Footage missing from Fritz Lang's 1927 classic Metropolis have been discovered in Buenos Aires.
Upon its initial release, according to Zeitmagazin, "the film flopped with critics and audiences alike. Representatives of the American firm Paramount considerably shortened and re-edited the film. They oversimplified the plot, even cutting key scenes. The original version could only be seen in Berlin until May 1927 – from then on it was considered to have been lost forever."
Now, will someone please find the missing reels of Greed, another commercial debacle?
HT: Don Brockway
Wow wow wow! It's amazing the sort of stuff that's out there, forgotten in some back room. I look forward to seeing this in it's entirety.
Posted by: brbeard | July 03, 2008 at 08:26 PM
Not mentioned in the article: For some bizarre reason, the recovered copy contains the Giorgio Moroder soundtrack.
Posted by: Norton Zenger | July 03, 2008 at 08:28 PM
Shoot, that's "its" rather than "it's"...
Posted by: brbeard | July 03, 2008 at 08:37 PM
I'm not sure if you're being facetious or not (regarding the Moroder soundtrack) -- it seems like you're not. However, it would seem strange (to me, at least) that a famous musician could have soundtracked this film within the last 30 years, and not have the discrepencies in length be discovered. Are you being serious though?
Posted by: brbeard | July 03, 2008 at 08:43 PM
german film found in beunos aires. can you say nazi in hiding?
Posted by: zom | July 03, 2008 at 08:46 PM
"Magnificent Ambersons" and the other chopped Orsons too, please!
Posted by: Yark | July 03, 2008 at 09:44 PM
I'm pretty sure Zenger is serious. It's well known that Brian May and Moroder fought a duel for the official rights to do the soundtrack, and Moroder lost. Not only was his soundtrack not used, but Moroder had to do 20 pushups as punishment as well. I personally own the flourescent rubber lances from the duel, certified genuine by an authentic EBay Power Seller.
Posted by: andy | July 03, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Amazing film. Brigitte Helm is one of the hottest things in a hundred years of film history. Any German expressionism like this or Caligari or Nosferatu is high on my list of watchables, and I bought a collection of these AT THE SUPERMARKET of all places . I guess they are public domain, and that's why the soundtracks and editing can be all over the place. I've seen Metropolis with a minimalist Krautrock synth in the 70s, a jaunty upright piano soundtrack in the 80s, and of course there's Moroder. Does anyone know if there is a legitimate score for it? There's a nice box set of Langs stuff I'd like because I've never seen Women on the Moon.
http://www.kino.com/video/item.php?product_id=834
I picked up Intolerance and haven't been able to sit through it yet. The Germans and Russians were much better filmakers. Less maudlin.
Posted by: Dale Hazelton | July 04, 2008 at 04:07 AM
Thanks to Metropolis, I have reserved the name Rotwang for my firstborn child.
Posted by: Elias | July 04, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Actually, the soundtrack to Flash Gordon syncs up perfectly to Metropolis. Try it!
Posted by: Elias | July 04, 2008 at 10:59 AM
That's awesome news. The fact that bits are missing is why I've held off watching Metropolis, and now they've been found!
It's like when I held off seeing Planet Terror and Death Proof out of the hope that Grindhouse might be shown somewhere and then it was.
Okay, maybe it's a bit different.
Posted by: Alex | July 04, 2008 at 12:05 PM
"can finally be understood"?! not likely. even the thea von harbou source novel is incomprehensible.
Posted by: fluffypope | July 04, 2008 at 03:38 PM
Huh. My mistake--I thought Brian May really did do that version--must've been because of the video for that horrible Queen song. My friend and I rented the (apparently) Moroder version of Metropolis in high school and turned the volume off. We listened instead to 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, by Phillip Glass, and it worked pretty well.
Posted by: andy | July 04, 2008 at 04:43 PM
Isn't Welles to blame for the horrible Magnificent Ambersons editing? Wasn't it directly the result of his dicking around in South America while the studio kept pestering him to come back and finish the edit?
At any rate, I agree with you!
I can't wait for this restored Metropolis! Huzzah!
Posted by: Less Lee Moore | July 04, 2008 at 07:56 PM
Dale: the Kino DVD of the "restored authorized edition" is set to a full orchestral version of the Gottfried Huppertz score from the 1927 German premiere. Before you run out and get it, though, you might want to hold out for next year's reissue, if the rumors that Kino's going to delay the release to put in this newfound material are true.
Posted by: EasyEW | July 09, 2008 at 01:35 AM
Several years ago TCM aired a version of "Metropolis" which had been reedited to conform to the original plot line, with stills and title cards substituted for the missing footage. The plot was complex but certainly comprehensible. I don't remember whether the 1927 score was used, or whether a new score was recorded.
Posted by: wm2007 | July 09, 2008 at 01:34 PM
Saw the recent restored version a few years ago in the theatre during a Silent Movie Festival. Had live organ accompaniment as well and was far more impressive and majestic than the video version with the '80s soundtrack. I do remember one scene that had a bunch of nymphs in shear clothing dancing around for some reason (other than titillation) that wasn't in the video version.
Posted by: Neal Burgess | July 09, 2008 at 11:03 PM