Fritz Lang Metropolis Horst von Harbou Poster 1985

Artist: Horst von Harbou (German, 1889–1948)
Film Title: Metropolis (1927) directed by Fritz Lang
Scene Title: "Après une journée de travail, le retour des ouvriers" (After a day's work, the return of the workers)
Publisher: Cinémathèque Française, Centre National de la Photographie, and Flammarion 4, Paris
Printer: Imprimerie Blanchard, France
Date of Issue: 1985
Technique: Official vintage photomechanical offset lithographic exhibition poster
Dimensions: 60x80 cm
Status: Excellent vintage condition, unframed
About the Poster:
This compelling Fritz Lang Metropolis Horst von Harbou Poster was published in France in 1984 as an official archival release by the Cinémathèque Française. The visual presents a striking, high-contrast monochrome still captured on set during the filming of the 1927 silent masterpiece. It depicts the famous dystopian scene of weary, uniformly dressed laborers marching in rows with bowed heads following a grueling shift. Set against a brutalist architectural background dominated by towering windows and a massive industrial dial mechanism, the frame captures the quintessential expressionist lighting and scale of early cinematic sci-fi. The lower margin features elegant, understated French typography and the institution's official eye logo.
 
About the Photographer / Institution:
Horst von Harbou was a prominent early twentieth-century German photographer who worked closely with director Fritz Lang to capture on-set production stills that helped define German Expressionist cinema worldwide. The Cinémathèque Française in Paris, founded in 1936, is one of the world's most prestigious film archives, renowned for preserving historical cinematic materials. Published alongside Flammarion, this high-grade poster honors early cinematic imagery through meticulous institutional printing standards.