Altaplana, world of Francois Schuiten and Benoit Peeters

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Metropolis

Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction drama film directed by Fritz Lang. Written by Thea von Harbou, with collaboration from Lang himself, it starred Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge and Brigitte Helm. Erich Pommer produced it in the Babelsberg Studios for Universum Film A.G. (Ufa). The silent film is regarded as a pioneering work of the science-fiction genre in movies, being among the first feature-length movies of the genre. Filming took place over 17 months in 1925–26 at a cost of over five million Reichsmarks 1).

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 master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city, and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, the master of the city. The film's message is encompassed in the final inter-title: “The Mediator Between the Head and the Hands Must Be the Heart” 2).

Modellers of the Metropolis of Fritz Lang (left)3) and De Vrouw in Brüsel (right)