Metropolis Film Reels Discovered

[Foxbat]

Fantastic news: Missing reels from Lang's 'Metropolis' discovered - Europe, World - The Independent

This is one of the great films of cinematic history and I can't wait to see the version with all this added in.

I can't remember when a movie got me this excited

 

[manephelien]

Fantastic news! I really hope they get the complete version restored soon.

 

[ravenus]

Sounds interesting...btw Foxy, you do know that a restored version of Carl Dreyer's Vampyr (no added footage AFAIK but hopefully a MUCH better looking and sounding transfer than what Kino managed, and without those horribly large-sized hard subs) is being released by Criterion and Eureka? My heart sings at the prospect.

 

[Foxbat]

Sounds interesting...btw Foxy, you do know that a restored version of Carl Dreyer's Vampyr (no added footage AFAIK but hopefully a MUCH better looking and sounding transfer than what Kino managed, and without those horribly large-sized hard subs) is being released by Criterion and Eureka? My heart sings at the prospect.

Definitely sounds like one worth tracking down.

Incidentally, I believe it's looking like Eureka for the Metropolis transfer. Here's hoping they do another good job.

 

[Ice fyre]

This sounds interesting I saw a version with a sound track which was very rock orientated and with songs written for it, I liked it but would prefer to hear it with a Classical Score, I found it interesting it nrearly bankrupted the studio that made it.

 

[Foxbat]

I believe that the original orchestral score for this film still exists and was re-recorded some time back. I'd like to think that a fully restored version with this extra footage would include the original score as well (at least as an option on DVD).

 

[clovis-man]

The most complete version available currently still runs about two hours. I wonder how much additional footage was recovered or how it will be introduced to the public, including any rediscovered music.

 

[j d worthington]

Hurrah for Mr. Wilson and people like him. Without them, we wouldn't have this, or any prints of Nosferatu, not to mention many another film that were supposed to be edited or destroyed....

And I very much look forward to this: I've loved this film since I first saw a very grainy transfer of it back when I was about 8 years old.....

 

[Dave]

The most complete version available currently still runs about two hours. I wonder how much additional footage was recovered or how it will be introduced to the public, including any rediscovered music.

Me also. The version I have is already a little too long, in my opinion, yet it needs titles to skip over important parts that were missing. More is not always better. I would think that the "best" version would require some serious editing, but who is qualified to do that cutting? Who can say they could produce the definitive version?

 

[Foxbat]

From what I understand, there is approximately 27 minutes of extra footage on these reels.

It's not so much 'the best' version that I'm after....more the version that Lang intended us to see.

Personally, I view this discovery on a par with uncovering Skara Brae, or a new Egyptian tomb....

Foolish I know but it's my passion.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The movie already feels like a slow two hours to me, but whether it will feel even slower with the new reels ... well, that depends on what's in the reels.

Because there is nothing that makes a book or movie seem to drag on than a disjointed plot and poor characterization -- which I think are definitely problems with the current version of the movie. If the missing reels fix these problems, then even though the movie will be longer it may seem to fly by.

If the missing reels don't fix those problems, then it will just be longer, period.