Cool News
METROPOLIS Rebuilt!! Fritz Lang's Long-Missing, Full-Length Edit Has Finally Been Located!!
When Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS was released in 1927, the original iteration of the film played only in Germany...and for a relatively brief time...before being whittled down for release in other markets. Some estimates suggest that nearly a quarter of Lang's film was lost in this streamlining process; the excised material was never seen again.
The METROPOLIS iterations we've enjoyed for years, Moroder's 1984 restoration...
...and the 2002 Kino project (website HERE), brought considerable enhancements to previously existing cuts of the movie. The Kino undertaking re-incorporated an amount of footage that had been located in archives, museums, etc. - but a great deal of material was still missing. In some instances, absent narrative was accounted for by title cards describing unavailable footage and what not.
Now comes word that the original, full-length edit of METROPOLIS has been located in Buenos Aires!
“No matter how bad the condition of the material may be, the original intention of the film, including all of its minor characters and subplots, is now once again tangible for the normal viewer. The rhythm of the film has been restored.”
...says THIS ARTICLE at Zeit Online, which goes on to outline the recovery of said footage in considerable detail.
To put this in perspective, reports place METROPOLIS' original running time at 210 minutes. Since the film's German release, the longest running time we've seen is 118 minutes. The reintegration of so much material could profoundly impact the film's tempo, cohesion, and occasionally even meaning.
I can't wait to see this...I really can't. I always figured a day like this might come around, but after a lifetime of waiting...it's easy to second guess one's self.
Apparently, this Zeit Online posting preceeds an article to be published tomorrow in ZEITmagazin. If anyone out there knows this magazine, has a scanner, and wouldn't mind... [CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL ME]!!
More news on this remarkable discovery, and on the new restoration's inevitable issuance to theaters and/or DVD/Blu-Ray, as more comes in.
Readers Talkback
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Yes.
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and ii'll die happy
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It was in color, it had better acting, more convincing special effects, and the futuristic androids at the end taking 10 minutes to explain what was going on was a nice touch. Plus, it had Robin Williams in it.
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The fucking Nazis had it! Those bastards never let up. I wonder when this new longer version of Metropolis will be available on dvd or (preferably) blu-ray.
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I would LOVE to see this on the bigscreen someday.
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Now here's one film that probably warrants a remake. But what the heck, let's do ROSEMARY'S BABY instead.
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I also think those nazi bastards had it, maybe one died and his son/assistant/boyfriend found it. Once you found it, do you sell it to the highest bidder or what?
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FANTASTIC news!
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Thomas Schuehly has had the rights to this for a couple years I think, but after Alexander bombed, directors were wary. I'm sure this throws yet another wrench in the works.<p>I always thought Steven Soderburgh would be a great choice, and I think I remember him expressing interest...
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...is a full, beautiful print of "London After Midnight" and for Jerry Lewis to finally finish "The Day the Clown Cried" and our collection will be complete.
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All 108 of them.
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So did I. No, I didn't cum all over on Ebert as well. I did cum, however, while thinking of Ebert cumming all over himself.
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Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Lost Metropolis.
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I find we don't talk enough about him, on AICN...
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That phrase had to be repeated again for this news. Now, can they find the original 9 hour cut of Erich von Stroheim's Greed? Stroheim cut it to 5 hours later, but the full 9 would be cool. A 4 hour version is avaliable now.
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Here's hoping they also do a NEW recording of the Gottfried Huppertz score in its full glory, instead of merely hacking up the 2002 recording. It didn't work for "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut", and it won't work for this -- the film deserves a COMPLETE restoration, glorious music included! Now, if someone would just find the lost Peter Cushing / Sherlock Holmes episodes, my life would be complete!
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Best news I've heard in a long time. I was fortunate enough to see the Kino restoration when it had a limited theater release...can't wait to see the lost footage!
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Wow! Talk about ego trip! Tom Cruise, 25 years... visit the official site!... Like if it was a classic movie or something! How about an Official Anthony Michael Hall site?... For Christ's sake...
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And I am suitably astonished. Wow. As film geeks go, there aren't words big enough. This has blown my fragile little mind.
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I'd love to see the full cut!
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They didn't even try to sell it. This makes me fell kind of proud for my country. I kinda forgot that feeling, it's been a long time. Anyway it's great news. It's a fascinating movie, can't wait to watch the full version. For the ones who haven't watched it yet, go ahead and do it. It's doesn't feel nearly as long as it is. It's really entertaining and the spectacular soundtrack makes up for the lack of dialogue.
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I just posted a sentiment over at the talkbacks regarding Shannen Dougerty returning to 90210. Syncronycity, cool.
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And add dialog and a soundtrack?<p>I keed, I keed. That movie had a robot when no one had even conceived of a computer yet. And it had flying cars (well biplanes but still).</p>
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Ultima Futura Automoton. Awesome news.
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This is incredible news. I can't wait to see this new footage. This will be an instant add to the Blu-Ray library. I hope the footage can be restored to it's full glory. An extra 50 minutes of footage? That is unbelievable. <br> <br> Harry must be pretty excited about this find.
