We’re pleased to bring you a special screening of Fritz Lang’s pioneering sci-fi classic Metropolis, accompanied by a live score performed by David Ivory on the Mighty Opera House Wurlitzer.

This is your chance to see one of the most influential films of the 20th century screened as the director originally intended and as seen by German cinema-goers in 1927.

Set in a futuristic megacity in the year 2026, workers toil like machines underground to sustain the luxurious lifestyle of the ruling elite who live high above the city. In this futuristic urban dystopia, we follow the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of Metropolis’ ruler, and Maria, a poor worker, as they attempt to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city.

Design lovers will appreciate the strikingly angular set design, characteristic of the German Expressionist cinema of the 1920s. Fritz Lang claimed to have been inspired by his first glimpse of the New York skyline, and you can clearly spot this in the spectacular sets which have influenced so many future science fiction films.

Breathtaking and lavish, with detailed sets and hugely influential production design and visual effects, Metropolis is truly a classic of cinema which continues to question the systems that govern modern-day urban life and work.

Our accompanist
Organist David Ivory (The Cannock Chase Organ Club) will accompany this film on the mighty Opera House Wurlitzer. David is well known for his recitals of popular classics and sympathetic musical accompaniment of vintage silent films, something he has been doing for over 40 years. He has played organ professionally for both Granada Theatres and the Rank Organisation and was the resident organist at the Mechanical Music Museum in Suffolk for 35 years. He is now the principal organist at the Grange Musical Collection, Palgrave, Suffolk.