The director of Metropolis, Fritz Lang, was born in Vienna in 1890. His father was manager of a construction company. Immediately after high school, Lang attended a technical school, but soon after decided to train as a painter. From 1910-1914, he traveled throughout Europe, studying painting in Paris from 1913-1914.

In 1914, Lang returned to Vienna. In January, 1915, he enlisted in the army and began fighting in World War I. He was severely injured in June, 1916. After two lesser injuries, he was sent home shell-shocked in early 1918. He briefly took up acting in Vienna, but soon took a writing position at a production company in Berlin. Lang wrote screenplays and eventually began directing, still living in Berlin, but for an American-owned film company. By the mid-1920s, the technical proficiency of the German film industry surpassed any other in the world. The state gave artists and directors almost limitless support...