10 Seriously Weird Sci-Fi Movies That Deserve Your Attention
1. Metropolis (1927)
Metropolis is widely considered to be one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made, but there's a good chance you've never seen it. For one thing, it was released nearly a century ago, and unless you're studying film in school, there's a fair chance this one skipped your attention.
Despite being released during the silent film era, Metropolis has aged remarkably well, and that's largely due to the incredible lengths director Fritz Lang went to in bringing it to life. The film stands as one of the earliest feature-length science-fiction films ever made, and it cost around $1.18 million ($17.6 million in 2020) to produce.
Metropolis is set in a futuristic dystopia and is centered around the wealthy son of the city master named Freder, and Maria, who is a saintly figure to the lower-class workers within the city. The theme spread throughout the film deals with class struggle, and the attempt to unite the disparate classes under the leadership of the city master.
Science-fiction is the storytelling medium, but the struggle depicted in the film could have been set in any time and place. The use of robots called Maschinenmensch (machine-person) helps to drive the plot, and the imagery in this film helped influence science fiction for decades.