Ninety years is a long time to wait, but at last the flying car is almost here

Start-ups around the globe are working to make scenes from films like ‘Metropolis’ a reality. Steven Cutts looks at the advances in technology that are bringing us closer than ever before

Test pilot Joan Hughes flies a Demoiselle monoplane built for the 1965 film ‘Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines’ in Berkshire (PA)

More than 90 years ago, visionary filmmaker Fritz Lang released his undisputed masterpiece, Metropolis. For his opening scene, Lang gave us a panoramic shot of a new and imagined city, filled with Manhattan-style tower blocks and lots of tiny helicopters. The special effects were primitive but there are two key facts to remember about Metropolis.

At the time, it was the most expensive movie ever shot and it doesn’t have any sound. The story is told using flash cards and the actors never speak. Incredibly, Fritz and his team managed to invent all this before the rest of the industry had introduced sound to the movie theatre.

Such was the influence of that one iconic shot that it continues to be referenced in virtually every sci-fi movie you’ll ever see, in particular the cityscapes for Blade Runner and many of the Star Wars films.