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Now that's cool news!
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but I hope it gets a strong digital restoration if the quality isn't good. I'm really excited to hear this. Now maybe somebody will find the footage that got deleted from Magnificent Ambersons.
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Standby for heresy: I'm pleased as punch to hear that this lost footage has been discovered, and I'll definitely check it out, but I'm doubtful that it will be enough to redeem the film as a fully satisfing and entertaining movie. <br><br> For you see, although METROPOLIS is stylistically and technically brilliant -- iconographic, even -- it's flawed: The acting is melodramatic even for 1927 standards, and the political themes are so simplistic as to be brick stupid. ("The intermediary between the hand and the brain is the heart"?? Come on.) <br><br> We can *try* to chalk these issues up to the time in which it was made, but we have movies frim the same period with greater nuance and depth (SUNRISE springs to mind, made the same year). Remove the visual novelty, and the movie is kinda thickheaded and dull, and I don't care how you try to sex it up with Giorgio Moroeder music. Will this change with the new footage? Well, I don't think the US distributors would have cut the *exciting* parts out. <br><br> Before anyone thinks I've gone crazy philistine over this, let me just reiterate that METROPOLIS is still a classic film -- classic as an artifact, but less so as an enduring piece of entertainment. As a fan of the film's style, I'll definitely keep an eye out for the new footage. <br><br> Meanwhile, if somebody could find the lost footage to MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, that would really be something.
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yeah that highly smells of escaped nazi treasure.. even though it predates the nazis by quite a bit, no doubt some rich german official owned it this whole time. <P>i want to know the full story, and then see the re-edit. no doubt the missing film has a story of its own to tell.
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This would be very interesting to see, indeed. <p> But somebody owes a lot of dinero for the late video return.
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Now that's cool news
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all the robots with walkie-talkies
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July 2, 2008, 9:49 p.m. CST
Now, someone bring a copy of 'London After Midnight' to light.
by Dingbatty
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so whats this nazi babble going on? damn nazis still fucking us to this day! yeah right!
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DAMN cool.
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Do they have Greed, too? That's the only find I can think of from that era that would blow this find away. Love me some Von Stroheim...
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July 2, 2008, 10:05 p.m. CST
Never watched the damn flick, been waiting for this day for 20 y
by SpencerTrilby
this is Un-fucking-believably cool news. Now I can watch the damn classic Lang flick I kept missing because "it wasn't complete"! <p> Now, if they could search a little more and find the 9 hours cut of Von Stroheim's "Greed", that would be even sweeter.
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you beat me to it
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I hope it's true. I never, ever thought I would see this. Well, I guess I'll have to make room for the inevitable Master Edition next to my 11 other versions. Maybe the whole Babylon narrative will make more sense now.
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I've got a birthday coming up.
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July 2, 2008, 10:17 p.m. CST
Wow the only thing to top this is finding the Ark of the Covenan
by SigmaChi04
Watch it and you'll see inspiration after inspiration for everything from Star Wars to Back to the Future and etc. If you haven't seen this movie in any critical theory of film class then you must have only made it to the community college level of your education. Even the crappy versions are amazing and ahead of their era. To quote Stan Lee, "Nuff said".
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I've got the Kino dvd still sitting on my shelf. I havent seen this in a long time. Probably time to dust it off, show it to the wife, and get ready for this next iteration. <p> And the Dark City SE, especiallyon Bluray, is my most anticipated release of the year so far. I recall seeing that one twice at the theater in it's very short window of release.
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I'd hate it if this find put the 2011 remake on jeopardy. Damn old, boring German films.
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of this find, but have any of you seen the Rin Taro anime Metropolis based on the Tezuka manga. It's also a telling of this same story, also featuring a Maria at the center, but the anime is a seperate, and also bewitching beast. Robots play a very large part in the story and the style is more of Astro Boy than the harder-edged stylings of say, Ghost in the Shell or something. It also utilizes music very well. There is an absolutely iconic use of Ray Charles "I Can't Stop Loving You" towards the film's finale. It's easily one of my fave stand alone animated films.
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Still one of the most imaginative adventures ever committed to film, even in truncated form. I had nightmares after I first saw it: being stuck in that dystopian world with no chance of escape. Creepy, disturbing, and so delightfully socialist. It's truly an artistic treasure, and I always hoped it would be made whole - but never assumed it would. And it's that rare political movie about a revolution working, and it is the rarest political movie - because Metropolis is fucking timeless. In the same way as Philip K. Dick's writing, actually; the world is foreign yet familiar. The fiction is speculative; but obviously reflective of what was happening in the world at the time, and what could be good or tragic for it. It ranks with Fritz Lang's other excellent movies as it is. I just shat myself imagining the flick this could turn out to be.
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Could it be that one of the greatest science-fiction films of all time suddenly got better?
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You simply have to be excited about this. There is no way I could possibly be let down. I don't care about the quality or what it does to the film This is great, great, great.
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Seriously, that's the best film news of the year. Long live Fritz Lang!
