be bad (wont be good, but it wont be bad) if the director is Tim Burton. Burton is, in my opinion, the only director alive who is able to recreate that surreal, expressionistic feel the original classic had. Two problems, 1.) it will still be nowhere as good as the original 2.)Burton will probably refuse to have anything to do with this crime out of respect for the original. This is what should happen in order of importance: 1.) The film should not be remade. 2.) If the film is remade it must be directed by Tim Burton. 3.)If the film is both remade and is not under the direction of Tim Burton it must go straight to DVD. Hundreds of years after this remake is long since forgotten, Fritz Lang's "METROPOLIS" will still be remembered and regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, why? because it is immortal.