A rare movie poster of the 1927 silent classic, Metropolis, will go under the hammer once again as part of the liquidation of its owner’s assets.

The poster, painted by the German artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm is one of only four known surviving copies.

It was bought by collector Kenneth Schacter for a still-record $690,000 but it is valued at $250,000 in the bankruptcy filing.

However, it was put on sale for $850,000 in March and experts believe it could become the first poster to sell for more than $1 million on the open market.

Schulz-Neudamm’s painting of the artificial woman, or the Robot, is used by a mad scientist to seduce an race of workers in a totalitarian futuristic urban city.

Made in Germany during the Weimar Period, Metropolis is set in the year 2026 in a dystopian society in which a wealthy elite rules from vast tower complexes, oppressing the workers who live in the depths below.

The silent film was written by Lang and his wife Thea Von Harbou, and starred Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel and Rudolf Klein-Rogge.

Source: guardian