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July 2, 2008, 10:50 p.m. CST
Can't wait to see the extended scene of the Hel statue
by Doctor Phibes
This is phenomenal news. I love when stuff like this happens.
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I think he'd say: When I see a robot, I cut the mutha fucka.
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It'll be 2-5 years before it gets restored, remixed, and transferred for any type of public viewing. Awesome news though.
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Let them do it right. Just the fact that this is in the pipeline means that if I get cancer I have yet another thing to live for.
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Just kidding. Amazing news!<p> A few years ago, My wife and I saw this film at the Glorious OHIO Theater (a classic 1928 movie palace in downtown Columbus), with LIVE MUSIC ACCOMPANIMENT on the Theater's restored Organ. It was, in a word, Geektastic to see the film play in a theater that could have shown it originally.<p> Yeah--I will buy whatever DVD or Blu-Ray edition of this comes out once they restore the footage. And will be first in line to see it on the big screen.<p> And as to everyone complaining that the film doesn't hold up...GO SCREW. This is the film that inspired everything after it. Try watching films with a little historical perspective, you brain dead idiots--It's like my brother hating The Philadelphia Story because Cary Grant is abusive at the beginning and everyone is accommodating of Katherine Hepburn's Father's adultery--it was a different time and it is still a great movie...<p> So, enjoy the movies for what they ARE, not what they aren't.
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... M has it all, but I really like the even more creepy Testament of Dr. Mabuse. And this has been remade, but as a cartoon, right? Ray Charles song at the end?
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I always liked how Queen used Metropolis in their video for Radio Ga-Ga, but when the robot's face became Freddy's...well, that's a creepy sight that STILL gives me nightmares.
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This is awesome news. Finally, something worthy of this sites moniker.
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9. Star Wars
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Or, at least, ME. Yes, it's sad.
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I don't know about you all but I've been getting by just fine with never seeing Metropolis. The hyperbole is getting ridiculously insane up in here.
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<p> <p> What?
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omg...now i have seen everything...the first time i saw this as a preteen, i was amazed at what could be done on film in 1927...saw it again a few years back at the cinerama dome....brilliant....acting melodramatic??? shit, its a silent picture, where everything had to be bigger than life to convey emotion....simplistic politics? in pre war germany? horseshit...hey, bet quint has never seen this either
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July 3, 2008, 12:33 a.m. CST
Brilliant news!!! Now lets find those 108 missing Dr Who Episod
by Paul T. Ryan
But seriously, this is just wonderful news. Can't wait to see that footage at last!!!!
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Seriously, along with other icons stolen (aka borrowed for nostalgic value the Family Guy way) from Metropolis is Christopher Lloyd's portrayal of Doc. I dare you to watch Metropolis and not expect the mad scientist title card that reads "Great Scott, 1.21 Jigawatts Maria!"
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...what are you going to do? Kill yourself? Freeze yourself or beg a doctor to induce a coma? Go on a murderous rampage? Travel to South America and attempt to steal the footage?
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Amazing indeed!
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CAN'T REMEMBER WHERE THOUGH. OH WELL, IT'S PROBABLY NOT IMPORTANT ANYWAY.
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You've GOT to be freakin' kidding me!! That hack nuked the fridge years ago. His last 3 films made like 2 dollars. You must repent for your plug.
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This find will greatly expand our knowledge of one of the most influential films in the history of cinema. Chances like this are sadly very few, but joyously welcomed.
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This is one of my favorite movies. Between this and M, Lang some of the few old timely films that can still be watched today and be entertaining. Hopefully they'll leave the re-make of this alone. There were some good things Hitler liked after all.
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"I always figured a day like this might come around"<br><br> Wow. You're more of a dreamer than I am because this kind of thing almost never happens. Lost footage from that long ago rarely if ever surfaces again. It's mind boggling. So help me if that article is someone pulling some BS I will be pissssed! This is just the most astounding news.
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wouf wouf
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July 3, 2008, 2:39 a.m. CST
I live in Germany, know the Magazine and got a scanner
by DerLanghaarige
I just got no idea if someone else will buy and scan it before me, so I probably won't do it.
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And the lost Ernie Kovics shows that NBC taped weather reports over, and the alternate cut of the first episode of the Prisoner, and Lon Chaney's London After Midnight, and version of Godzilla vs King Kong where Godzilla wins (it exists! It MUST exist!), and the unaired pilot for the Jon Sabel TV series starring Gene Simmons and finally the unaired pilot for the Cannonball Run spinoff series with Terry Bradshaw & Mel Till's redneck characters, then, in the immortal words of Palpatine, we shall have peace....
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I've seen Metropolis numerous times in different forms over the years, but when I saw the restoration on DVD a few years ago it blew my mind. It was like watching a completely different movie. The prospect of seeing it FULLY restored within a few years is cause for immense joy. <p> One hears about stuff like this from time to time, and one still holds out hope for other lost treasures to surface. I still feel sick to my stomach when I think about the fact that over 80% of all films in the world produced before 1950 are lost -- quite probably forever...
