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UPDATE: AICN Exclusive: KINO to release Giorgio Moroder's METROPOLIS on Blu Ray!!! BNATers rejoice!
Hey folks, Harry here... I am just thrilled about this. Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS is a beloved classic which has pretty much inspired everything you love in science fiction cinema. The recent restoration that KINO did was a revelation to folks that have been taking in every release of METROPOLIS in the past 30 years, where more and more footage is found and the film gets closer to it's original release running time.
HOWEVER... there is one particularly beloved release of METROPOLIS - that just lit my mind ablaze when it came out smack dab in the midst of MTV's days of ruleage in the Eighties. It was 1984 when Giorgio Moroder rescored, composed and recorded pop-songs with Freddie Mercury, Pat Benatar, Jon Anderson, Cycle V, Bonnie Tyler, Loverboy, Billy Squier and Adam Ant. Then the film had some particularly trippy tinting and coloring that was done. The result was a fusion of classic silent cinema and modern Rock-n-Roll that just blistered the brains that beheld it.
At BUTT-NUMB-A-THON 10, I became obsessed with getting a 35mm print of this version of the film, at that time, the rumors of a complete METROPOLIS were circulating, and it was still a month or two away from the premiere of that version in Berlin. But I wanted to share the PARTY version of METROPOLIS. The version that gets your fist pounding upon your leg in time with the pulsing beat of it. For years, this version has been difficult to get on Home Video due to the complicated rights issues that is tied up with the soundtrack... but - it seems KINO LORBER has worked the kinks out - and later this year we're going to get a Blu Ray of exactly the same print that played at BUTT-NUMB-A-THON 10! So each of you can have a chance to explore this highly entertaining hard rocking version of METROPOLIS, the version many of us first fell in love with!
Also New York Readers - this is something KINO wanted you to know about specifically! There's an exclusive theatrical release (midnight shows) at New York’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema on 10/14 & 10/15 (again, midnight shows only) I know it is advance notice, but put that info in your calendar and go - it is fantastic with an audience!
Kino gave AICN the exclusive on this news and now we can dance! Here's their release:
Here’s the information on the soundtrack:
"Love Kills"
Written by Freddie Mercury and Giorgio Moroder
Performed by Freddie Mercury
Courtesy of Raincloud Productions, Ltd.
"Here's My Heart"
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
Performed by Pat Benatar
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records
"Cage of Freedom"
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
Performed by Jon Anderson
Courtesy of Columbia Records
"Blood from a Stone"
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
Performed by Cycle V
Courtesy of Columbia Records
"The Legend of Babel"
Written by Giorgio Moroder
Performed by Giorgio Moroder
Courtesy of Columbia Records
"Here She Comes"
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
Performed by Bonnie Tyler
Courtesy of Columbia Records
"Destruction"
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
Performed by Loverboy
Courtesy of Columbia Records
"On Your Own"
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Billy Squier
Performed by Billy Squier
Courtesy of Capitol Records
"What's Going On"
Written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte
Performed by Adam Ant
Courtesy of Epic Records
Readers Talkback
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Aug. 12, 2011, 11:31 a.m. CST
I will not have the despairing screeches and warbles of Pat Benatar and Billy Squier pollute this masterpiece.
by THE_CHOPPAH
If there were an afterlife, Fritz Lang would be flooding it with sauerkraut tears at this news.
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This thing is so much fun and should always be included in any Metropolis retrospective worth your time. Moroder's insistence in digging up stills of lost footage to flesh out the original story was a revelation in viewing for me at BNATX in helping make Metropolis a more fully realized story. This is a great bridging of the gap between the cut version that most people know and the more recently restored version we are all coming to appreciate.
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Re-edited by Roman Polanski.
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Aug. 12, 2011, 11:42 a.m. CST
I remember watching this at UT in film class with Prof. Charles Ramirez-Berg
by THE_CHOPPAH
To watch this as a goof is one thing..to prefer it to the original uncut is silly.
