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EXHIBITIONS
Exhibitions 2010
The Complete METROPOLIS
The Cathedral
In Metropolis, the Cathedral forms a contrast to Yoshiwara, an entertainment complex. It represents traditional values and in the dystopian futuristic city. Sacred architecture of the Middle Ages and of the early modern era is alluded to in the nave with a main column at its center, in the large portal with its open stairs maintained in the Gothic style and flanked by figures of saints, in the roof with its gallery and in the bell tower.
The Cathedral is seen for the first time at the beginning of the interlude. Freder goes to the church to meet Maria, but instead of his new love he encounters figures of Death and the Seven Deadly Sins in a side niche.
The Cathedral frames the scenery for the showdown and the reconciliation at the end of the film. The workers have set up a stake in front of the church on which they burn Maria as a witch, who then turns out to be the robot. On the roof, it comes down to a fight between Freder and Rotwang, ending with the latter’s death. Afterward, Maria and Freder are finally united and Freder becomes the mediator between „head and hands.“
The details of the Cathedral were built in original size as a backdrop. The masks of the life-size figures of Death and the Seven Deadly Sins were designed by the sculptor Walter Schulze-Mittendorff out of the same material used for the robot.
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Construction of the Cathedral
During filming
Death, plaster cast head:
W. Schulze-Mittendorff
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