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Just saw Pathfinder for the first time the other night. One of the worst movies i've ever seen. Total disaster.
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but it ain't no Metropolis.
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Have loved that film ever since i first saw it when I was about 10 years old.
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without staring at the wall thinking about other things instead.
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...I ever saw were when I was a wee lad back in the 70s. There used to be a small pizza joint in Austin called Pizza 'n' Stuff, wedged between a Safeway and a Skillern's Drugstore. It had old 1930s and 1940s movie posters plastered on the walls, and the dining area consisted of long tables arranged on a sloped floor facing a movie screen. They'd show clips from King Kong, Metropolis, old Republic serials, Abbott & Costello and tons of other great stuff. I used to love that fucking place. <p> Good times, good times...
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Since when did A.I. have Robin Williams in it???? I think you mean that turdfest Bicentenial Man.
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Robin Williams voiced that awful CGI computer guru. That one scene almost crippled the entire film.
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get it restored NOW! No, wait. Take your time. No... NOW! No...Watched the last released version of this at the Castro in SF and it was incredible. Captivating, like it was from another universe. I can't wait to see it the way it was meant to be seen, scratches and all.
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I’ve had an AICN user account for more than eight years, and I rarely post here… But I have to say something about this… Considering that the full “Metropolis” has been missing since the 1920s… this is truly an astonishing find, and for film buffs everywhere, a cause to celebrate. For me this is like discovering extraterrestrials; I know they exist, but I never thought I would stumble upon them in my lifetime. At work at the moment, and I intend to post more when I get home, but for the moment, the mind of this film addict is boggled. This news is almost too good to be true. What a great month this is for film fans!
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God, I love that movie, and I can't freaking wait to see the full thing.
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if this turns out to be bullshit im gonna rib someones balls off Best.News.Ever!!
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(Sorry about the above fuck up!) Next you'll be telling me they've found Lord Lucan in bed with Britney Spears' virginity. Great news this, just praying the missing parts film can be restored to a decent quality. Does anyone else think there's never been a better set of movie posters, than the one's for this film?
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When there are apparently plenty of talkbackers who haven't seen it, or apparently, found it too boring. <p> Let's not get too snobbish now, but to me, that's like someone from the geek generation saying "I've lived a fine life without ever seeing Star Wars" <p> Maybe you have. But why would you want to?
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Nice one, whoever suggested that Indy should have gone looking for it. What a great title.
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if so that rules
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Ha, I was thinking the same thing. I wouldn't be slightly surprised if that's how it got there...some film loving Nazi brought a copy with him, died, and someone discovered the film tin.
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Man, this is good news. Really, really good news. Can't wait to see the DVD or Blu-Ray of the remastered version.
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Can't believe this is missing from all the son of metropolis lists. Check out the electricity arcing mad scientist lab from Metropolis, then see the James Whale Frankenstein from a few years after. Metropolis wrote the book on Mad Scientist labs, factor that in with the city of the future schtick and it's probably the most influential films of all time. I'd also put Lang forward as one of the most influential film-makers of all time, after I first saw Metropolis I searched out his other films, the man was a genius.
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Sorry Scoob, and thanks Doc for correcting me. However, I still maintain that Bicentenial Man was a turdfest.
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No argument there. Bicentennial Man gave me brain polio.
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It is a exciting news. It is said that many celebrities from all over the world such as AUSTINE, BECHAM,BRINTY and so on pay visits to film MV. Further more they delived thier hot profiles on wealthybeauty.com. Is that a rumor or a truth?
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the only print of the film away somewhere. And has a REAL LIFE ANGEL (or robot) from the film chained in his basement too. <p> If you're reading Mori, that is still the finest thing you've written. <P> It stayed with me somewhat.
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This is terrific news. There are scenes in the movie that will make a lot more sense now. I never thought I'd live to see this footage. I was introduced to Metropolis via the Moroder version, but the restored version released a few years ago was so much better. <P> Kino just announced a few days ago that they were going to release a Blu-Ray version. Wonder if they'll put that on hold now in the wake of this news...I know I'm not interested in buying a Blu-Ray knowing that a longer version will be forthcoming. <P> People aren't actually serious when they say A.I. is a better movie, right? Surely that's sarcasm.
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This IS the coolest news of the....well.....the past......long time. Yeah. PLEASE, PLEASE keep posting updates on the status of this resurfaced cut.
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Many of the high ranking Nazi party leaders absolutely loved the movie Metropolis. Hitler said it embodied all the virtues Nazism aspired to and called it his favorite film. The Nazis even went so far as to offer Fritz Lang the chance to be the official filmmaker of the Third Reich (to which Fritz Lang responded by immediately fleeing the country). After WWII many of the Nazis who could escape moved to Argentina where they were openly welcomed by Juan Peron's fascist regime. Therefore it is entirely plausible that this new copy was brought to Argentina by a Nazi
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I'm so giddy I could pee!
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I always wondered how something like that could disappear and even more amazed that it could somehow remain intact all this time....if it existed, which I doubted. That's really cool!