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I had that on cassette thanks to my brother sending me a copy of his that he got while in the army in Germany. I wore it out. I hadn't even seen that version of the film at that time, and I was 14 years old. Some of the songs resonated with me concerning my brother's service during the cold war. After I came home RAVING at my poor long-suffering boyfriend about seeing it at BNAT X and I was rewarded on Christmas day by having a copy of the cd "magically" appear in my stocking. It's like he gets me sometimes. I have yet to purchase the super-deluxe restored blu that came out, but maybe since my birthday's coming up soonish that will "magically" happen along with this blu release too! Thanks to Harry for bringing it to BNAT X and smallerdemon for the heads up about this release.
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Seeing this at BNAT 10 was riveting. I was singing the songs for weeks afterward. Kudos to KINO for getting this into our geeky hands!
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Aug. 12, 2011, 11:52 a.m. CST
Lady Gaga presents THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW.
by THE_CHOPPAH
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Aug. 12, 2011, 11:58 a.m. CST
Ozzy Osbourne presents "A Train Arrives at the Station"
by Samuel Fulmer
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The only version of "Metropolis" that should be legally obtainable is the full "Director's Cut" version that was released last year. If you take seriously the notion that a filmmaker's work shouldn't be butchered, even for the sake of cheap party thrills, this should be an absolute disgrace to you. You people make me sick.
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starwarsredux - It's really not fair to say that. As a teenager, it was THIS version of the film that introduced me to the greatness that is Metropolis. I almost think it's fair to say that anyone that grew up or came-of-age in the 1980's was first exposed to this film on crappy VHS. While I agree with you that this is inferior to "The Complete Metropolis", certainly this version deserves to exist on its own as a piece of 1980's pop culture. I can't wait to own this on Blu-ray. When the hell is it coming out?
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oh wait, that would be just silly :P
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Aug. 12, 2011, 12:53 p.m. CST
LOVE KILLS ... tears you right apart ... it won't let gooooooooo
by Geekgasm
Queen basically traded a Freddie Mercury solo track to Giorgio Moroder in return for using footage from Metropolis for the Radio Ga Ga video. That was a good deal. And that Freddie Mercury track, Love Kills (irony) has been remixed a million times since. I wish somebody would podcast an all-Queen soundtrack for the restored version of Metropolis. Queen and Metropolis are forever linked in my mind. So, some musically talented and insightful Queen fanatic with a lot of time on his hands, get cracking on that. I await the fruits of your labors.
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Yay! Ever since watching the new uncut version, I've had a craving to watch this version again. I respect and love the original, but as a lover of all things 80's, I can't deny the allure of Morodor's version. It's one of my favorite soundtracks, but I haven't seen it in ten years. For the past couple months I've been scouring vintage VHS shops looking for a copy, but to no avail yet. Now I know I can just wait until later this year. Thanks for the update!
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''Machines''...it's an instrumental.
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I'm not a purist, but with the recent blu-ray release of the "nearly complete" original Metropolis, I'm startled that Moroder's turd is considered anything but an abomination. I remember being depressed when I saw it in in a theater on it's original run... Loved the music, hated the movie.
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I've seen a lot of versions of this movie...and the 1984 version had more heart than any of them. I had to pay big bucks to get a copy of this CD with the soundtrack years ago. Glad to see it is around again.
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Aug. 12, 2011, 1:44 p.m. CST
Oh lighten up everyone, this is a fun version of the classic film.
by ExcaliburFfolkes
I've had it on VHS for about 25 years and would recommend it to anyone interested in having a good time. Moroder clearly admires and respects the source material and simply made an interesting 80's MTV video Michael Mann-style riff on it. No harm; no foul. And given that there was absolutely zero other interest in the original Metropolis at the time, Moroder actually did a huge historical service reintroducing it to a lot of younger people who wouldn't have otherwise heard of it.
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One of the best films ever made- stunning. A must see for anyone who is a true film fan. Way ahead of its time. Just see it if you haven't. Love silents, and this is certainly one of the best
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I would welcome it as an interesting piece of METROPOLIS history. I liked what Moroder did with it At The Time. But to pay extra money to see a severely cut down, musically reinterpreted version...eh, not going to lay down big bucks.
