Introduction
The Underground Cathedral’s introduction sequence begins with an outside postcard image of Notre Dame in Paris at night. However, replacing one of its famous stained glass “Rose Windows” is an intense blue kaleidoscopic neon-like computerized diagram of a Paris Metro map, repeated twelve times clockwise. This circular form slowly rotates as it grows larger and larger, revolving out of the cathedral window frame until it takes up the full dimension of the film’s screen.
At this point, a series of other neon-like forms based on nine other metro maps from around the world descend over the hypnotic blue background, fading away, as a large entrance sign of the Berlin underground (U-Bahn) appears. Other symbolic images and scenes appear breaking through the kaleidoscopic pattern. Music heard throughout the sequence are of two simultaneously played ancient wooden flutes, by one musician, performed live in concert.