Before Universal Studios, before Disney-MGM, there was Babelsberg Studios. This is where Fritz Lang worked at the start of the 1900s. Metropolis and Nosferatu were shot here, as were a number of other movies through the years. Unlike Universal and MGM, though, this place is still a film studio first, amusement park second.
As a working studio, only a limited section is open to the visiting public. It's not pretty, and not "fun" in the thrill ride sense of those other studios, but Babelsberg is more interesting and is quite enjoyable.
For the common visitor, there is a movie showing some of those off-limit areas such as the prop and costume departments. The movie is availa
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As a working studio, only a limited section is open to the visiting public. It's not pretty, and not "fun" in the thrill ride sense of those other studios, but Babelsberg is more interesting and is quite enjoyable.
For the common visitor, there is a movie showing some of those off-limit areas such as the prop and costume departments. The movie is available in English, but I'm not sure if they show it only at specific times or just to requesting groups. From the movie, a guide takes people on a tour of mock-up studios used to show both the history of the studio and the "insides" of making movies. The historical displays include one dedicated to Nosferatu (precursor to Bela Lugosi's Dracula), a show of Maria the robot coming to life (from Metropolis) and a mock-up of those rooms used to film people walking on the ceiling.
The outside lots offer various differnt scenes people can walk into and around--a gingerbread house, a rope bridge over a pit (think Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but with a small pit about 1/1,000 the size of the canyon in that movie), and a fort.
Like those other places though, this place also has a stunt show. This one isn't based on any movie per se, but the way the vehicles and characters look, it is reminicant of the Road Warrior movies. "The Final Countdown" blares through the speakers throughout the show. . .what is it with Germatic states and this song? It's a cheesy show, but worth the five minutes.
Sometimes they seem to open the sets up to the tours. During my first semester, we were allowed onto the forest set of The Neverending Story 3.
To get to Babelsberg, you can take the S-Bahn towards Potsdam. It's a little out of the way, but if you have a day to kill and you are a movie buff, it can be a fun time.
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