Norden, Martin F. "The Avant-Garde Cinema of the 1920s: Connections to Futurism, Precisionism, and Suprematism." Leonardo 17.2 (1984): 108-12.

In this book, Martin Norden discusses the ways in which Futurism, Cubism, and Precisionism appear in film.  Taking into considerations films of the 1920s, Norden discusses how each of these movements have influenced films and the ways in which one would be able to spot the attributes of these movements in film.  Going into detail into what constitutes each of these artistic factions,  Norden offers a unique way for viewers to pick up on directors’ subtle use of set designs in order to convey a message latent in the film.
    Metropolis’s set design, specifically its city landscape, utilizes two of these movements to help Lang further his theme of the overbearing upper-world versus the underbelly where the workers thrive.  Futurism and Precisionism both come into play in the ways in which Lang conveys the city, helping pronounce how the juxtaposition of the architecture movements between the futuristic metropolis and the ancient ruins of below reveal the individual motivations of the working class and the ruling class.  Futurism shows up in much of the working class world, giving the workers an almost mechanical motion taking the humanity out of them.  The very place in which they work is built around the idea of Futurism, having the machines have very intricate and specific designs, symbolizing the very jobs of the workers.  Precisionism, an American idea of using sharp geometric shapes in the city landscape, is also very prominent in Metropolis.  This movement adding an aspect of passionless intent to the upper-world, the sharp design of most of the buildings reveals a character attribute of the cold, heartless rulers of this world.

Jurkiewicz, Kenneth. "Using Film in the Humanities Classroom: The Case of "Metropolis"." The English Journal 79.3 (1990): 47-50.

This article gives a detailed description of the film Metropolis by Fritz Lang.  Giving insight into the overall plot of the film, the article also outlines the many different character motivations that make the film such a classic.  With descriptions and histories of all the main characters, the article provides the reader the opportunity to understand the motivation of the character's action as well as an insight into the psyche of the characters.  Additionally, the ending of the article provides critical reading questions that allow the reader to think about the film in terms of it s historical context as well as their own interpretation of Metropolis.
This excerpt written by Kennith Jurkiewicz gives specific examples of Maria as the biblical figure that I argue her to be and how it relates to the architecture of the lower level catacombs.  Comparing her to a "futuristic John the Baptist," Jurkiewicz adds to my argument that Lang's clear comparison between Maria, the voice of hope to the working class, and John the Baptist, the voice of the second coming of Jesus Christ, allowed her to sway the hearts of men, both the real "good" Maria and the robotic imposter.  This comparison to the biblical figure of John the Baptist gives clear point that it was this complete power to plea to the ethos of the working class, which drew from the motherly intuition of Maria, that made her such an iconic figure to this group of people.  This, along with the description of the catacombs offered in the other source, give an understanding of the Christian symbolism that is not only being emphasized by Maria but also the catacombs where she sends her message.  The catacombs act as an amplifier of the message of Maria, adding to the importance of the architecture to the film.

    In this chapter of the book, Patrick McGilligan discusses the beginnings of Metropolis.  Clearly grabbing influence from the Manhattan landscape, Lang describes how the buildings represented the human plight of the city dwellers.  Even the novel in which the film was inspired, the author, Thea von Harbou, discusses how her vision of the city is also similar to the New York skyline.  “’The houses dissected into cones and cubes by the moving scythes of the searchlights gleamed, towering up, hoveringly, light flowing down their flanks like rain’”(McGilligan 111).  This chapter also describes the way in which different architecture styles came together to form this futuristic city outline that has become synonymous with Metropolis.  Additionally, the rest of the chapter delves into the rest of the decisions that went into the designing and artistic view of the film.  The talk about how they would use a futuristic language and how casting went.
    In terms of the architecture of the film, McGilligan’s novel discusses in depth the thought processes that when into this important aspect of the film.  Explaining how Lang wished to infuse Cubisit and Futruist art style into the city landscape truly allowed the symbolic use of the buildings have the impact it did.  Not only did this infusion allow the viewer get a clear understanding of the futuristic idea of the city, the daunting and oppressive nature of the buildings and their placement makes them feel as if they themselves are the workers being suppressed to the lower levels of the city.  The buildings themselves act as the very means as to give this feeling of being less then those who live up on the very top of these monstrosities.  Furthermore, the twisted and abstractness of the buildings’ designs described in this chapter of the book add to the idea of unrealism that the movie seems to take.  This distortion of reality adds to the suspension of belief that the viewer takes on to understand the deeper message of the destructive nature of technology as seen through the architectures design.

