The art of animation... Claymation and stop motion is also in the same genre... they meticolously set up each frame one after another...

MrChenrezi - most likely yes as that how such lightning & electrical energy effects were made in movies before computers & cgi. Rotoscoped & hand drawn onto the film cells

Or, they used static electricity, like Tesla.

Das ist deutsches Handwerk 🇩🇪

I believe that one of the men responsible for the effects here said that they were done practically, with circular neon tubes suspended on wires. There is a drawing to that effect: the seventh image down on this page: www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1927-magazine-looks-at-metropolis-a-movie-based-on-science-4328353/ I wonder if he mis-remembered, because it seems unlikely to me. Cell animation seems more plausible. Either way, it still looks amazing to this day.

Exact same thing me and my son were talking about, Just awesome work.

Almost 100 now.

All done without the benefit of CGI. Pretty impressive.

The subjects remind of ghost in the shell

you dont say meme

They were probably fainting in the isles. :)

I assume that to them, this was just as impressive as Terminator 2 (1991) was to my generation.

Even by today's standards the presentation and special effects are impressive, and the fact that they did all this in 1927 without computers is astounding.

@@onidaaitsubasa4177 Yes, I agree! I think the most impressive thing are the sets, showing the huge city. They still hold up even today.

@@onidaaitsubasa4177 also it looking a bit "home made" give it an air of authenticity and mystery that you don't get with the seamless smooth computer generated perfection of later si fi .......

Just like the first Dracula, Frankenstein, King Kong. They have an elemental quality. Film itself has it's own message. It helps to remember the kind of adventure stories and gothic thrillers that were out at the time. With no censor board. An exciting time. I highly recommend getting some of the precode DVD Box sets. Gives you an insight as to how hip the writers were back then. Wonderful films you can't forget. I'm a huge fan.

Uncanny Valley

@@sclogse1 I think because they based largely on reality.

If you saw the first "Alien" movie for the first time in a movie theater you would have pooped in your pants. That movie was just as frightening as the early horror films.

They must have lost their minds. I mean those effects still look decent lol

I'm afraid the 1920's kids don't remember very much these days!

Ah Gian people have been watching this film for generations

Gian Saculsan no!

Nope, I took this great once-in-every few years class "German 180Z" ("Loving the Dead" was the subtitle of Professor Rickles' class regarding early movies obsession with the alter ego's ability to cheat a judgment before death and also ultimately to cheat life and death equally.. with a hugely (baneful) Freudian bent; the Prof allowed me to bring my serpent child Simon to class. And strangely enough I had met him first in the antiquities room (very small, mostly oriental) at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. And I'd bump into this same Fascinating Dandy of an older man Each and Every time thereafter-- Museum=Rickles. But I'm inured by now to life's capricous intent to underscore the cyclical in this wondrous universe we get to become part of once the body becomes unnecessary. And remember: Death is a Process, and Natural. Trust your ability to heal; liken death to that.

Actually I have shown this film to my grand kids. They remember it and the few that are not brain dead realize just how special these effects are, all done in camera, on a single piece of film with multiple exposures.

Can't believe it's been almost a decade since you posted this comment...

@@googlelord1678 how do you know?

@@gnagna4715 Magic

96 years now

Hello! This movie is one of the most important piece of art.

The scene where Becky wakes up as a "pod person" in Invasion Of The Body Snatchers is similar.

This is transhumanism

That's also called transcreepyism @@kingkoi6542

Don’t you see the massive pentagram behind her😂

Wizard of Oz, is still my favorite. but yeah Met...' really good.

Hmmm, Marvel must take note

Well ackchyually, special effects advanced at an incredible rate in that 30 years, it's just that cameras advanced faster :D

miom thank you for the information 🖒

That robot looks futuristic nice special effects

... it's true...

Why read. Just look

I think you're right! I've never noticed that!

Frankenstein being on screen since 1910

​@@2adamastyeah but does he have a robot hand, i think not.

RADIO GA GA RADIO GO GO RADIO GA GA

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bcBgn7GUzZvVm4U.htmlsi=sy9bypSLBw6BAV5a is most shocking scene I ve ever watched

Only in this film. It would take years before the rest of the cinema world would catch up.

Ah yes ....Kelly Le Brock

I took a silent film class as an elective in college. Most of these movies are practical effects. But anything they couldn't do in terms of practical effects they would paint onto each individual frame of the film reel by hand meticulously (about 30 frames per second) as for the transparent overlay im assuming they physically overlayed two frames on top of each other. They also used the painting technique to make movies have "color" before color film was a thing by actually painting each scene by hand. The craftsmanship on classic films is actually pretty insane.

