Books with title The Metropolis

This is Metropolis, the novel that the film's screenwriter -- Thea von Harbou, who was director Fritz Lang's wife, and a collaborator in the creation of the film -- this is the novel that Harbou wrote from her own notes. It contains bits of the story that got lost on the cutting-room floor; in a very real way it is the only way to understand the film.Michael Joseph of The Bookman wrote about the novel: "It is a remarkable piece of work, skilfully reproducing the atmosphere one has come to associate with the most ambitious German film productions. Suggestive in many respects of the dramatic work of Karel Capek and of the earlier fantastic romances of H. G. Wells, in treatment it is an interesting example of expressionist literature. ... Metropolis is one of the most powerful novels I have read and one which may capture a large public both in America and England if it does not prove too bewildering to the plain reader."

This remarkable novel, the basis for the world's greatest science-fiction movie, has long been a rare but ardently sought-after collector's item. It is an unforgettable vision of the 21st century and the awe-inspiring city of the future. Metropolis has been compared to such classics as George Orwell's 1984, H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, Samuel Butler's Erewhon, and Karel Capek's R.U.R. Science fiction writer and editor Forrest J Ackerman called it "a work of genius," noting, "The language of the novel is sometimes as thesauric as Shiel, as kaliedoscopic as Merritt, as bone-spare as Bradbury, as poetic as Poe, as macabre as Machen. . . . You will have an experience in reading that will last you all the rest of your life."

This is Metropolis, the novel that the film's screenwriter -- Thea von Harbou, who was director Fritz Lang's wife, and a collaborator in the creation of the film -- this is the novel that Harbou wrote from her own notes. It contains bits of the story that got lost on the cutting-room floor; in a very real way it is the only way to understand the film.

"Return at ten-thirty," the General said to his chauffeur, and then they entered the corridor of the hotel. Montague gazed about him, and found himself trembling just a little with anticipation. It was not the magnificence of the place. The quiet uptown hotel would have seemed magnificent to him, fresh as he was from the country; but, he did not see the marble columns and the gilded carvings-he was thinking of the men he was to meet. It seemed too much to crowd into one day-first the vision of the whirling, seething city, the centre of all his hopes of the future; and then, at night, this meeting, overwhelming him with the crowded memories of everything that he held precious in the past.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is Metropolis, the novel that the film's screenwriter -- Thea von Harbou, who was director Fritz Lang's wife, and a collaborator in the creation of the film -- this is the novel that Harbou wrote from her own notes. It contains bits of the story that got lost on the cutting-room floor; in a very real way it is the only way to understand the film.

Metropolis is a 1925 novel by the German writer Thea von Harbou. The story is set in 2026 in a technologically advanced city, which is sustained by the existence of an underground society of labourers. The son of one of the city's founders falls in love with a girl from the underground society as the two societies begin to clash due to the lack of a unifying force. The novel was the basis for Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis.

Metropolis is the classic novel of prophetic science fiction that inspired both Fritz Lang’s silent movie masterpiece and Osamu Tezuka’s contemporary feature-length anime. Here is a magical, visionary page-turner so rich and inventive as to defy description. Thea von Harbou’s Metropolis is one science fiction classic everyone should read. Her visionary novel has been compared to such prophetic classics as Samuel Butler’s Erewhon, Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward, H. G. Wells’ When the Sleeper Wakes, Karel Capek’s RUR, and George Orwell’s 1984. Contemporary comparisons have been made to Samuel Delaney’s Triton, Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, Peter F. Hamilton’s The Reality Dysfunction, and Greg Egan’s Permutation City. “The language [of the book] is sometimes as theasuric as Shiel, as Kaleidoscopic as Merritt, as bone-spare as Bradbury, as poetic as Poe, as macabre as Machen,” writes Forrest Ackerman. Metropolis paints a stunning picture of the city of the future. At the top of the social pyramid, those who own the city’s buildings and businesses live idyllic lives devoted to the pursuit of pleasure; while at it’s bottom are the workers who live a hellish existence, laboring like robots in its factories, dwelling with their gaunt, stunted children in the everlasting gloom of underground barracks. Fighting to right these inequities are two lovers: Freder, son of the master and builder of Metropolis, who is shocked to social conscience when he glimpses the squalor and hopelessness amid which his father’s workers live; and Maria, who encourages the workers to stand united for their rights while following a path of non-violent resistance. Filled with unforgettable images from Joh Fredersen’s headquarters, the New Tower of Babel, rearing high above the gleaming spires of Metropolis to the pleasure city, Yoshiwara, whose name flares across the skies to the factories where workers slave before machines that resemble a pantheon of the world’s gods to the evil robotrix, Parody, with the eyes of a Madonna and lips of deadly sin, whose carnal dance inspires the workers to revolt . . . Metropolis is an unforgettable, must-read book.

This is Metropolis, the novel that the film's screenwriter -- Thea von Harbou, who was director Fritz Lang's wife, and a collaborator in the creation of the film -- this is the novel that Harbou wrote from her own notes. It contains bits of the story that got lost on the cutting-room floor; in a very real way it is the only way to understand the film.