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Movies that feel like Metropolis (1927)

If you loved Metropolis, the closest films we have are THX 1138 (1971), Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and Cloud Atlas (2012). All three share Metropolis' contemplative and cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and MGM Plus and others, checked against today's data.

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

πŸ… 97% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Fritz Langcontemplativecerebralbleak
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If Metropolis hit the spot, these will too

THX 1138 poster
THX 1138
1971 Β· dir. George Lucas
πŸ… 72%β˜… 6.6science fiction Β· drama

Both are working the same pair: the future, dystopia

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

People in the future live in a totalitarian society. A technician named THX 1138 lives a mundane life between work and taking a controlled consumption of drugs that the government uses to make puppets out of people. As THX is without drugs for the first time he has feelings for a woman and they start a secret relationship.

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Fahrenheit 451 poster
Fahrenheit 451
1966 Β· dir. FranΓ§ois Truffaut
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.2drama Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: dystopia

The difference: Made in the 1960s, in a different era of the craft

In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as β€œfiremen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…

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Cloud Atlas poster
Cloud Atlas
2012 Β· dir. Lana Wachowski
πŸ… 65%β˜… 7.3drama Β· science fiction

Both are built on the same subject: the future

A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.

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Advantageous poster
Advantageous
2015 Β· dir. Jennifer Phang
πŸ… 87%β˜… 6science fiction Β· drama

Both land stillness and ideas at once

In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world.

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Code 46 poster
Code 46
2003 Β· dir. Michael Winterbottom
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.1drama Β· science fiction Β· thriller

Drama with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Metropolis does

In a dystopian future, insurance fraud investigator William Gold arrives in Shanghai to investigate a forgery ring for "papelles", futuristic passports that record people's identities and genetics. Gold falls for Maria Gonzalez, the woman in charge of the forgeries. After a passionate affair, Gold returns home, having named a coworker as the culprit. But when one of Gonzalez's customers is found dead, Gold is sent back to Shanghai to complete the investigation.

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All Quiet on the Western Front poster
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930 Β· dir. Lewis Milestone
πŸ… 98%β˜… 8.1drama Β· war

Contemplative science fiction, and it commits to that

The difference: Missing the ideas of Metropolis

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

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Slaughterhouse-Five poster
Slaughterhouse-Five
1972 Β· dir. George Roy Hill
πŸ… 82%β˜… 6.8drama Β· science fiction Β· war

Both lean on ideas more than on drama

Billy Pilgrim, a veteran of the Second World War, finds himself mysteriously detached from time, so that he is able to travel, without being able to help it, from the days of his childhood to those of his peculiar life on a distant planet called Tralfamadore, passing through his bitter experience as a prisoner of war in the German city of Dresden, over which looms the inevitable shadow of an unspeakable tragedy.

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Rollerball poster
Rollerball
1975 Β· dir. Norman Jewison
πŸ… 55%β˜… 6.5science fiction Β· action

Bleak science fiction in both cases

The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as Metropolis

In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.

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War for the Planet of the Apes poster
War for the Planet of the Apes
2017 Β· dir. Matt Reeves
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.4drama Β· science fiction Β· war

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

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Ghost in the Shell poster
Ghost in the Shell
1995 Β· dir. Mamoru Oshii
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.9action Β· animation Β· science fiction

Common ground: man vs machine

In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.

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The Giver poster
The Giver
2014 Β· dir. Phillip Noyce
πŸ… 34%β˜… 6.4drama Β· science fiction

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.

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Testament poster
Testament
1983 Β· dir. Lynne Littman
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.9drama Β· science fiction

Both sit in the same bleak register

It's just another day in the small town of Hamlin until something disastrous happens. Suddenly, news breaks that a series of nuclear warheads has been dropped along the Eastern Seaboard and, more locally, in California. As people begin coping with the devastating aftermath of the attacks β€” many suffer radiation poisoning β€” the Wetherly family tries to survive.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Metropolis’ defining feeling.