I had never seen a silent movie. Not a feature length one, anyway. I don't know if it's actually possible to go through life watching TV and not even see one silent movie clip. I must have seen a few dozen just from watching the Muppet Babies. But, when it came to watching and entire feature length film with no talking whatsoever, I was concerned that it wouldn't be able to hold my interest. A lot of my movie watching is done when I should be sleeping (but can't or won't for whatever reason), and therefore, it's usually dark and I'm usually tired anyway, so if I'm not watching something interesting, I start to doze off. Walsh may not agree, but I had this problem during the pointless dream-within-a-dream sequences of the movie Sucker Punch. Very difficult to stay awake when you don't care what happens.
All that being said, I decided to watch Metropolis for an upcoming episode of the show. It always showed up on lists of great classic movies and I figured I should give it a shot. The version I watched was the 2010 restoration. The film had been cut significantly down after its initial release, but they found a copy in Argentina that had a great deal of the missing footage. The movie clocks in at just over 2.5 hours, so I knew I was in for the long hall. I watched it in two sittings, do to time restraints (I have to work sometime, right?) and I must say, I enjoyed the movie.
I liked the movie on two different levels:
1. It's funny to laugh at weird stuff
One of the interesting things about watching old movies is that, even when they take place in the future (in this case, 2026. We're almost there!), they give you an idea of what people were thinking about when the movie was made. In this fashion, you can get a glimpse of a time that has disappeared forever . . . and laugh at it. I don't mean that in a derisive way, necessarily, but it is funny to laugh at things that don't make sense any more. Not to mention old-timey special effects (though, in this case, they managed some pretty impressive stuff, for the time) and what they though the future would be like (of course bi-planes will be flying around the mega buildings where we all live. It's the future!). Also, the acting is hilarious at times. Super hammy, over the top, lots of chest clutching, wringing of hands and Home Alone-style hands on the face.
2. It's actually pretty good.
Sure the movie feels old. It is old. Almost 90 years old. But that being the case, the story they tell is a universal one of love overcoming diversity. Of greed, corruption, betrayal, outrage, redemption . . . this stuff can't get old, it's who we are. In this sense, I enjoyed the story of the movie very much. It did slow down in the middle a bit (when the two leads meet, I was a little bored) but for the most part, I was interested and, to be honest, I was expecting a bit of a darker ending, but was pleasantly surprised by what we got.
So, all in all, I recommend watching Metropolis if you have any interest at all in movie history or unique experiences. It's streaming on Netflix at time of writing, so very easy to come by if you subscribe to that service. Watch it and enjoy because it's not like they're making any new silent movies, right?
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