Ah yes, another great classic, and highly influential. In a way it still is the best vampyre movie there is. And some scenes are in my beloved Lübeck! :)

Wasn't there a restored version released some years ago, too, or is memory just fooling me?

:yep: http://www.kino.com/video/item.php?film_id=887

I think there have been several restorations over the years. IIRC their was one in the early '80s that came out about the same time as Moroder's restoration/destruction of Metropolis.

I'm sorry, but anything but the original soundtrack is blasphemy.

I missed this thread and this news. I have the Moroder version and an "original" from around the same time on a VHS still.. no player though lol. I will have to look this up, thanks!

It was nice. The new material is visually damaged, but still fits in. This version now is as complete as you can get - only 8 minutes are still missing, their content was summarised on 4 or 5 text screens. They played the original soundtrack live, with a symphony orchestra in front of the moviescreen: the band played 2.5 hours nonstop. Good job of theirs, btw.

The movie - despite the time gap and the obvious moments of Kitsch and Herzschmerz - still is moving, actual, and one can see in the visuals why it has become so very influential.

They found this copy in a museum in buenos aires, 2008, back then it already was a copy from 35 down to 16 mm, with the original copy having been massively used in local cinemas there, and you see it. The flow of the musical score was used to arrange the scenes in the correct, orignal sequence for the first time ever.

the movie was originally cut back then because at the time of it'S release - it was a failure at the cash desks, the critics shreddered it, and thus it was considered to be too long for the American market, so they crippled it. The copy from Buenos Aires was delivered before this took place. Fritz Lang distanced himself a bit from the simplistic message of the movie later on (an interview from 1971 that they showed before the premiere), saying that "the mediator between hand and head must be the heart" was a little bit naive (he blamed the influence of a - female :) - screenplay writer for it). However, the movie still is an impressive piece of social and capitalistic criticism, told in visionary pictures (for that time) that really had benchmark character. In the opening a German director or actor said that in technical meaning it compares to the technical revolution of Avatar today. I think that comment points in a correct direction. Some sceneries and scenes still are impressively composed, and some were simply revolutionary at that time.

It was by far the most expensive German movie production ever, until today, they said.

The show ran synchronous in three places: Frankfurt Opera House, Brandenburg Gate (sub-zero-temperatures...), and the Friedrichstadt Palast where currently the Berlinale Film Festival is running. ARTE broadcasted to several european countries via satellite.

Would have been cool to see it with in the cinema with the orchestra playing the score. Was it 1.33:1 or stretched to 4:3 screen ratio?

It was the picture ratio that the movie was shot in. The inserts from the buenos aires finds even had two additional small black bars left and at the top (additonal to the left and right bars on my WS TV), due to the copying of the 35mm material to 16 mm that saw some loss of the original picture. They did not magnifiy these shots, so the black bars mark areas where originally the picture "continued".

And what is the differerence between 4:3 and 1.33: 1 ...? 4:3=1.33, eh? You meant 16:9? No, it was not stretched to 16:9, but looked like 4:3 for sure.

Used to have a Metropolis poster on my wall for years. Brigitte Helm.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...itteHelm81.jpg

:|\\

Only saw the film once, when my cable service had the channel ARTE, during a zapping near midnight. Saw most of the film, but miss the begining. Wanted to see in the big screen, and also have to get the DVD!

Not quite a necro-thread, but - for those interested, the DVD and Blu-ray discs of the newly (2010) restored Metropolis were released this month (at least in North America).

I pre-ordered the Blu-ray and got it today - I only had time to pop it in and watch the trailer and first 10-15 minutes... but from the looks of it, it certainly lives up to any and all hype. I'd seen the previous restoration when TCM premiered it here on cable and have the DVD of that version, but I was still awed just by the look of the few minutes I watched of the new one. Actually teared up watching the trailer.

And the music, mein Gott, the music! I had forgotten. Sadly I can't seem to find a recording of this version of the soundtrack for sale yet, not even at amazon.de... I hope it is released eventually.

Thanks for the post, I think I will put that on my christmas list. :yep:

Seeing as how your impending sock crisis has been successfully averted, I don't see why not. :D

Cool. I've only seen part of it, but would like to see the whole of it start to finish. :up:

Well, it will be playing at my place this weekend, showtimes TBD. :O:

If I could come up with a reply, it would be witty for sure. :haha: