METROPOLIS

METROPOLIS by Thea Von Harbou was published 100 years ago by August Scherl in Germany and yet many of its themes, remarkably, are as relevant today as they were when first published. The book was written with the intention of being adapted for film by Harbou's husband, the director Fritz Lang. Harbou collaborated with Lang on the script for the film, also titled Metropolis using the novel as a treatment. Metropolis is widely considered and rightly so a visual masterpiece and it has been hugely influential, inspiring most notably Bladerunner, directed by Ridley Scott and Tim Burton's Batman films.  

 

In many ways  a cultural pre-cursor to works like George Orwell's '1984.' It is a dystopian sci-fi novel set in the year 2026, set in the vast, glistening city of Metropolis, where society is separated into two distinct classes, the wealthy elite who live in the luxurious sky-scrapers and the oppressed workers who toil beneath the city. Exploring themes of capitalism, class struggle, industrialisation and the advancement of technology to such a degree that workers are literally fed to the god like machines that run the city. In a world in which Nobel prize winning scientists are warning us of the advancement of AI and it's 'consciousness' and  terrifying potential, this reads as prophetic, not least as it is set, in our year 2026, having been written 100 years ago. 

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What is startling about the original text presented here as opposed to the adapted film version is that most of the rich gothic and occult themes of the novel are not evident at all in the film. Lang was under immense financial pressure and many of these scenes would have been highly controversial at the period. Lang has said in interview, (most notably in interviews with The Exorcist director William Freidkin), that they simply did not have the visual effects then to recreate these scenes, for example, the witches sabbath and supernatural frenzy which takes place in the Cathedral, what's more there were deep concerns over censorship, this was a dangerous time for filmmakers in Nazi Germany.

 

These scenes have been given special attention in this volume and have been rendered in the German Expressionist style by Elijah John who's work here is influenced by the great graphic artists of that period, Albin Grau (Nosferatu), Stefan Eggeler, Edvard Munch and Alfred Kubin. These illustrations set against the crisp, sharpness of Zimakov's linocuts, the exquisite play of dark and light of which he is a master, are intended to visually mirror the two distinct worlds of Metropolis.    

 

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​​​​​​​ABOUT THIS EDITION

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Consisting of only 350 copies in three states, Artists Edition, Deluxe Edition and Lettered Edition. METROPOLIS is designed by Elijah John and contains 16 illustrations, 8 full page linocuts by Vladimir Zimakov which will be printed letterpress from the original blocks and 8 tipped in illustrations by Elijah John in the expressionist mode.     

 

Page Count: 260 pp approx

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Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm (uniform size of our other titles.)

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The book will be printed letterpress by Pat Randle and Ellen Bills of Nomad Letterpress on their Heidelberg Cylinder. 

The title page will be printed in blue and grey.

 

Typesetting   

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Very early on we decided to use the hand-lettered font created for the iconic film poster by Heinz Schulz-Neudamm. Both the poster design and font epitomise the sharp angles and use of light and shadow which has become synonymous with innovative spirit of German Expressionism. Sticking with German typography the text is set in Walbaum, a favourite of Pat Randle at Nomad Letterpress it is the work of Justus Erich Walbaum (1768-1837) and remained popular through the Weimar Republic and is still popular in Germany to this day.