Movie Gadget Friday: False Maria from Metropolis
Last week it was the head clamp from A Clockwork Orange, for this week's Movie Gadget Friday Josie Fraser reaches back to the silent era with the False Maria from Fritz Lang's Metropolis:
German director Fritz Lang and writer Thea von Harbou collaborated to produce the silent classic Metropolis
(1927), which remains a benchmark movie in science fiction and has influenced generations of film makers.
Metropolis depicts a dark and urban future (it's set in 2027) where the idle rich frolic in a city of delights
maintained by slave labour.
The plot centres on a prototype robot created by the unfortunately named C.A. Rotwang, mad
scientist and loser in love, who designs a mechanical replica of ex-girlfriend Hel. Somewhere during production,
Rotwang loses his right hand and has to have a mechanical replacement. If that isn't the biggest euphemism in film
history, ever, I'd like to know your alternatives.
At first it seems as in Rotwang has successfully solved his interpersonal problems with technology, and he names his
creation Maschine Mann. It's a Functional rather than glamorous name, but at least the guy is honest enough not to
panic about his sexual identity when he's planning on having an intimate relationship with some wires and tin
plate.
Rotwang then hits on the idea of reskinning version 1.0, and using nothing but excess electricity, some glass
valves, a swimming cap and an overly pious woman he gets to work. After many special effects he creates the first
screen robot Maschine Mann Maria, alternatively known as Dark Maria, False Maria, or my personal favourite, Disco
Maria.
False Maria is sexy, seductive and only a tiny bit squinty. Unfortunately she also turns out
to be as evil as the original Maria is evangelical, and enjoys a brief but meteoric career - by night working a go-go
dancer in Metropoliss red light district, and by day, as an agent provocateur and would-be mass-murderer of working
class children.
Eventually she is burnt at the stake, an action which somehow precipitates the birth of the middle classes. With a new
layer of middle management in place, the workers rebellion is quelled and everyone can continue living their lives of
idle luxury or back breaking ceaseless labour as before. Hooray for happy endings!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Marc @ Dec 19th 2005 12:04AM
http://www.kino.com/metropolis/
Brent Warner @ Dec 19th 2005 12:04AM
...who is disappointed with Movie Gadget Friday? Don't get me wrong, you can do what you want, but it seems like these are hardly reviews of Movie Gadgets at all, but merely superficial reviews of movies everybody on this site is likely to have seen anyway.
a couple of months ago when you first announced this feature, it said each week "well highlight one sweet gadget from the world of film" so naturally I figured it would get into the tech aspects of how those gadgets (real or fake) are supposed to work, or at least focus on them more than 'this is a thing that scans for life signs in Alien' or 'you see some special effects and there you have it'
Like I said, run the site how you see fit, I'll keep reading. I'm not even necessarily complaining about the reviews. but you might seriously consider renaming the feature from Movie Gadget Friday to Gadget Movie Friday.
B @ Dec 19th 2005 12:04AM
although last time Josie was the guest-writer, I was inspired to watch eXtienZ, and I'm not too sure if it was really a benefit. It was an interesting movie, if you like to beleive in the future video games will have ridicious plots. Not exactly a stretch, I suppose.
Craig @ Dec 19th 2005 12:04AM
Movie gadget fridays, that is. Keep 'em coming.
d @ Dec 19th 2005 12:04AM
You don't really want News here, you want Olds. The warm fuzzy feeling of recollection is very great for a place like engadget and makes for something outside the frames of mere tech.
palmer eldritch @ Dec 19th 2005 12:04AM
... yes, you are.