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Before you start spouting nonsense, at least take the time to click through and read the articles. <P> The movie came to Argentina in 1928. It was sent there for screening purposes, and never returned. No Nazi involvement.
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Peron was not a fascist. Germans, nazi and not, came to Argentina for scientific purposes (aircrafts), they also went to the States BTW (MAYBE not just for aircrafts). Metropolis "uncut" was bought by a local dsitributor of that time (in Germany), and then sold to the Museum in the 60s.
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I've had the good fortune to see METROPOLIS in at two diffrent configurations on the big screen several times, both in Louisville at the Baxter Avenue and here in DC at the wonderful AFI Silver. The 2002 cut runs on TCM from time to time and is great if you can TiVo it & burn to a DVD. This is indeed what the last INDY movie should have been about...fucking hidsight. Give it some time to breathe, re-record the score, fix what needs fixing and delete nothing. <p> Can't wait...bring it on!!!
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You bet your boots some Nazi somewhere after the fall of the Reich grabbed this print and held onto it. No, they may not have initially had possession, but damned sure got it and nursed it.
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Seriously, it should have a respectable film composer provide an adequate sountrack- such as Williams, Horner, maybe Zimmer
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Eichmann most assuredly did not go to Argentina for airplanes.
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http://www.zeit.de/online/2008/27/bg-metropolis-en? 1
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The Ark of the Covenant HAS been found: remove any spaces from below address- http://tinyurl.com/353dlo
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If Fritz Lang were alive, he'd say the same thing.
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If you're determined to invent Nazi conspiracies, then by all means, you keep on thinking that. But given that it's been in Argentina since 1928, there's no rational reason to think that eventually it ended up in the hands of Nazis, especially as where it really ended up eventually was a museum.
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Why would it have an 80s score? Only the old Moroder version did. The restored version released a few years ago has a modern recording of the original score, and I expect any further release would have the same thing.
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I don't have a scanner but maybe I'll try to take some good photos of this report and all the images and frames included in today's Zeit Magazine later tonight. It's quite amazing ...
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It could, and will, change the way we look at this film forever. I didn't think this kind of thing happened anymore. Wow.
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Um, I don't think so. Some old guy claims the Ark is there, but that doesn't make it so, and the fact that the author of the article was afraid the Ark would harm him sort of ruins his objectivity, wouldn't you say?
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The following links will hopefully work for you... (remove spaces). A few pics of the new found material, and a description of where it was found, and it's history. <br> <br> http:// www.zeit.de/online /2008/27/ bg-metropolis-en <br> <br> http://www.zeit. de/online/2008/27/ metropolis-vorab- englisch <br> <br> I am amazed at a few posters above that do not understand the importance of this film on the history of cinema. I can see that you might find the film less than exciting, but this is one of the most important silent films in not only silent German cinema, but to Wolrd cinema. Of course it is melodramatic - but for it's time it was one of the most creative and imaginitave pieces the world had ever seen. I am very excited to see this footage being restored. <br> <br> This is the type of news that AICN is ALL ABOUT. Metropolis was the first Sci-Fi masterpiece that forshadowed so much of what we, as geeks, hold dear. <br> <br> I'm surprised Harry has not commented upon this piece yet. No Chocolate Covered Pussy Squirt over this news?? Come on, Harry - don't let the geeks down, Man.
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Dude, Peron WAS a huge fucking facsist. People in my country back then (and up to today) were just blinded by his populism, wich was just a way to aplease the masses and put them on his side. He got lucky 'cause Argentina got a lot of money providing food for countries in war in that era. If you were an important person or a public person back then, even just a simple teacher, and if you weren't on his side, you were either fired or dissapeared. So PERON WAS A FASCIST. And don't get me started on his wife Eva, she met Peron when she was a "copera" wich is a step down from a cabaret slot. And just FYI, my country stayed neutral during WW2 up until the last months of war. Just when germany was down we declared them war like a bunch of cowards. Of course that didn't stop Peron and us of welcoming some nazis like fucking royalty. Anyway, I really love my country, I'm just been objective. Back to the subject, nazi refugees had nothing to do with Metropolis coming to Buenos Aires, ByTor is right. Do your research guys, it's an interesting story.
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interesting that it beat the Nazis there. But it's certainly likely that it was screened and then a Nazi held on to it. Otherwise people didn't really hang on to movies back then right? So yeah, thanks Nazi dude who probably held on to it.
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Missed your above post till I posted it myself...
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Don't be! it's all for the greater good. Thanks for noticing any way :)
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Only Nazis hung on to movies? That's your theory? Why not just say, "I desperately want to believe that Nazis were involved" and leave it at that?
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Whatcha hidin' there, buckaroo? <p> Holocaust denial? <p> Self-hating Jew? <p> We all have our crosses to bear, pardon the expression.
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Did they have a copy of "PATTON", too?
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Holocaust denial? You accuse me of that because I don't buy your insane conspiracy theories? <P>Of course I acknowledge the holocaust; it's historical fact. But I also know when it happened, too. Evidently, you don't. Or you're just a lunatic.
