Fritz Lang’s Metropolis may be getting a remake soon. Thanks to Coyotegoth for alerting me to this one. It’s one of my most beloved films, having seen the Giorgio Moroder version with a group of friends for my twelfth birthday (I was weird). On the one hand, I am absolutely horrified by the prospect. On the other, it could potentially be very interesting, at least if it had any of the directors that my friends have mentioned as their choices for the project, including Peter Jackson, Baz Luhrmann and Mira Nair.
To me there are several key issues in a Metropolis remake including a committment to sparse dialogue; thorough comprehension of class issues and structure; a willingness to make Maria and False Maria powerful and unique while also hewing to the religious allegory inherent in their characters; and a respect for the occult and political tinges of the original.
