Art on Film: Metropolis

Catch a screening of Fritz Lang’s visionary silent science-fiction masterpiece Metropolis (1927) on the big screen. With its monumental architecture, groundbreaking visual effects, and unforgettable imagery, Metropolis remains one of the most influential works in cinema history.

Set in a towering futuristic city divided between privileged elites above and laboring workers below, the film follows Freder, the son of the city’s powerful ruler, as he discovers the human cost of progress and seeks a path toward reconciliation.

Presented in conjunction with AMFA’s exhibition The Age of Anxiety: German Expressionism in Art and Film, the film explores the hopes and fears of a rapidly industrializing world through one of cinema’s most iconic visual achievements.

With its towering cityscapes, striking Expressionist design, and powerful imagery of technology and social division, the film captures the tensions of modern life while imagining a future shaped by both innovation and inequality. Its visionary aesthetic and enduring themes of power, labor, and human connection continue to resonate with audiences nearly a century after its release.

Run Time: 2 hours, 33 minutes
Recommended Age: 13+ (Not Rated)

To introduce the film, AMFA’s Jackye and Curtis Finch, Jr. Curator of Drawings Dr. Catherine Walworth, Director of Children’s Theatre and Performing Arts Chad Bradford, and Performing Arts Manager Kiera Smithson will give a brief presentation exploring the film’s artistic significance, historical context, and lasting impact on the horror genre.

Art on Film is supported in part by Art Bridges.

The Age of Anxiety: German Expressionism in Art and Film is in cooperation with the Institute for Cultural Exchange and the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation.

This exhibition is generously presented by Anne and Merritt Dyke.

Film Still of Metropolis, 1927, Director Fritz Lang, Screenplay Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang (uncredited), Source: Friedrich-Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, Wiesbaden.

Since 1966, the Foundation has been dedicated to preserving, safeguarding and making accessible asubstantial part of Germany’s culturally and historically significant film heritage. It was also responsible for the internationally acclaimed restoration – made possible by a spectacular discovery in Buenos Aires – which brought the almost complete original version back to light.