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We all know the Nazis went down there to hide. The few that are left are dying off just like WWII veterans in this country. So when a movie people have wanted to find for a gazillion years suddenly turns up you'd assume it was in the custody someone who recently died. And this was a German film. It's really not that much of a stretch.</p> I was always under the impression that movies from that era were lost because not only were they not cared for properly but also that no one really thought to hang on to them. They were just supposed to be mindless entertainment and you got a new one next week or month or whatever so they just threw the last ones out. So for this copy to make it, it'd be safe to assume that someone really wanted to keep it and took some kind of care of it. But then again it could have been in someone's damp basement under a lifetime supply of pomade. Anything's possible.
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What's amazing is that those in possesion of this version of film never spoke up sooner regarding what they had. I am guessing that they where just oblivious to it's importance or it's scarcity?
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July 3, 2008, 11:40 a.m. CST
“More than a quarter of the film is believed to be lost forever.
by Daytripper69
No longer!… And the mind reels at such a thought. I had to read the article twice to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Ever since I was a teenager back in the 80s, when we had the Moroder version of the film, I’ve often wondered what it was like to see the entire movie, uncut. I’ve often wished that I had a time machine, go back to 1928 and be able watch the film in its entirety… This discovery is a dream come true--- not just for me, but for fellow film enthusiasts out there I’m sure. This is ONE restoration I cannot wait to see.
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I reall liked the film and think that it has been largely been misunderstood. I hope that audiences will rediscoer it and find a new appreciation for it as the years go by.
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That's another one that just didn't connect with audience when it came it out. Perhaps the tremendous influence that Metropolis had on this film will re-ignite interest in it once the restoration is released.
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I just had a crazy notion. As I understand it, the newly-discovered version seems badly scratched, if that one frame from the film was any indication. Can’t today’s CGI “fill in” the scratches and restore the film that way? Personally I think it would be a cool idea if some smart studio rotoscoped over the existing footage with CGI (a la “The Polar Express”)--- nothing garish, mind you, but an accurate enough rotoscoping that would give you an idea of what a pristine print of the film would be like. Wonder what anyone else thinks of that idea.
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A single click would tell you otherwise, which is my point: instead of making up conspiracies, why not examine the facts? <P>The print was sent to Argentina to be screened in 1928 and never returned. An Argentine film critic acquired the print and kept it in his private collection until the 1960s, when he sold it to the National Art Fund. It then passed into the possession of the Museo del Cine (Cinema Museum) in 1992; at the time neither institution realized the significance of the print. A new curator of the Museo del Cine was appointed in January of this year, and based on a rumor checked the print out and discovered the missing footage was intact.
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That was a very interesting post, well-thought out. The general audience in the 1920s didn’t quite “get” Metropolis then, and there’s even less of a chance that modern audiences will “get” Metropolis now. I admit, the film can be laborious to sit through at times, and there are cringe-inducing moments in the film. And perhaps this complete version won’t improve the film as a piece of entertainment. However… this is nevertheless a very powerful film. I can pick out more scenes out of my head from this film than “Sunrise.” And isn’t it great that we’re able to get a restored version of this film, to see what Fritz Lang’s original intentions were? I’m pretty excited. For me this is like someone finding the missing arms for the Venus de Milo. Oh and I’ll take a fully-restored “Metropolis” over an intact “Magnificent Ambersons” any day of the week.
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Hilarious post, friend, re: the late fees. Oh and I take it you’re in NYC? The only place one can see “Humonculous” is at the MoMA.
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Untill recently the nazi connection and Ireland was one that hardly anyone knew existed. What happened was that after the war. Senior nazi's who were connected to the Belgian resistance movement fled rather than be caught. Where did they go....Ireland and there is even more horrible news that at least two senior members of the Nazi party were welcomed with open arms into Fianna Fail. No questions were asked. When Hitler died, Eamonn Devalera, sent his condolences to the German Ambassador on the death of the Furher. Historians discovered that the one time German Ambassador, mr Bewley. was given orders to turn away jewish people who wanted to flee germany for Ireland. There was a two part documentary screened in Ireland recently which was subject to an injunction. The widow of Albert folens, who founded the Irish education company called Folens publishing objected to claims that her husbands was a nazi who murdereded somebody. Albert Lyuckxs was a very senior memeber of Fianna Fail and a close personal friend of the Late taoiseach Charles J Haughey. He was implicated in the arms trial and brought about its collapse and was imitimated in the setting of the provisional IRA. Fianna Fail refused to talk about this dark chapter in thier history. and they have never ever acknowledged that these men were ever memebers. but they were.
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There's no need -- there are advanced restoration techniques that can digitally remove scratches and other artifects and leave the image intact. It's not cheap, and it's slow, but the results are stunning.
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Regular DVD compression blows for black and white. Bring on the Bluray release!
