Welt am Draht may very well be ahead of its time story-wise on a philosophical level discussing aspects of the modern man vs. machine and maybe the totalitarian regime topics. The Matrix definitely borrows the best aspects of this movie.
But if you take a look at the screenplay, timing, editing, acting, sound editing, visual effects and production design I have never seen a movie that looks so hopelessly outdated. Maybe that's the price for trying to make an ultra modern avantgardistic film, or it's just the result of trying to put too much (or too little) effort into a philosophical/intellectual sci-fi/action movie of 200 minutes.
I'm sorry that I didn't find more positive aspects to point out, especially considering Rainer Werner Fassbinder reputation but all the mentioned downsides made the 2010 remastered DVD version nearly unwatchable for me.
But if you take a look at the screenplay, timing, editing, acting, sound editing, visual effects and production design I have never seen a movie that looks so hopelessly outdated. Maybe that's the price for trying to make an ultra modern avantgardistic film, or it's just the result of trying to put too much (or too little) effort into a philosophical/intellectual sci-fi/action movie of 200 minutes.
I'm sorry that I didn't find more positive aspects to point out, especially considering Rainer Werner Fassbinder reputation but all the mentioned downsides made the 2010 remastered DVD version nearly unwatchable for me.