Comparing Metropolis And Tim Burton's Batman Returns

Metropolis is a German Expressionism silent film created in 1927 that uses a dystopian society to explore the dangers inherent in capitalism and industrialization. German Expressionism, the film movement of the 1920s, had a massive impact on comic books of the time. No movie exemplifies the influence of German Expressionism on modern comic book movies more than director Tim Burton's Batman Returns.

Metropolis is set in the future where humans are divided into two groups: the thinkers, those who make plans, yet do not know how anything works, and the workers, who achieve goals, yet do not have the vision. Wholly detached, neither group is complete, but together they make a whole. One man from the "thinkers" dares visit the underground where

the workers toil, and is astonished by what he sees. The movie follows Freder as he discovers the inhumane working conditions of the poor, forced to work 10 hour days deep underground. Thanks to Maria, he works to uncover the truth and free the poor from their deep poverty, while his father enlists the help of a mad scientist to build a robot version of Maria to overthrow the revolution.
Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992) and Metropolis (1927) may seem to be movies produced in very different time periods with very different audiences, but they have more similarities than one may think.

First, the tone that the settings give off are very alike. The appearance and sky line of Batman's Gotham City matches the appearance of Metropolis. Both Gotham City and Metropolis are angular, shadowed and full of tall and dominating buildings. The two cities have a very futuristic look, art deco interiors as well as a smoky atmosphere. Additionally, Metropolis’ city is in daylight but has a dark tone while Burton's Gotham City has this same darkened atmosphere. The lighting employs extreme contrasts of light and dark, thus creating dramatic shadows. Tom Duffield, who was Art Director on several of Burton's films, said there was an intentional connection with Lang's film, saying "the interiors of the Schreck building did have a Metropolis influence". Moreover, Max Schreck’s makeup and hair were heavily influenced by the inventor Rotwang from Metropolis. The mis-en-scene, more specifically the setting’s appearance, special effects, makeup and costume design of Batman Returns were all heavily influenced by the German Expressionist Film

Metropolis.

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Additionally, many of the shots and scenes of Metropolis and Batman Returns were shot in parallel structures. For instance, In Batman, when Jack Napier was escaping from police in the Axis Chemical plant, he starts throwing giant levers at a huge bank of dials and switches. This was a reference to the scene in Metropolis when the workers are operating the huge levers of the M Machine. Batman Returns has a set of statues that are also a reference to the M Machine levers. Similarly, in Batman Returns, there is a shot of Schreck's toy store. The angle is an exact copy of the shot of the massive Tower of Babel. The parallel scenes and parallel filming angles are both evidence for the influence of the movie Metropolis and other German Expressionism films on Tim Burton’s directorial and producing style.
Both movies employ similar elements, themes, and motifs. Batman Returns and Metropolis were both fantasy films with elements of horror but neither was exclusively a horror film. When the penguin’s campaign team is introduced to him, one of the public relations managers says, "Not a lot of reflective surfaces in the sewer, huh?" Mirrors are a recurring visual motif in Burton's Batman Returns. The villain's dislike of their own reflection places emphasis on their inability to confront the disparate nature of their fractured psyches. Rather than face their problems head-on, they turn their backs on them and allow their darker sides to reign supreme. This visual device for representing internal duality was a common one in expressionist cinema. Similarly in Metropolis, internal duality is represented through Maria’s doppelgänger robot who makes use of Maria’s influence over the men to do evil while Maria uses that same very influence to keep the peace. Another common motif is the need for a connection between the hands of labor and the minds of the intellectual. In Metropolis, this is a very obvious theme, with the laborers toiling miles beneath the surface and the intellectuals up top, wealthy and superior. In Batman Returns, the contrast between the value of the opinion of the secretary and Mr. Schreck is evident as well.
Finally, both films privilege internal form over pictorial representation. For instance, both the real Maria and faux Maria had exactly the same outer appearance, yet one was morally upright and kind while the evil robot promoted licentiousness and wreaked havoc. Additionally, in Batman Returns, Schreck was given the image of an upstanding, caring citizen while in reality, he murdered without guilt and did whatever it is that he deemed necessary for his personal agenda. The director’s use of abstractionism added a lot of depth film’s overall meaning to the viewers.
Tim Burton's Batman Returns and Lang’s Metropolis are testimonies to the greatest films of the last 100 years. With their art deco style, deep shadows and expressionistic themes, the evidence that Burton was heavily influenced by the German Expressionistic film Metropolis in his filmmaking is pervasive.