Why We Love Tron

Okay, aside from Star Wars (1977) has any movie done as much to promote CGI as Tron (1982)? I mean, sure, Dykstra placed close to 300 CGI effects in Episode IV: A New Hope but Tron was almost nothing but special effects. I mean, sure, it looks like child's play compared to today's CGI, but really, how many commercial programmers even remember how to map 3D images on a Commadore 64 anymore? In reality, back in 1982 it was also a hell of lot more complex and more time consuming to create those special effects than it is now. So to the gentlemen at Walt Disney Studios and wherever they contracted their engineers from, I salute you.

Tron was an instant cult classic. It was virtually a blockbuster in it's day, but it hasn't stood the test of time in a the same way it's previously mentioned Wars rival has. Sure, everyone's heard of Tron, but everyone has seen at least one of the original three Star Wars flicks. Let's face it, people who were in their teens in the early 80's still fondly remember this movie. Their kids however either haven't watched it, or are just not as impressed as their parents were - which surprises me, because this is the same generation that's impressed by Justin Bieber. You would think that means it wouldn't take much.

But to the people of that generation that remembers Tron, of which I am not (I am actually between the Tron generation and the Bieber generation) there is an eagerness and a reluctance to see the new Tron: Legacy when it comes out. Movie afficiandos of my generation who are largely responsible for the cult status of Tron and keeping alive in the underground are also having mixed feelings. Would it be nice to see the world of Tron rendered under today's technology? Sure. Will there be an appreciation for the extra time and effort put into this? Maybe. Will it be completely groundbreaking? Unlikely. Let's face it, seeing humans interact with 3D Computer animation happens all the time nowadays. And "Real3D" movies have been around for a few years  now. I personally am not expecting anything I haven't seen before, and to that extent, that is the element that will likely be missing from the much anticipated sequal.

Metropolis

"The mediator between the hands and the head must be the heart..."

Yup. I finally saw this one. My town just recently hosted a screening with an extra half hour of missing footage, which I couldn't get tickets to, but I did watch a version that had placards to describe the parts we missed. However, there is still a bunch of dialogue I am convinced is missing.

This 1927 German film is absolutely legendary for it's class-concious message, dystopian style, visionary storytelling and amazing special effects for a movie of it's era. It's also inspired mny other films, including Blade Runner (1982) and the anime Metropolis (2001). The anime was based on a graphic novel by Osamu Tezuka from 1949, which was heavily influenced by the 1927 film. Square Enix's game Final Fantasy VII (1997) may have been inspired by the film or graphic novel.

All the themes are there: A class-concious "Utopian" society in which the ruling class above ground is not even aware of the existence of the working class below ground. Until one young man wanders below ground and sees the destruction, toil, and death. He falls in love with a prophetess who talks of a coming mediator - the heart (guess who that will be?) - until she is kidnapped and replaced by a

 robot that looks just like her.

Much like the Anime successor, there is also some religious themes, as the highest peak of civilization was to build a tower unto the heavens. Called the Ziggarat in the anime, but in the 1927 film they just go straight to calling it the New Tower of Babel. In the anime, they still make very obvious comparisons between the Ziggarat and the biblical tower of fame.

This is the movie that placed sci-fi on the map. It's very difficult to find an english version (the movie is originally German) and despite a post-WWI budget, the scenery is impressive, with many sets, and very extravagent models of both the city above ground, and the workers city below ground. Sometimes the vaudeville style of performance can be a distraction from the believability of the story, but for a black and white horror movie, it works. It takes a bit of effort to suspend disbelief, but it is possible and the payout is well worth it.

If the extended version hits your town, go check it out. But unless they announce that there will be an intermission, avoid drinks and bring adult diapers, because the version I watched was already two hours long. And think, even with the extra half-hour it is supposed that there is still anywhere from twenty to sixty minutes still unnacounted for. I hope that extra half-hour includes dialogue placards.