Science and Fantasy, Horror and Beauty; Mystery, Magic, Hatred, Madness, Grandeur, Mystagogy – for a unique time, all elements magically combine to create a classic work of the fantastic, the ultimate masterpiece.

Metropolis – the New Babel, an architectural masterpiece of monolithic grandeur. The skyscrapers of the twentieth century are overshadowed by the towering stratospheric skyscrapers of the twenty-first. And below, very far below, in underground artificial caves, the monstrous machines of Moloch, the subhumans underground, the helpless workers of the underground tunnels living like slaves without hope, serfs of the surface dwellers, blind puppets to the will of the Lord of Metropolis.

“Metropolis is unlike any other novel that has ever been written,” wrote an enthusiastic commentator of the time. “It is different, unique, and original. It combines an impressive drama of opposing forces with a pastoral love theme.” In 1927, following the book's publication, the film Metropolis, directed by the perfectionist Fritz Lang, was released, an expensive blockbuster by Hollywood standards.

It took 16 months of filming, 37,000 extras, and 200 million dollars. The film is a characteristic example of German expressionism, the dominant aesthetic movement of the Weimar Republic. It also incorporates elements of romanticism, futurism, melodrama, and Art Nouveau, as well as Gothic art and architecture.

Very soon, the film underwent numerous cuts in Germany and the USA, by censors and distributors (Paramount), for political, religious, moral, and commercial reasons, resulting in a quarter of its length being reduced. For decades it was referred to as the “Holy Grail” of cinephiles, who sought the lost scenes around the world.

In 2008, a worn copy of the presumed original version from 1927 was found in Buenos Aires. After a challenging digital restoration, the “resurrected” Metropolis (with a runtime of 153 minutes) was presented at a gala screening at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2010.

Since 1926, Metropolis has been translated into twelve languages with at least ninety editions. Metropolis was the first film to be included by UNESCO in the “Memory of the World” register, which includes the most significant cultural creations.