Full Version of Metropolis Found | Hacker News Reader

Full Version of Metropolis Found

nytimes.com

117 pointsmbateman18 comments

The newly restored version, which I saw recently thanks to a torrent, is a much, much better movie (both finer as an art work and more entertaining) than the truncated, barely coherent, version that I remember from being in film school in the 1980s. The restored version displays a richness and fullness of story line that the truncated version, which circulated for decades, only hints at. (Personally, I consider the Moroder version to be a true esthetic atrocity, not worth watching.)

I'm glad I'm not the only person who found the (shortened) version almost incomprehensible.

The cumulative result is a version of “Metropolis” whose tone and focus have been changed. “It’s no longer a science-fiction film,” said Martin Koerber, a German film archivist and historian who supervised the latest restoration and the earlier one in 2001. “The balance of the story has been given back. It’s now a film that encompasses many genres, an epic about conflicts that are ages old. The science-fiction disguise is now very, very thin.”

So, it's been rescued from the ghetto? I respect your restoration work, Mr Koerber, but I'm not sure I appreciate the implication.

Well, let's be fair: The guy is making a literary-critical statement which is being quoted out of context in a non-native language. We have little idea of what he's really trying to say.

For example, even native speakers of English use the phrase "science fiction" in different ways, to mean different things. Just ask anyone who has read a protracted argument about the difference between SF, science fiction, and sci-fi, or the difference between hard SF, space opera, and B-movie sci-fi.

One of many possible charitable interpretations: Back when Metropolis had been cut into ribbons, the plot was hard to follow, half the characters were missing, and the allusions to various genres were hard to grasp, so we just watched the movie because it had an atmospheric future city and an awesome shiny fembot. Now we not only get the scenery and the robot, but also some idea of why the filmmakers put them there, and apparently it's not just "because eye candy sells tickets".

Hmm, perhaps. I hadn't considered the language barrier, but it's a good point. I guess the thought that a great work has to drop its science fiction "disguise" to gain respect raised my hackles. Hopefully the more charitable view is correct.

A music forum I'm on did a complete re-scoring of the original film. Here's my favorite 3 minutes from the project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGw6PncahcM

I am amazed and still laughing at the guy who comes out with the flashlight.

Is there any place I could DL the entire score as a single file so I can play it over my Metropolis DVD? I don't feel like watching it with this scoring on youtube.

Yup, look forward to seeing the masterwork @ Film Forum, NYC.

Saw it yesterday! The music was incredible and Marie was hilarious.

I know I was right not to buy the DVD yet... :) I'll watch "docktor Mabuse" tonight to celebrate!

I had the privilege of watching the Gergio Moroder 1980's cut, and I cannot wait for the full version.

I did, too, and loved it as a kid. They'll never officially" release Moroder's version on DVD, but there are other sources... http://www.morodermetropolisdvd.com/

I have the soundtrack from it, which is admittedly the most embarrassing part :-)

That's great. Let's hope they find the original version of the The Magnificent Ambersons next.

I swear I've read this story 10 times over the past two years. At least two or three times on the New York times.

Yeah, it was screened with a live orchestra and broadcast on German TV in February - there are some rips around, although the intertitles are all in German.

Hopefully whomever "found" it now will keep it safe somewhere so it doesn't need "finding" again.

Kidding aside, I have the "Moroder version" on DVD and very much look forward to the DVD release of the "really, truly full" one the article claims is coming.

It was found a few years back. Now a completed restoration (minus some frames and small segments too damaged to restore to what was considered to be an adequate state) is premiering in various venues.

There was also a 9mm print that was recently found. I haven't heard whether anything useful has been gained from it.

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