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The new footage is from a 16mm copy of a 16mm negative of a 35mm positive originally copied from the original 1927 premiere version of the film. Adolfo Z. Wilson from the Argentine Terra distribution company was apparently one of the few people (or even the only person worldwide), who thought the original cut should be shown to audiences. After the screenings, instead of destroying the reels, he gave them to film critic Manuel Peña Rodriguez for his private film collection. Time and again that copy was shown in Argentine cinemas, and in the 1960s Peña Rodriguez sold it to the Argentine National Art Fund. The fund didn't want to store 35mm Nitrocellulose reels, so they made a 16mm negative copy, which was later handed over to the Museo del Cine. A print of that copy was also shown in Argentine cinemas in the following years, and Fernando Peña, head of the film department of the Buenos Aires Museum for Latin American Art, was one day told by a friend, head of a cinema club and a film projectionist, that he hated showing that old film, because he had to press his finger on the film material for more than two hours, so the film wouldn't jump out of the projector. That "over-two-hours"-remark was actually the sticking point, and one day, Peña's ex-wife Paula Félix-Didier became head of the film museum. They quickly went through the archives, found the reels, and there it was: the long version of Metropolis. They contacted a specialist for silent films in Spain, who forwarded the information to Metropolis-specialists in Berlin and film restorers, who had been working on various versions of the film for years. That was the point, where also ZEITmagazin came in. None of them believes that the additional footage, once restored, will match the quality of previous restoration prints, but at least it's most of the lost material. Apparently, only very few shots are still missing. My guess is that's because of film material loss at reel changeovers etc. An analysis has shown that Metropolis is now a completely different film, namely a strong, intense drama with classical Fritz-Lang-themes, far beyond the common impression of the film as displaying merely technological and visual achievement without much dramatic depth. Many strong supporting characters and extensive subplots are now restored, lost conflicts resurrected, completely new themes introduced, logcial errors rectified, triviality becomes substance. Even the schmaltzy ending now shines in a completely different light. Well… that's more or less the bottom-line from the articles. What I actually find so intriguing about this, is not only that they found a copy of the long version at all, but that for decades since the late 1920s Argentine audiences have been watching the original version of the film… and nobody noticed!
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I agree someone with the utmost respect for the project could take the really scratched components of this new found footage and clean it up using todays CGI techniques. It might be painstaking, but completely worth the effort. Not adding anything - just filling in the missing images. <br> <br> I have no problem with that as long as the original footage is available - scratches, warts and all. I think the opportunity here is unique for this film. If Spielberg, or James Cameron got behind this project with a few million dollars of their own money, this could be amazing. If you had their kind of money, wouldn't this be a dream project? <br> <br> Assuming Robot-Maria's metal breasts are not replaced with walkie-talkies. <br> <br> I can not fathom that Steven Spielberg would not want to be at the fore front of restoring this piece of history. I can imagine a group of the highest ranking film geeks like Spielberg, Cameron, Jackson, and even Lucas clammering to see this new footage together in a darkened German theater. How cool would that screening be? <br> <br> I just hope they can transfer the new print into the highest immaginable digital format before the film is truly destroyed by over use after sitting for 80 years. <br> <br> Love the Venus de Milo analogy - I completely agree. This is like the holy grail find of Science Fiction Cinema. Great to see some other geeks geeking out over this...
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Awesome Post. I can sense your excitement...
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Yeah, I'm definitely exited. I want to see that film in the theatres with live symphonic music. No Wurlitzer, no BluRay. I want the real thing. (^_^) Besides film I'm also into ancient history & archaeology, and that find in Argentina beats a lot of what archaeologists have dug up in the past! Absolutely amazing.
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A remake is completely unnecessary. It would probably be as well received as so many other recent horrible remakes (re: The Day The Earth Stood Still). When you look at the list of all the films you listed in your post, many of them have themes and styles taken from Metropolis directly. <br> <br> The wish list is good, but I for one am way more excited by the porspect of seeing this rstored footage than hearing about Uwe Boll remaking it with a $10m German film grant starring Jason Statham- - which is probably what we'd end up getting. <br> <br> The thought of a Metropolis remake makes me want to pound my head against a wall.
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The latest info I read on the remake issue is that Thomas Schühly has bought the rights, and that Mario Kassar would be co-producing. And believe me: those two would surely not hire Uwe Boll. I know Boll, and he's a nice and intelligent, witty person. But his films—I'll put it mildly—lack the quality for him to be even considered for such a task.
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Seeing this in a theater with a full orchestra would be absolutely amazing. How cool would it be to get dressed up and go to the Cinema like they did in the 20's? <br> <br> The audience for that screening would be the pinnacle of cool. <br> <br> In 1989 I was in London, and I got to go to a screening of the newly restored version of City Lights at the theater that it originally premiered in. Full orchestra playing Chaplin's score - with people dressed like they were going to the opera. <br> <br> My all time, number one Cinema going experience. This could top it, though.
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That would be the day I completely lost it.
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It would be great, but such a screening would be really hard to get access to. A few years ago they showed that silent film "Juha" by Aki Kaurismäki at the Berlin Film Festival with live music ensemble. Tickets? No chance. Same with other films I tried to see like "Nosferatu". When they have live orchestra, it's usually just one to three screenings. Only for a lucky few.
