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#21317 09/03/10 02:40 PM
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Let's hope it's not the version they had a few years ago where they said they had new footage but just extended the film time by slowing the projection speed! Argh!


THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS

PREBOOK: OCTOBER 19, 2010
STREET DATE: NOVEMBER 16, 2010

YEAR: 1927 / 2010
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION / CLASSIC

Metropolis takes place in 2026, when the populace is divided between workers who must live in the dark underground and the rich who enjoy a futuristic city of splendor. The tense balance of these two societies is realized through images that are among the most famous of the 20th century, many of which presage such sci-fi landmarks as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner. Lavish and spectacular, with elaborate sets and modern science fiction style, Metropolis stands today as the crowning achievement of the German silent cinema.

Kino International is proud to announce the DVD and long awaited first time ever Blu-ray release of the new restoration of Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction masterpiece METROPOLIS, now with 25 minutes of lost footage and the original Gottfried Huppertz score. This new 147-minute version (being released as THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS), opened theatrically in April 2010 earning over $350,000 at the box office, and since it’s original restoration, has gone on to earn $1,000,000 in theatrical ticket sales!

When it was first screened in Berlin on January 10, 1927, the sci-fi epic ran an estimated 153 minutes. After its premiere engagement, in an effort to maximize the film's commercial potential, the film's distributors (UFA in Germany, Paramount in the U.S.) drastically shortened METROPOLIS, which had been a major disappointment at the German box office. By the time it debuted in the United States later that year, the film ran approximately 90 minutes (exact running times are difficult to determine because silent films were not always projected at a standardized speed).

METROPOLIS went on to become one of the cornerstones of science fiction cinema foreshadowing BLADE RUNNER and THE MATRIX to name just a few recent examples. Testament to its enduring popularity, the film has undergone restorations in 1984 and again in 1987. The 2001 restoration combined footage from four archives and ran at a triumphant 124 minutes. And at the time was widely believed that this would be the most complete version of Lang's film that contemporary audiences could ever hope to see. But, in the summer of 2008, the curator of the Buenos Aires Museo del Cine discovered a 16mm dupe negative that was considerably longer than any existing print. It included not merely a few additional snippets, but 25 minutes of "lost" footage (about a fifth of the film) that had not been seen since its 1927 debut in Berlin. The discovery of such a significant amount of material called for yet another restoration, carefully executed by Anke Wilkening of the Murnau Stiftung (Foundation) (the German institution that is the caretaker of virtually all pre 1945 German films), Martin Koerber, Film Department Curator of the Deutche Kinemateque and on the music side, by Frank Stoebel. Regarding the quality of the added footage Ms. Wilkening has said: "The work on the restoration teaches us once more that no restoration is ever definitive... Even if we are allowed for the first time to come as close to the first release as ever before, the new version will still remain an approach. The rediscovered sections which change the film's composition, and at the same time always be recognizable through their damages as those parts that had been lost for 80 years."

DVD ITEM#K690
UPC# 7 38329 06902 5
SRP: $29.95

DVD Features:

- Original 1927 score by Gottfried Huppertz, performed by the Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, conducted by Frank Strobel presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
- Limited Edition Collectible "O-Card" Packaging
- Voyage to Metropolis, a 50-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film
- Interview with Paula Felix-Didier, curator of the Museo del Cine, Buenos Aires, where the missing footage was discovered
- 2010 re-release trailer

BLU-RAY ITEM#K713
UPC# 7 38329 07132 5
SRP: $39.95

Blu-ray Features:

- Original 1927 score by Gottfried Huppertz, performed by the Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, conducted by Frank Strobel presented in DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
- Limited Edition Collectible 3-D Lenticuar Box Packaging
- HD Video: 1920 x 1080p
- Voyage to Metropolis, a 50-minute documentary on the making and restoration of the film (presented in HD)
- Interview with Paula Felix-Didier, curator of the Museo del Cine, Buenos Aires, where the missing footage was discovered
- 2010 re-release trailer

http://www.kino.com/metropolis/dvdbluray.html#dvd

#21318 09/03/10 05:01 PM
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Thanks very much for this, Garry! Looks like it may be time to replace my old copy.

#21319 09/07/10 10:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Andy Kalish:
Thanks very much for this, Garry! Looks like it may be time to replace my old copy.
Yeah me too - unfortunately I'm unable to find any details on Amazon or Play at present.

#21320 09/08/10 07:19 PM
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How much versions exist now?
I even like the Moroder one, including the 80s-big-hair-soundtrack laugh

#21321 09/09/10 08:58 AM
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Originally posted by fons:
How much versions exist now?
I even like the Moroder one, including the 80s-big-hair-soundtrack laugh
laugh

That was my introduction to Metropolis! I saw it at the Enfield Odeon in '84 or '85

And I can still remember the Freddie Mercury and Pat Benatar tracks!!!! laugh

There was an Adam Ant track as well but it was really poor...and if you've heard the soundtrack album that's saying something

(I bought it for the beautiful gatefold sleeve and not Pat Benatar...erm...honest guv... :rolleyes: )

#21322 09/09/10 10:52 PM
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The original score sucks imho, being a "classic" or not.
Moroder did a good job on reviving the film I think.
Including his score, it changes well with the mood of the film.

Most songs fit in nicely, I think they all wrote them specially for the film?
Despite being a big Adam Ant fan I never liked "What's going on"
Mercury's "Love kills" is still a great song.

Given the theme of Metropolis I bet Lang would have used electronic music if he had the chance!! wink

#21323 09/10/10 10:27 AM
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Originally posted by fons:
The original score sucks imho, being a "classic" or not...

...Given the theme of Metropolis I bet Lang would have used electronic music if he had the chance!! wink
I think the Moroder score has dated, BUT - if it wasn't for him, I'd never of seen the film in the first place.

It's hard to believe that such a film had been neglected for so long until Moroder financed his version.

I saw a new print a few years ago with original soundtrack and can't remember any of it. Previously I saw the version with the Jeff Mills score and that was really good.

#21324 09/13/10 08:39 AM
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Got to see the new print last night; superb!

The new found footage is grainier, but you do get used to it as you watch. The film also moves at the correct frame speed, making the performances much more human and life-like than before. On the much more superior footage, the level of detail that can be seen is absolutely incredible for a film this old.

Really looking forward to its DVD release!


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