Silent Movie Festival Features "Metropolis" August 20 in Ludlow
FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) will feature the highly-praised German silent sci-fi film, "Metropolis", at its Silent Movie Festival on Saturday, August 20 at 7 PM at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium.
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist epic science-fiction drama film directed by Fritz Lang. Lang and his wife, Thea von Harbou, wrote the silent film, which starred Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel and Rudolf Klein-Rogge. Erich Pommer produced it in the Babelsberg Studios for Universum Film A.G.. It is regarded as a pioneering work of the science-fiction genre in movies, being among the first feature-length movies of the genre.
Made in Germany during the Weimar Period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city's ruler, and Maria, a poor worker, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. Filming took place in 1925 at a cost of approximately five million Reichsmarks. The art direction draws influence from Bauhaus, Cubist and Futurist design.
Sometime in the future, the city of Metropolis is home to a Utopian society where its wealthy residents live a carefree life. One of those is Freder Fredersen. One day, he spots a beautiful woman with a group of children, she and the children who quickly disappear. Trying to follow her, he, oblivious to such, is horrified to find an underground world of workers, apparently who run the machinery which keeps the above ground Utopian world functioning. One of the few people above ground who knows about the world below is Freder's father, Joh Fredersen, who is the founder and master of Metropolis.
Jeff Rapsis will return to the festival to offer his musical background music for this classic film. Glenn Brown will also reprise his piano talents offering background music for the short comic episode featured in a Buster Keaton short.
As with all FOLA films, admission is free; donations to underwrite the cost of the film and music are appreciated. Berkshire Bank will offer popcorn, while it lasts and FOLA will supply water. For information, call (802) 228-7239 or visit FOLA's web site at www.fola.us.
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