In 2026, the rich rule over the poor, who live underground. One man tries to bridge the gap between the two classes. In July 2008 a complete copy of the film was discovered with an additional 25 minutes of lost footage that had not been seen since the film's premiere in 1927. After years of restoration the sci-fi epic was re-released in theaters in 2010 as The Complete Metropolis.

In a futuristic time and place, humans are divided into two groups: the thinkers, who make plans, and the workers, who achieve goals. Completely separate, neither group is complete, but together they make a whole. One man from the "thinkers" dares visit the underground where the workers toil, and is astonished by what he sees.