Metropolis is a 1927 silent, Sci-fi film directed by Fritz Lang. It was produced and released for a short time in Germany. At the time, it was the most expensive silent film ever made, costing around 7 million Reichsmark (equivalent to over $200 million by today's standards).
Upon its release in other markets, the film was slimmed down and the edited footage went missing, never to be seen again.
Two restorations, in 1984 and 2002, were attempted in an effort to preserve the remaining footage. The Kino Restoration in 2002 incorporate footage from archives and museums into the main body of surviving footage, and the still missing parts of the film were substituted with title cards explaining the missing footage and plot.
Finally, the full-length edit has been located in Buenos Aires. Until now, the longest version of Metropolis clocked in at a run time of 118 minutes. Reports say that Metropolis' original run time was around 210 minutes. That is an hour and a half of missing footage!
I personally haven't seen this movie, but a good friend of mine has. I believe he said the movie felt a little long and the title cards didn't help. If I am wrong, he will surely let me know and I will update this post with the corrections. I just thought this was something really special, and maybe the first time I watch Metropolis will be in the way Lang originally intended.
You can find this original article here at Ain't It Cool News. You will find a link to a more in depth article there as well.
Sources: AICN/Wikipedia
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Metropolis Footage Finally Found!
5 comments:
This is really exciting news! When I watched the movie a few months ago I quickly lost interest due to the subtitles that were meant to piece the movie together. No one wants to watch a movie that is not complete. As for the length of the movie, I sat through 200 min of schindler's list, so I think I'll be okay. p.s. this is the greatest movie website I have ever seen!
I finally made it to your site, Jason, and read through your reviews for the past couple months. I'm impressed, to say the least.
I first saw Metropolis about four years ago in my Modernism class in college. I'm used to subtitling as I watch TV and movies with them on - it's amazing what you catch with them! - so it didn't bother me that much. You need to see the movie if just to be amazed at the fact that it was made in 1927.
Regardless, I bow to your movie prowess and admit that I don't know shit about movies.
@ DanTom, You were totally the friend I referenced in the news piece, So I guess it is safe to assume that my facts were correct. I am also excited about the length, this movie just looks epic, especially after seeing how much it cost!
@ Martha b, Thanks for checking out the site. It sounds like you know more about movies than you let on. The next time I come to town we will have to talk about that.
Thank you guys for the compliments!
I haven't seen this movie as well, though I am very interested in doing so. I did see Lang's movie M. It was pretty amazing for its time. This is some really cool news though. My film teacher Dr. Everett will be pumped to hear about it.
Your facts were totally correct, Jason. And even if they weren't, I wouldn't say anything.
Post a Comment