‘Metropolis’ Enters The Public Domain And What It Means For This Classic Film

TV & Film

Feb 5

The Fritz Lang classic, Metropolis, has just entered the public domain. It is now not under copyright in the USA, although in the EU, it will remain so until 2046. The silent movie, released in 1927, is one of the first science fiction films ever created. Its dystopian view of the future has inspired Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, and Snowpiercer. Specifically, the robot Maria inspired C-3PO’s design in Star Wars and the cybermen in Doctor Who. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster loved the movie so much that they named Superman’s hood after it.

About The Movie

Metropolis is set in a New York-inspired skyscraper-filled city, where the rich live decadent lives and workers scrape by in the city’s underbelly. The main character Freder becomes enamoured with the beautiful but charismatic leader of the workers, Maria. They planned to mediate between the two classes to improve conditions for everyone, but evil genius Rotwang and Freder’s father captured Maria and turned a robot into her doppelganger. The pair use the robot to manipulate the workers and cause chaos in the city.

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The special effects in Metropolis are ground-breaking. It was the first use of the Schüfftan process, a technique that used mirrors to project actors onto set miniatures. The Schüfftan process was made famous years later by Alfred Hitchcock. The cinematography set the standard for the sci-fi genre. Many of its shots are now seen as stock or tropes by directors because Metropolis created the language audiences recognize as science fiction, which is still used today. It’s no wonder it went massively over budget.

Strangely enough, despite the anti-fascist message, the Nazis were so impressed by the movie that Goebbels personally invited Fritz Lang to lead the Third Reich’s cinema industry. Lang disagreed with the Nazi ideology and quickly escaped to the USA before World War Two broke out and continued to make movies until his death in 1960. The Nazis seemed to be the only ones who enjoyed Metropolis as it bombed at the box office, so much so that Lang said that he was afraid to see it at the cinema as he was scared to see the reaction of audiences. However, the expressionist picture survived the test of time and became a cult classic.

There have been several releases with different scores, including the 1984 Giorgio Moroder version. This had a pop soundtrack with artists including Freddie Mercury, Bonnie Tyler, Pat Benatar, and Adam Ant. In 2010, Metropolis was restored entirely. This included missing footage and the original Huppertz soundtrack.

How Will Being In The Public Domain Affect Metropolis?

If a film is in the public domain, it means that no permission is needed to use any part of it, and as a result, the former owner of the rights does not have the opportunity to negotiate a fee.

The main advantage of the film being out of copyright in the USA is that filmmakers are free to play with the material. We are likelier to see snippets of it in movies and series, e.g., in the background on TV screens or as a faux high school class discussion. Also, because it is free to source, a director or writer is likelier to include it as a whimsical part of their picture.

Filmmakers can also create their own projects based on Metropolis. For example, when Winnie The Pooh entered the public domain last year, it meant Winnie-The-Pooh Blood and Honey, a horror adaptation, could be made. We could see interesting takes on Fritz Lang’s work, as well as new soundtracks.

The downside to a film being in the public domain is that an estate will no longer receive royalties from the film. There’s an argument about whether a creator and their families should be entitled to the earnings from their work and control over how it is used in perpetuity. However, in the United States, motion pictures are copyrighted for 95 years (for corporately made pictures) or 70 years after the filmmaker’s death. This should be plenty of time for the creator and direct heirs to profit from the picture. Allowing Metropolis into the public domain has the potential to renew it for another generation and prevent it from disappearing into obscurity.

Metropolis is available on Prime Video (using BFI Player) or YouTube.

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