Susan Smith "Metropolis: restoration, reevaluation". CineAction. . FindArticles.com. 30 Nov. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3148/is_66/ai_n29174572

In this article Susan Smith describes the restored edition of Metropolis and dives into an in-depth analysis on many aspects of the film.  In certain points taking the mindset of Fredersen and Rotwang into perspective, Smith adds a unique discussion towards these characters that are not the focus of the film and how their past history that just recently came out in the restored version adds an interesting dynamic to their relationship.  Additionally, Smith really delves into the progression of the father-son relationship and how the plot actually fosters such a look into the Fredersens’ relationship with one another.
    Smith’s interpretation of the progression of the city landscape to the lower levels of the catacombs as an attempt to describe Fredersen Sr. escapes from his past, specifically his wife adds an additional depth to my original idea of the importance of the architecture.  The architecture in Metropolis, in this interpretation, has a direct connection with his attempt to build away from a past that he wishes to forget.  Smith even goes further and argues that the layers of the city act as a manifestation of Fredersen’s mind with the catacombs acting as his subconscious.  This view of the architecture seems to fit perfectly with the idea that Fritz Lang used the structures of the buildings in order to convey ideas of the characters and the biblical illusions he wished to use to further the meaning of the movie thus creating a masterpiece that did not even need sound to speak to a generation.  It is this unique use of the natural architecture of the catacombs and the man made monstrosities of the city to discuss the loss of humanity from the loss of nature.

 White, L. Michael. "In the Catacombs." PBS.org. Apr. 1998. 18 Nov. 2008 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/catacombs.html>.

  This article gives a description of the Christian catacombs in Rome.  Detailing the intricate system of tunnels in this historic city, Professor L. Michael White explains how these catacombs became an integral part in the early Christian movement.  Comparing them to “colonies of ants,” the article gives an interesting insight into how these burial areas became comparable to elaborate homes with painting depicting the classic biblical stories. 
    In relation to Metropolis, the catacombs were the safe haven of the hopes and dreams of the working class.  With its rocky, earthy look, the architecture of the catacombs just adds to the Christian ideals that were being preached in the depths of the earth.  The location of the catacombs symbolically represents the essential ideals that the character Maria hopes to instill within the crowd she speaks to.  As the article expresses, these catacombs were used as a hiding place for Christians during ages of prosecution and an area where they would be able to pray without fear of being caught.  This purpose clearly becomes important in the film, where Maria is able to preach to the masses of the arrival of a savior (comparable to the second coming of Jesus Christ) without the worry of oppression from the world above. It is the fact that the architecture is not like that of the luxurious, extravagant style of the upper world that allows the viewer to understand how the workers are desiring a more earthly, spiritual end compared to the demigods of the Metropolis on the surface.

Ginzberg, Louis. "The Tower of Babel." About.com. 18 Nov. 2008 <http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_jewslegends1d.htm#_ednthe%20tower%20of%20babel>.

Giving a brief history of the Tower of Babel, Louis Ginzberg highlights the important aspects of the biblical story that led to the creation of different languages.  The story goes that in an act of rebellion against G-d, Nimrod agreed to build a tower of epic proportions that would reach to the heavens.  It was in this hope that Nimrod and his counselors hoped to wage war with G-d himself and show their true power.  As the building of the tower continued, the workers began shooting arrows into the heavens and as the cam hurtling down, they were covered in blood, seemingly confirming their belief that they are slaying those in the heavens.  Upon seeing this, G-d decided to send down his angels and “confound their language.”  This is where the origin of different languages stems from and it was this confounding of languages that denied the workers the ability to continue working on the tower because they could not understand each other.
    This biblical story of the Tower of Babel plays a significant role in the interpretation of the architecture used in Metropolis.  At the center of this futuristic city skyline lays a gargantuan tower that holds homage to the story of Babel.  Much in the same way that Nimrod used it to defy the glory of G-d, Frederson had the building erected so that he could watch over his city, an attempt to feed to his demigod mentality.  It is in this sense of revealing the psyche of the “Nimrod” of our story that Fritz’s placement of this futuristic Tower of Babel becomes crucial to the interplay of architecture of story.  It is in this very sense that the viewer gets an understanding of the snobbish, elitist mentality of Frderson and how the very erection of the tower feeds to his idea of greater and lesser human beings.