Anime Version Of Metropolis example essay topic

German cinema during the period of 1919 to 1945 is one of the most influential eras of cinema. From the horrific and fantasy images of the expressionist era to the propaganda films of the Third Reich. Some of these influences are vague, such as the use of similar techniques of mise-en-scene to direct influences upon plot and aesthetic quality. Such influences can be seen in a variety of films, the expressionist qualities from The Cabinet of Dr Caligari that have appeared in the works of Tim Burton, to the dark city scenes of M that have been recreated in countless film noir movies. The most obvious influences are when the plot is essentially remade to fit into contemporary ideologies and filmmaking techniques. One of the films that this has happened to is Metropolis, which has been essentially 'remade' using the techniques of Anime, the Japanese animation genre.

The silent classic Metropolis was created in Germany in 1925-26 by the Austrian director Fritz Lang in collaboration with his wife, Thea von Harbor (1888-1954). This science-fiction film, so admired today, was not even a big box-office success in its time and the production costs almost put the UFA film studios out of business. But Fritz Lang's Metropolis continues to fascinate viewers today, and for over seven decades it has influenced not just Hollywood and world cinema, but other media forms, mainly literature, with its spiralling cityscapes appearing in works such as 'Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep?' (The basis of Blade runner) and the 1949 Japanese manga comic Astro Boy, upon which the anime version of Metropolis was based. Each is a morality tale set in a future society based on technological progress and human pain, although they reach opposite conclusions about the struggle between the elite and the underclass. In the German version, it is the main male protagonist that brings the two factions together. However, the main male protagonist in the Japanese version is one of the key ingredients to the downfall, and eventual destruction of the city.

A key theme of Anime, (to some, arising from the nuclear attacks upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War Two) it is unsurprising that this apocalyptic spin is put on the original narrative. Each struggles to encompass more plot than its story can contain, yet the narrative is almost wholly overwhelmed by the richly imagined, imposing visuals. Like the old German "Metropolis", the new Japanese version is filled with detailed and beautiful imagery. Filmed in a blend of computer-generated illustration and traditional cel animation, it opens with a staggering visual tour de force. The camera sweeps over the crowds as we are introduced to a retro-futuristic city so huge that it seems a universe unto itself. The place is beautiful yet bleak: There is not a tree or blade of grass to be seen.

Zeppelin-like airships swim between mountainous towers, and fireworks dazzle the sky. Thousands have gathered to celebrate the dedication of the Ziggurat, a colossal skyscraper built by the powerful industrialist Duke Red. What they don't know is that the structure is a kind of Information Age Tower of Babel. It is the clearinghouse for all communication. Its centrepiece is a throne where Duke Red will place his half-human, half-computer girl Time, thus seizing world power. The head of state is colluding with Duke Red; his city is on the verge of political collapse as human workers replaced by robots prepare to rise up in revolution.

Much like the human workers in the German original who rise up against the elite class. "Metropolis" is not so much a remake of the previous film, but one that uses the 1920 film as a springboard. There still are two worlds, those of the elitists and the workers, and there still is the prevalent acceleration of technology -- with a world comprised of both robots and humans and some humans hating the robot population. It can be said that there is a possible like of auteur originality in our multi-channel, multi media age. However, it would be unfair to call the film a copy. To me, it is much more a re-interpretation of a classic, which has all the hallmarks of becoming a classic of the genre.