METROPOLIS IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST and most talked-about science-fiction movies ever made. And now the Japanese X-Plus company has created a 1:8 scale kit of Maria, a female robot that became the film’s most powerful image.
Mat Irvine: Metropolis took 18 months to film; director Fritz Lang treated the cast terribly; it was badly received when it first appeared (HG Wells in a review called it “silly”); the leading lady had to do all her own stunts; it involved 35,000 extras; Heath and Safety didn’t seemed to be involved at all; it was recut, losing a quarter of the movie for the American market, and for many years didn’t exist in its original form. But for all that, Metropolis has gone into history as one of the most significant movies ever made. One of the movie’s most memorable images is an early vision of a robot, one generally called Maria. Considering Maria’s significance, it’s surprising that it has taken so long for a conventional model kit of this cinematic creation to be made. Although Maria would once have been a natural choice for Aurora, the robot doesn’t appear to have been on the company’s list of ‘kits to do.’ But now the Japanese X-Plus company (owned by Shonen-Ric Toys) has finally done the job. X-Plus specialises primarily in traditional Japanese monsters, but its scale construction-kit line is new, and features some non-Japanese characters.
Looking at the kit: The movie was shot in silent black and white, so Maria’s colour has to go on contemporary information. The robot was painted gold, and it is in this colour the kit is moulded for the robot. The chair and base are in grey and there is a clear runner for the legs. The model is moulded in two main sets of components: the robot, plus the chair and base plate. The last has the name Metropolis movie logo moulded in.
The robot is somewhat different to most figure kits in that it comes in two interlinked layers. An inner structure represents the head, torso, arms and legs, to which outer panels are fitted, representing the robotic structure. The X-Plus instructions are in English and explain the assembly clearly. After the main structure there are several smaller detailing parts that need attaching and X-Plus recommend the locating holes are drilled out with a 1.2 mm bit, though I didn’t find this necessary in most cases. The figure finish could be left as moulded, but I thought a coat of gold paint would be helpful. I painted the figure with a matt-black base coat, as metallics always work best over a black base. Then I sprayed Humbrol gold on top. The only addition to the overall gold finish, though not noted in the instructions, is that the eyes are very prominent in the film, and have white eyeballs with no irises. But there’s a small black dot in the centre as the pupil of each eye.
The chair is simply a front, back and base, and doesn’t have the electronic connections seen in the movie. The chair base sits on six small legs, which are two-part mouldings in clear plastic. This base in turn sits on a lower section, with the Metropolis logo moulded in. This sits in turn on eight more legs, though you won’t see these in the movie. According to the instructions, the legs can remain transparent or, as with the chair and base, be painted ‘black sliver’. Exactly what that means is not clear, but it could be metallic black. The back of the chair has embossed German words reading Hel, a name given by Rotwang the robot’s inventor.
But overall, as we are dealing with a black-and-white movie, the paint colours can really be left to your imagination. But note that when attaching the robot to its base, the fit is tight and any layers of paint will need removing from the locating pins, to avoid the danger of breakage if too much force is used.
The Maria robot was created for the original film by sculptor Walter Schultze-Mittendorf, who took a full body-cast of actress Brigette Helm, and used a newly invented plastic-wood material to create the costume. In 1964 Schultze-Mittendorf built a second Maria, for the Cinémathèque Française film archive in Paris.
About Metropolis and the robot’s name: How does this robot – and the possible confusion regarding the name ‘Maria’, fit into things? Well, the city of Metropolis is on two levels, the upper of which is where the ruling elite live, with magnificent apartments, sports areas and gardens. Underground is the Machine Hall, where workers toil to keep the city running. In charge of it all is Joh Fredersen, and he has a son called Freder.
