The Complete Metropolis (1927)

[cj-kent]

Metropolis Blu-ray preorder

Metropolis Blu-ray Review



Mod note: See blu-ray.news & this post for latest developments


I've just confirmed directly from Kino that a Blu-ray release of Fritz Lang's epic silent film "Metropolis" will be released on Blu-ray in 2009. Below is the email response I received from Kino.

This is exciting news as there probably isn't a more recognized silent or science fiction film than "Metropolis". I'll preorder this as soon as it's an option!

Original Email:

Yes, there is a Metropolis Blu-ray release slated for release, but it probably won’t be until 2009.


Best,
Michael

--
KINO International
333 W. 39th St. Suite 503
New York, NY 10018
212-629-6880
http://www.kino.com

[Woody]

Originally Posted by cj-kent

I've just confirmed directly from Kino that a Blu-ray release of Fritz Lang's epic silent film "Metropolis" will be released on Blu-ray in 2009. Below is the email response I received from Kino.

This is exciting news as there probably isn't a more recognized silent or science fiction film than "Metropolis". I'll preorder this as soon as it's an option!

Original Email:

Yes, there is a Metropolis Blu-ray release slated for release, but it probably won’t be until 2009.


Best,
Michael

--
KINO International
333 W. 39th St. Suite 503
New York, NY 10018
212-629-6880
www.kino.com

That is very cool. I have never seen it, but for those that don't know, the movie Dark City was largely based off of this film.

[Josh]

Holy crap! That's great news!

Though, the cynic in me says that its more likely than not going to be 2010, knowing Kino!

[cj-kent]

Originally Posted by Josh

Holy crap! That's great news!

Though, the cynic in me says that its more likely than not going to be 2010, knowing Kino!

Hope not! But could be.

[SS316SRV]

I have this film on DVD. It came in a 50 DVD pack of classic horror films. There are like 45 crap films and a few classics (Carnival of Souls, Night of the Living Dead, Little Shop of Horrors, Nosferatu, and Metropolis). For $15 it was worth it.

[Riff Magnum]

[Deciazulado]

UFA!

I wonder if Forry has a Blu-ray player

I have a great looking PAL version but would buy it immediately again on Blu-ray

[Batman1980]

Restored Metropolis on Blu-ray in November
Posted April 7, 2010 04:56 AM by Juan Calonge

Kino International has announced the North American 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 will be shown in all major markets throughout the US and Canada. The Blu-ray release is set for November of this year.

This new 147-minute version, being released as The Complete Metropolis, premiered on February 12 at the Berlin Film Festival and will have its first US showing on April 25 at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival.

Seldom has the rediscovery of a cache of lost footage ignited such widespread curiosity as did the announcement, in July 2008, that an essentially complete copy of Fritz Lang's Metropolis had been found.

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 US) drastically shortened Metropolis, which had been a major disappointment at the German box office.

By the time it debuted in the 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 numerous restorations in the intervening decades.

In 1984, the film was reissued with additional footage, color tints, and a pop rock score (but with many of its intertitles removed) by music producer Giorgio Moroder. A more archival restoration was completed in 1987, under the direction of Enno Patalas of the Munich Film Archive, in which missing scenes were represented with title cards and still photographs. More recently, the 2001 restoration combined footage from four archives and ran 124 minutes. It 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 Berlin debut. The discovery of such a significant amount of material called for yet another restoration.

This was 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 Deutsche Kinemateque and on the music side, by Frank Stoebel.

The result of their work was first seen by the public on February 12 at the 1,600-seat Friedrichstrasse Palast, accompanied by a 60-piece orchestra playing the original 1927 score by Huppertz. The public and critical response was ecstatic.

Wilkening has clarified that the integration of the rediscovered footage cannot be seamless. "The work on the restoration teaches us once more that no restoration is ever definitive," says Wilkening, "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, will at the same time always be recognizable through their damages as those parts that had been lost for 80 years."

Further information on The Complete Metropolis and annotations of all recovered scenes - as well as images, clips and theatrical playdates - will be uploaded to the new Metropolis website, which goes live on April 15.

Source - Kino International
Sounds good to me, will finally see it now.

[DNinja]

Awesome! I'll definitely be buying this.

[Q?]

Never seen it, I will soon now.

[Zippyfan]

Im so excited! I hope its released in Europe soon

[Crimson King]

Now I can finally replace that old Madacy DVD!

[ccfixx]

Have you guys seen the beautiful packaging for The Masters Of Cinema release of "Metropolis" scheduled for later this year in the UK? Since KINO will be releasing "Metropolis" in the USA, I'm sure that this MOC release will be Region-B.



* 150-minute feature film (including 25 minutes of footage previously thought lost to the world)
* Special-edition packaging with lavish wraparound sleeve and embossed printing
* Pristine film transfers presented on Blu-ray (1080p) and DVD (2-disc)
* Newly translated optional English subtitles
* Full-length audio commentary by David Kalat and Jonathan Rosenbaum
* Die Reise nach Metropolis (2010) documentary about the film
* 56-page booklet featuring new essays, archival interviews, vintage production stills, and more
* Further extras to be announced nearer the release date

courtesy of TMDaines over at criterionforum.org and the "Metropolis" website

CC

[#Darren]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Originally Posted by ccfixx

[The_Basterd]

Originally Posted by iDarren

Is this Criterion Collection? I don't see it on the case?
Anyone have link to the price?

[kndy]

Originally Posted by The_Basterd

Is this Criterion Collection? I don't see it on the case?
Anyone have link to the price?

That's the MOC version (region coded for UK release), we are awaiting the cover for the Kino version for US release.

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i've always heard about this film and how it's "one of the best sci-fi films of all time, definitely one of the most important as well". that is this movie right? or am i thinking of something else?

Oh yes, this is a must own! I look forward to this release!!!! Especially with the new footage!

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by kndy

That's the MOC version (region coded for UK release), we are awaiting the cover for the Kino version for US release.

That's not entirely confirmed, is it? I believe that MOC wasn't happy with the fact that Kino wanted them to region lock it, while Kino can release region free Blu-rays all the time.

[BasicGreatGuy]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

Have you guys seen the beautiful packaging for The Masters Of Cinema release of "Metropolis" scheduled for later this year in the UK? Since KINO will be releasing "Metropolis" in the USA, I'm sure that this MOC release will be Region-B.



* 150-minute feature film (including 25 minutes of footage previously thought lost to the world)
* Special-edition packaging with lavish wraparound sleeve and embossed printing
* Pristine film transfers presented on Blu-ray (1080p) and DVD (2-disc)
* Newly translated optional English subtitles
* Full-length audio commentary by David Kalat and Jonathan Rosenbaum
* Die Reise nach Metropolis (2010) documentary about the film
* 56-page booklet featuring new essays, archival interviews, vintage production stills, and more
* Further extras to be announced nearer the release date

courtesy of TMDaines over at criterionforum.org and the "Metropolis" website

CC

I am diggin' the artwork.

[Bunker]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

CC

Hawt.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by BasicGreatGuy

I am diggin' the artwork.

I know. How could ya not, right? It's pretty amazing, I think. Plus, the slipcover will be embossed.

CC