Eric Schroeder That's exactly what I thought. I myself have been wondering how stuff like this was made with all the visual effects. But I also thought of a solution that seems quite similar to your response. And I was right! So they actuallu did paint over the frames, which definetly makes sense, because computers never actually existed until later through the decades. People were still using artistic concepts in those days, and even WAY in the past before film was a thing. They couldn't develop cameras and all they had were paint and paper to sketch with to make portraits. People were ARTISTS. Movies are always depending on frames, not just movement itself, and the reason why I'm pointing that out is that the life we are living in today revolves around movement. Nothing is moving by frame in reality. But hey, it's still crazy to think that they painted a hand full of frames just to produce these films! #nerdgasm

Rothschild $$$

@@ericschroeder3302 did they colour Gone with the Wind too ?

@@lelakitersakiti7759 No, that was shot in Technicolor.

Don't act like you know what you're talking about when you can't tell the difference between SFX (Sound Effects) and VFX (Visual Effects).

Don't act like YOU know what you're talking about when you don't realize they meant Special Effects, instead of Sound Effects. Stop being a dick, also.

@@averythesuperhero The fuck is with you? OP has legitimate remark about the state of the arts. This 1927 film is more believable in effects and more immersive than the lazy bozos who do CGI in most films these days.

Back then it was story above effects.

Its not the advancements in technology to blame but the regression in effort put forth by creators today at least the ones getting advertised and sponsored,

Yes someone got an early edition to our future.

Or, ya know, the people who made the 2018 film were inspired and wanted to make it look like the 1927 one as an Easter egg.

I am sure it was no coincidence since this is a true classic.

Frankenstein is on screen since 1910(?)

actually the style of Frankenstein's laboratory came from this

Some moments in the first three Pirates films had some real magic. And remarkable dialogue to go with.

Was that a Queen refrence?

Back in the fifties stop-motion was ruling - and Ray Harrihausen was the king of the art.

Yes that seene as a five year old scared the hell out of me and when I would cut up my cousins would put me back in line by chasing me around the house with those skeleton movements' even seeing the movie well into adulthood it brought back memories what a great movie anyone notice the pentagram behind the robot.

Yo, Mr. White, your music da best!

You are not alone... ;-)

Nope

francisco andrada Yes you are. You are also the only person who has ever seen or even knows about the film Metropolis. You are truly one of a kind.

Yes, you are. You're the only person in the world who can appreciate the artistry of a good film. Congratulations.

...it is beautiful and eerie at the same time...

Not in the least. Anyone can hire a couple tech heads to faff around on a computer. This, on the other hand…

PointyTailofSatan Maria false Mary Catholicism!

The robot suit was made of...plywood.

@@alanfoster6589 Nope. It was made from a molded putty that when cured, was somewhat wood like. They would mold the rough piece, then sand and carve it to shape, then paint it.

I am sure the suit was horrible to wear but the few seconds we see of her moving in the suit was excellent.

Yeah, but I think it wasn't out back then. 😉

I would have totally banged her back then.......

@@logankincade661 ...get in line behind Bender... 🤖😆🤣

As well as now this movie lacks no truth, presently just look around.

Aku Is Here the inverted pentagram, that’s the first thing I noticed

me

It's supposed to be creepy. After all the mad inventor is putting all the memories into the robot.

That's. Kind of the whole point. There's something wrong with you if you *aren't* unsettled.

Well that's the point isn't it?

So true, but it's not a Hollywood movie. It was directed by Fritz Lang and he shot this masterpiece in Babelsberg and Staaken, Germany

It’s crazy how time goes. Now it’s 98 years old

Umm....no? Maria did not die, obviously, and all the robot got was her likeness. And Rotwang's motive for creating an artificial human was a lost love, not "world domination by means of super-strong robots". You missed the point by a mile.

Can you please explain

+ema fernandez - Yep the whole of the Radio Gaga video was a homage to this film.

Palo Duong it falls under the uncanny valley it seems so real so human even though it's not making us feel awkward or creeped out but this was decades ahead of it's time and one the best cosutme designs in movie history

Once he had it transformed into the appearance of Maria, the creepiness factor went away.

Thanks very much. Yes, clarinet - with piccolo doubling - are actually trilling...

There's nothing new under the sun.