In this German silent movie from 1927, Metropolis, the gleaming city of tomorrow, has a dark underbelly where workers continually operate the machinery that keeps the city running. The privileged son of the city leader discovers its dark secret and mediates when a revolt ensues. “The mediator between head and hands must be the heart!” The revolt is fueled by an android made to look like a saintly woman, but whose mechanical version is just the opposite.

The Tech: machinery, videophones, cars, elevated trains, 10-hour clock, robots