Metropolis [Hardcover]

Thea Von Harbou (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

This is Metropolis, the novel that the film's screenwriter -- Thea von Harbou, who was director Fritz Lang's wife, and a collaborator in the creation of the film -- this is the novel that Harbou wrote from her own notes. It contains bits of the story that got lost on the cutting-room floor; in a very real way it is the only way to understand the film.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 236 pages
• Publisher: Borgo Press; Wildside edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592249795
• ISBN-13: 978-1592249794
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,704,417 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Free SF Reader, September 3, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Metropolis (Paperback)

This is rather didactic, more a book to read for interest rather than fun, as such. Obvious politics and propaganda abound. Some will like the style, and some won't. Obviously it is of academic interest. Politics, eugenics, how far will you go for control and other such themes are front and centre in this work by a German author and film maker.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great novel even better film, March 7, 2002

By 

Georges Dodds (Montreal, QC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Metropolis (Paperback)

Thea von Harbou (1888-1954) was indeed Fritz Lang's wife and wrote a number of novels/screenplays which Lang produced, including "Il frau im Mond" and "Spione". He divorced her in 1932 when she joined the Nazi party. "Metropolis" dates from 1926, NOT 1888 (von Harbou's birthdate). The first German edition, Berlin: A. Scherl, 273 pp., with a cover based on an original design by Walter Reimann was published in 1926, the anonymous English translation appeared in 1927. It retrospect the book is quite propagandist, but certainly quite unique. A 75th Anniversary edition is available, with numerous illustrations/stills from the film and an introduction by Forrest J. Ackerman, from Sense of Wonder Press, James A. Rock & Co. Publ.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Characters are Caricatures, November 27, 2011

By 

Claudius Marcellus - See all my reviews

This review is from: Metropolis (Paperback)

The incessant repetition, the melodramatic characters, and the convoluted prose make Metropolis the novel an excruciating read. Seemingly only a masochist could love this book.

Don't say I didn't warn you.