1995
The Mechanical Man (L’uomo meccanico) is a 1921 Italian science fiction film directed by André Deed. It is one of the first science fiction films produced in Italy, and the first film showing a battle between two robots. In collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna, Roberto Paci Dalò premiered the film with live music at the théâtre antique of Arles (France) in 1995 alongside Pierre Henry’s performance as part of the Phonurgia Nova festival.
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). The cinematographer was Alberto Chentrens.
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.