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It's Aliiiiiiiiiiiive!

Metropolis Film Poster Could Be Sold For $850,000

by Jill Pantozzi | 4:02 pm, March 10th, 2012


No, we’re not talking about Clark Kent’s current living space, this is the classic sci-fi film directed by Fritz Lang that influenced just about every major sci-fi film that came after it. A three-sheet movie poster done for the film by art deco artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm is being offered up for the low, low price of $850,000. Want to see what $850,000 worth of poster looks like? 

The 1927 silent film was written by Lang and his wife Thea Von Harbou, and starred Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel and Rudolf Klein-Rogge. It revolves around the disparity between the working class of the city and the wealthy who rule over them in huge towers. The son of the master of the city falls in love with one of the workers and this woman, Maria, prophesies that a savior will come to help with struggles between the two societies. Anyway, long story short, there’s a crazy scientist, and a robot, and terrible things happen. It was way ahead of its time and influenced countless creators who went on to pay homage or at least take inspiration from Metropolis in their work.

The Movie Poster Exchange is now selling one of Neudamm’s posters for a record (read: insane) price – $850,000.  The Hollywood Reporter says the poster is one of four in existence, one likely belonging to actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Another is in the Museum of Modern Art, and another in the Austrian National Library. “This is the international version of the poster and the image was only used on the 3-sheet version (the full-size 41”x 81” posters most people are familiar with),” writes THR. Take a look…

Definitely a beauty, and something I would certainly hang a print up of on my wall but will anyone spend close to a million dollars to have the original? Movie Poster Exchange seems to think so.

“Posters from this all-time classic science-fiction film are the rarest of the rare and this, the most famous image ever associated with the film is no exception,” they write. “This is a unique opportunity to acquire what is without question one of the finest and most recognizable posters in the entire hobby.”

“The last time this poster changed hands it sold for $690,000, which is the current record for a movie poster,” says THR. “Before that it sold on eBay for about $200,000. It was originally acquired in Germany by a long-time poster collector.”

As you can imagine, posters from movies made in the 20s aren’t in abundance, but don’t worry, this one is in great condition. Movie Poster Exchange writes, “The condition of this masterpiece is fantastic, a very strong Very Fine+. It has been backed for preservation/presentation and very minimal color work has been performed to the fold lines. There were no missing pieces or major problems with this poster prior to restoration, just slight fold line separation from years of storage.”

Sean Linkenback, one of the owners of the poster website is actively trying to get collectors to adopt the Certified Guaranty Company, or CGC,  10-point standard for quality grading. It’s the same system that’s used to determine the quality, and therefore price, of collectable comic books.

For anyone seriously interested, they’re also accepting offers under the asking price.

(via Hollywood Reporter)

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  • Frodo Baggins

    I would, but I already have the print on my wall.

  • http://twitter.com/coreyregalado Corey Regalado

    Awesome movie, but no doubt I can find, erm, better deals.

  • janalyn.glover

    If I had that kind of money, I’d bankroll a small independent movie about the German Expressionist filmmakers and actors, many of whom wound up either fleeing Germany as the Nazis came to power or actually becoming Nazis themselves. It’s a fascinating period, especially for film-history enthusiasts. Conrad Veidt, who played Cesare in what is called the first Expressionist film, ‘Der Cabinet auf Dr. Caligari,’ wound up escaping to America at around the same time as Peter Lorre, who had an unforgettable performance in Fritz Lang’s early-talkie thriller ‘M,’ and the two of them worked together on ‘Casablanca.’ Rumor has it that Veidt took especial pains to make the Nazi character he portrayed, Major Strasser, as terrifying as possible so United States audiences would understand the need to fight the evil he’d only narrowly escaped.

    Conversely, Thea von Harbou wound up becoming an enthusiastic Nazi and made films for the NSDAP around the same time as Leni Riefenstahl, but with far less success, ultimately dying in obscurity, whereas her second husband, Fritz Lang, loathed the Nazis and went to America shortly after their divorce. The entire time period and the people involved…it reads like an epic, with divided loyalties, betrayals, redemptions, the best villains ever and the odd caper-movie escape. There’s an excellent documentary about the emigre artists once they arrived in America called ‘Hitler’s Exiles,’ and a really old one about German Expressionism in general called ‘The Haunted Screen.’ That, and many of the films themselves are in the public domain and available online, so…

    Why has this not gotten a post of its’ own, really?

  • http://twitter.com/AlainaRachelle Alaina

    While I’m sure it’s coincidental, ‘Metropolis’ was cited as the theme for Badgley Mischka’s collection that just premiered at Fashion Week. That’s actually part of why this caught my attention. Well, that and the price tag. It’s an amazing print, but I think I’ll just be sticking to a reproduction.

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