Underplayed Gems

The Mechanical Man (1921)

The Mechanical Man poster
Original title
L'uomo meccanico
Directed by
André Deed
Genre
silent film, science fiction film
Country
Kingdom of Italy
Runtime
1h 20m
Rating
6.2 of 10 from 18 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like this

How it feels

A mad scientist creates a mechanical man and uses it to commit crimes. A young woman and a comic hero named Saltarello pursue the robot.

slapstickcomedicinventiveadventurousfast-pacedpioneeringplayfulearly sci-fi

What happens

The Mechanical Man (Italian: L'uomo meccanico) is a 1921 Italian science fiction film directed by André Deed (who also starred in the film as the comedic character Saltarello). It was produced in 1920 and released in November 1921. It is one of the first science fiction films produced in Italy, and the first film showing a battle between two robots. The cinematographer was Alberto Chentrens. For many years, the original film, about 80 minutes in length, was regarded as lost until some reels of the Portuguese version were discovered at the Cinemateca Brasileira in Brazil. About 26 minutes (740 meters) remains. The DVD release by Alpha Video uses the incomplete Brazilian print, with new English intertitles. Film critic Christopher Workman has theorized that the film influenced Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927). Director Deed began his acting career in France, then moved to Italy where he continued his slapstick style of acting. After finishing The Mechanical Man, he returned to France, where his acting career slightly declined in popularity. He did, however, direct around 40 films, and acted in over 200, before he died in 1940. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.