Katsuhiro Otomo's Undeserved Credit

[chinaboat]

AAA's always entertaining podcast had a review of "Metropolis" written by Katsuhiro Otomo and directed by Rintaro. This is an excellent anime and everyone should watch it. Although it's claimed that Katsuhiro Otomo based it on a manga written by Tezuka it bears very little resemblance to the manga. Instead, it follows, almost point to point, the brilliant 1927 silent science fiction film of the same name written and directed by the husband and wife team of Fritz Lang and Thea Von Harbou; based on a novel by Von Harbou. Those who've seen the movie and the anime usually agree that Otomo basically ripped off Lang's work. Because the copyright had long expired, among other reasons, Lang was given no credit on the film, in any of the interviews, on the DVD or anywhere else. I know nobody really cares and it's basically fartin' against thunder but it just chaps my ass when I hear Otomo getting credit for something he stole from a cinema giant.

Ah, well, as Einstein said, "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."