Capital Celluloid 2025 — Day 244: Wed Sep 3

Metropolis (Lang, 1927): Wilton's Hall, 7.30pm

Wilton's Music Hall introduction:
Experience Metropolis like never before in a spellbinding live performance by acclaimed pianist and composer Dmytro Morykit. Morykit’s piano concert sits beautifully alongside Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent film masterpiece with a powerful original piano score performed entirely from memory. A seamless fusion of cinema and music, this two-hour concert brings Metropolis to a modern audience, offering a rich emotional and sonic journey that amplifies the film’s dramatic impact. Featuring compositions written over three decades, alongside new pieces tailored to the film, Morykit’s score creates a dynamic and moving atmosphere that resonates deeply with today’s viewers. Critics have hailed the performance as “a new duet between Fritz and Dmytro,” praising its emotional intensity and technical brilliance. Having toured extensively over the last 12 years to sell-out audiences, Morykit always looks forward to returning to Wilton’s Music Hall, a unique venue, adding another aesthetic to this memorable cinematic and musical experience. Introduction by Hazel Cameron (Producer)

Chicago Reader review:
Fritz Lang's 1927 silent epic about class struggle in a city of the 21st century still has a lot of popular currency, but it's never been a critics' favorite. This 124-minute version is the longest since the German premiere, and the unobtrusive use of intertitles to fill in the blanks makes it more coherent. The restoration clarifies the relationships among the hero (Gustav Fröhlich); his late mother, who died giving birth to him; his father, the ruler of Metropolis (Alfred Abel); and the father's bitter romantic rival (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), an inventor who creates a robot in the mother's image. Later the robot is upgraded to impersonate the hero's heartthrob (Brigitte Helm), a radical preacher who helps organize the city's exploited workers. The film looks fabulous, and Gottfried Huppertz's original score is another worthy addition.
Jonathan Rosenbaum 

Here (and) above is the trailer.