Generally considered the first great science-fiction film, Metropolis fixed for the rest of the century the image of a futuristic city as a hell of scientific progress and human despair. From this film, in various ways, descended ``Dark City'', ``Blade Runner,'' ``The Fifth Element,'' and Batman's Gotham City. The laboratory of its evil genius,
Rotwang, created the visual look of mad scientists for decades to come.
Metropolis employs vast sets, 25,000 extras and astonishing special effects to create two worlds: the great city of Metropolis, with its stadiums, skyscrapers and expressways in the sky, and the subterranean workers' city, where the clock face shows 10 hours to cram another day into the workweek. Lang's film is the summit of German Expressionism, the combination of stylized sets, and dramatic camera angles.
