Metropolis - Draft film script

 

Metropolis - Thea von Harbou's Original Draft Script

Introduction

A copy of Thea von Harbou's original draft / working script (1925-6) for Metropolis is located in the collection of the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin. It is an undated, 1 volume, typewritten manuscript, and is similar to the version used by Fritz Lang during filming, though its precise state is unclear. The volume contains 406 individual scenes. A few pages from the working script were published in the original German program for Metropolis, and one of the pages is reproduced below.

The surviving manuscript is part of the Gottfried Huppertz Collection, which also contains the original handwritten music for Metropolis, Die Nibelungen, Zur Chronik von Grieshuus and other compositions. It was acquired by Gero Gandert during the 1980s for the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, which is now Filmmuseum Berlin-Deutsche Kinemathek. The Metropolis script is annotated "fur Herrn Huppertz", with numerous handwritten annotations re music on each page, and a dedication to Eric Pommer at the front. A pdf copy of the script is contained in the 2006 Metropolis Study Version DVD presentation.

Last updated: 18 June March 2005.