A TRIP TO THE MOON & METROPOLIS
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Tonight TCM presents a double feature combining two silent movie masterpieces, each of which is a dizzyingly inventive and pioneering work of science fiction. First is George Melies’ 1902 short film A Trip to the Moon, basically the first sci-fi film ever made. Then, at 8:30 p.m. ET, comes Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterwork Metropolis, with one of cinema’s all-time most famous robots: the Maschinenmensch, played by Brigitte Helm in both human and mechanical form (pictured). The robot exoskeleton costume is on display at Berlin’s TV and Film Museum, which I visit every time I hit the city, because it also has great displays on everything from Metropolis and M to Fitzcarraldo and Das Boot.