Metropolis

This is the English translation of Thea von Harbou's serialized 1925 novel, which inspired the screen play she wrote with her husband and director of the 1927 silent movie, Fritz Lang. Although the film itself has been brutalized and lost through revisionist editing and decay, the book itself retains the heart and soul of its characters and situations. Whether to better understand the film as it survives today, or simply to fill in the gaps of its missing scenes, this book make a perfect companion.

As mythic as the original picture produced from its pages, "Metropolis" depicts the struggle between the upper and lower classes, who metaphorically dwell above and below ground in a dystopic society. Fate or destiny bring together two lovers separated by their differences, and the social upheaval derives from their efforts to overcome what keeps them apart. This ultimately culminates in the creation of the iconic robot inseparably linked to Lang's visionary science fiction motion picture.