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It looks like a remake is indeed in the works, as Lorquaine said above. It just scares me that we'll get, yet another, shoddy remake that isn't as good as the original. <br> <br> I wish the Hollywood system would do some original material again. Of the directors on your list, I would like to see what Alex Proyas could do with the material... I would also like to see Alfonso Cuarón on the list. His vision of the future in Children of Men reminded my of some of the themes in Metropolis. <br> <br> We all know Hollywood can't pass up this inevitable remake, I just wish they could let it go...
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New images in new AICN post. See ya there.
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They were taped over. Kind of hard to find something that was destroyed....
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Thank you VERY much for the article summary. You, sir, are a hero. And even if the material cannot be restored to the same quality as the extant footage, I still hope that Kino delays their just-announced Blu-Ray release until this new footage can be restored and integrated. <P> Here's hoping someone with a scanner can post the article at some point, even if it's only in German.
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Come ooooon!
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Many of the episodes that were taped-over have since been found, as film prints were struck for a number of reasons (including transmission in other countries). But it does seem unlikely that many more will be found after all this time.
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You're welcome. (^_^) I actually did scan and OCR'ed the articles. I guess they are working on it at AICN atm. But I don't think they can publish the whole thing… for copyright reasons. On the Kino BluRay: they better delay that one, because I'm not really sure if a lot of people (i.e. mostly film buffs) would buy the BluRay, when they know that there will be a much more integral version of the film in a few years. But then… why not…
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My thoughts exactly re: the Blu-Ray. I was excited about it, but now I don't think I'll get it until it has the missing footage...
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I'm still seeing a shitty silent movie with that sodding panda eye make up. Why should I have to cream over this just because I like cinema? We've moved on and Dystopian futures have been redone enough that we don't have to get our dicks out of this crap any more.<p>Sorry, I just can't pretend to be in love with something just because people who love cinema think I should.
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you are exactly what is wrong with this generation and why someone like will smith is a movie star
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JUST IMAGINE (1930)
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You know, you don't need to be in love with this film or this genre or this period of filmmaking to acknowledge that this find is of paramount importance. Comparison: if they found the tomb of Christ, even non-Christians would acknowledge the importance, and probably go ape sh*t too.
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Or was that never filmed? Just curious.
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If Perón is a facist then what's left for Videla, Massera, Hitler and Bush!!?! don't be ridiculous.. Also, iF Evita (Perón second wife) was a hooker (AND HE WASNT BTW) WTF does that has to do with his great role as Fist Lady? ... Women vote, Social and Humanitary actions around the world.. In any case Perón's third wife (president of Argentina after Perón was already dead), Isabel Martinez, did turned into a fascist pig just before the real fascist regime Argentina got into in the 70s (MAYBE out of pressure, in her case) That military regime murdered or "disappeared" more than 30.000 argentineans and was planned by CIA (http://www.doublestandards.org/usempirex.html and http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB85/). BTW those are the same guys that planted the "fascist" stereotype to Perón and Evita decades before. What's next.. Che Guevara was a fascist monster too!??!?
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Think Chaplin (although I prefer Keaton) is great. And I detest Will Smith. What have you got left?<p>Lorquaine, that's just it. I don't equate it on anything that level. Especially as, you know, you are talking about a religion rather than a movie which in comparison is inconceivably younger....although less scary. I'd compare it with more the motor car. No one is denying those Ford model T's weren't great at the time, but you wouldn't be riding around in one now feeling awesome unless you were the smuggest twat on Earth.
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But yeah, I acknowledge and concede the find itself. That's always nice for those that love that sort of thing. Kudos
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What about that Difference Engine thing people talk about sometimes? Well, yes they couldn't build the parts needed but they still conceived the idea of a computing machine ...
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And it's an abomination according to author Shawn Levy ("King of Comedy, The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis"). Lewis, as a concentration camp occupant, adorned himself in jewels and expensive shoes; the author of the book has disowned the film (she loathes it). Wanna be depressed? CLOWN appears to be even worse than THREE ON A COUCH and WHICH WAY TO THE FRONT. I'd prefer to see the missing outtakes from ABBOTT AND COSTELLO IN THE FOREIGN LEGION. After trash like TRANSFORMERS, it's wonderful to read about the recovery of METROPOLIS footage. Geesh, could other excised footage be rescued? Claire Bloom's "sapphic" background in THE HAUNTING (hose-off, it was subtle stuff alluding to her lesbian girlfriend)...the Peggy Cummins footage that was scrapped from FOREVER AMBER...the original ending shot for DOUBLE INDEMNITY...the foreign language options actually articulated by Laurel and Hardy for the European release of their 2-reelers...the dining and courtship scenes trimmed from CITIZEN KANE...
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Missing footage from Madonna's "Express Yourself" movie video has been found! Sean Penn was apparently keeping it in Venezuela, under the bed where he daily sucks Hugo Chavez's dick. The film will be added to the future release of Metropolis.
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