The origin of Maria (we never know her surname), is not exactly explained but she appears to run the equivalent of a church for downtrodden workers in underground catacombs that are even lower than the Machine Hall. She is played by Brigette Helm in her first film acting role. Meanwhile a colleague of Joh Fredersen, the inventor Rotwang, has built a robot in an attempt to resurrect his first love, a lady called Hel. However she had married Fredersen instead of himself, but had died giving birth to their son, Freder. Rotwang keeps her memory alive with a giant statue of her, and the wording that appears on the back of the chair in the kit, hidden behind a large curtain in his house. But his plan is to transform the robot into human form as ‘his’ Hel. However Fredersen, once he has seen the robot, has other plans and orders Rotwang to instead make the likeness as Maria. Then he can use this ‘fake Maria’ as a plant amongst the workers and discredit the real Maria. (With me so far?)
Consequently when the transformation takes place, the likeness is that of the human Maria, also played by Bridgette Helm. However one could argue the actual ‘person’ should be called (the never seen in reality) Hel, or even ‘false Maria.’ To add to the confusion, the name Futura has also been applied to the robot, though this is only mentioned in the original novel, by Lang’s then-wife, Thea von Harbou. It’s generally accepted that the novel was written only so Lang would have a first draft of the script, but although much stayed the same, the Futura name did not survive into the movie. Brigette Helm was also inside the ‘robot suit’, and complained it was extremely uncomfortable! So much for modern-day stunt doubles!
X-Plus gets around the name issue by calling the kit Maschinenmensch, which is the German term Rotwang calls his creation, meaning ‘machine man’, or in effect, ‘robot’. The name Maria is not used anywhere.
Varying length: The IMDb (International Movie Database) lists six different runtimes, taking into account different frame speeds and variously cut versions. Germany saw the complete version in 1927, but when shown in the US a few months later, the movie had been cut by at least a quarter. The story had been rewritten as well, but that’s another story. The cuts from the original German 35mm print were also certainly destroyed. Consequently, up until the 2000s, no complete version existed. Until then, the most well-known version was by Giorgio Moroder in 1984. He cut the length even further and added a rock-music soundtrack. Moroder also colorized it, using colour tints over the black and white, something that Lang had wanted to do.
Down South America way: In 2008 a virtually complete copy of Metropolis was discovered in an unlikely location, Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. This was a 16 mm copy of an original 35 mm print, and although of poor quality, did show what the missing scenes were, and the correct story order. This was augmented by a piano version of the original music score by Gottfried Huppertz, who had meticulously noted where music cues would be, and hence the precise edit points. In 2010 a restored Metropolis was released, mostly using the original 35mm film in the correct film ratio, but intercut with cleaned-up 16mm footage (though still inferior to the 35 mm) and an original music score. One short scene is still missing, but its place is filled in with descriptions in German and English. If you want to watch the whole movie as Fritz Lang (more or less) intended, I recommend you view this 2010 version, and this version only!
The film had a great influence on later movie-makers. The city in Superman is named Metropolis; the Blade Runner version of Los Angeles has many Metropolis influences; Charlie Chaplin based his ‘gears’ scene from Modern Times on the Machine Hall; the Dr Strangelove mechanical hand is based on that of Rotwang, and C-3PO from Star Wars is a close likeness to Maria.
SMN note: Georgio Moroder’s Metropolis is available on YouTube, and is worth a look. The score is definitely a Moroder ‘pioneer of disco and synthesiser’ piece, but it’s pleasant enough, as is the colorization.
Scale stats
X-Plus: Metropolis Maschinemensh (‘Maria’)
Scale: 1:8
Parts: 68
Assembled height: 250 mm (10 in)
Manufacturer’s ref: 441-200037T
Coming soon: A second edition of the kit is due for April 2023, this time moulded in silver. The reason for the colour change is not clear, though advertising proclaims it to be the ‘Silver Screen Edition.’
Fitting the inner leg parts in place (above). Note the pins on the outer leg halves fit through the large holes. The outer leg halves (below) show the gates (where styrene is injected into the mould) are fairly thick in places, so need careful trimming.
The complete kit (below) as seen from the side. This also reveals that the feet under the base don’t really match anything seen in the movie.
The completed figure (below) as seen from the rear. The back of the chair features the name Hel, and quotes from the movie seen below the statue in Rotwang’s house.
Closeup of the head (below), showing the eyes picked out, as seen in the movie.
C3PO (above), the protocol droid from the Star Wars universe.