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fuck off..
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I hope it includes a 1080p remaster of this music video!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OU7Hka_--U
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This is joy.
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Fuck this version - trippy tinting - tinting is trippy- what the fuck? Get the restored version and see it - fuck this version - saw it in a theater- no need to see it now that the restored version is available.
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I have to agree with Geekasm and say that the movie Metropolis and Queen are forever linked in my mind as well. Besides using extensive footage from the film for their RADIO GA GA video, the stage design for their Works tour (the album in which the song appeared) was also heavily influenced by the look of the movie. Radio Ga Ga was actually a song written by Roger Taylor (Queen's drummer), and he suggested incorporating footage and elements from the classic Fritz Lang film as he was a big science fiction fan (see his first solo album Fun In Space). The other Taylor song from the Works album MACHINES (BACK TO HUMANS) could easily have fit into the film as well. Anyway, any movie that has a song performed by Freddie Mercury and/or Queen is definitely worth the price of admission.
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Harry,you proclaim time and time again how much you love film,.....and this gives you a woody?
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Aug. 12, 2011, 5:26 p.m. CST
So, a classic silent film is reduced and cut down to a feature-length '80s rock music video... Fuck that! The Complete Metropolis is the only version of Metropolis that should be seen
by Mr. Pricklepants
Besides, the music is probably horribly dated by now. It's music from the '80s after all.
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-- makes you wonder what shit music they were raised on.
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is actually one of the most thematic of Queen's albums, with all the songs in some way or other touching on man and technology and post-modernism - both musically and lyrically - and all of it at the height of '80s Cold War tensions, with "Hammer to Fall" touching most blatantly on the threat of nuclear annihilation (the album having been written and recorded in Los Angeles in the wake of Nick Meyers' "The Day After", when we who grew up tall and proud did so in the shadow of the mushroom cloud). "The Works" gets a lot of stick for being very '80s and synthesized but there's a lot going on under the surface, intentionally or not.
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...why do you commit hari kari with your critical reputation Harry..? Baffling. This version is bullshit. Steer clear. Watch the restored Kino version. This one is like a very bad fanedit. If you want to see a very clever fanedit that blows this one away seek out 'Conan: Man O'War' by The Man Behind The Mask (who made the superb 'Jaws:The Sharksploitation Edit'.) It's a lot of fun.
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totally agree with you; as a throw away extra on the present "definitive" Blu-ray, acceptable; as another money making rip off, fuck it. Has a nostalgia quotient for some, I'm sure, and may have even made some people aware of the original film, all to the good: but worthy of a Blu-ray release in its own right?: not a fucking chance.
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if that version did nothing for you, no worries, move on. quit acting like once they released a longer edit we had to collectively hunt down and fucking destroy all previous versions of the film. if you loved that version and want to relive it, good for you (us). the rock soundtrack drew a lot of people to watch a movie they otherwise might never have experienced, and, as a result, a lot of them probably got into silent films as a medium. What, you think the only way to 'truly' experience the film is through exactly the same instrumental score that was used in its original release? in that case let's add some tinny organ music instead of the lush score on the previous bluray which in no way represents what audiences actually heard way back when.
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Linkin' Park and Dave Matthews Band all the way for these Douchecats. They also think Mozart, John Philip Sousa and Cab Calloway sound "dated" too. I mean, they were all born in what, maybe '98, '99, right?
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I don't do Blu-Ray. Any chance of it coming out on regular DVD?
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As somebody who had the pleasure to see this version at BNAT X and be at the World Re-Premiere, I am very much looking forward to this being out on Blu Ray. I have had a copy of this soundtrack CD for years and both the remastered Blu Ray and this version on DVD. Harry, any word on if there will be any extras on the DVD?
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I'm with the other guys here who say that anything with a bit of Queen on the soundtrack (okay this one is Freddie Mercury solo but y'know - close enough!) is worth a watch. I personally love this faster, funner, more surrealistic version of METROPOLIS. Queen aren't just inextricably linked with the movie but for me they are inextricably linked with SCI-FI. The FLASH GORDON soundtrack is quite simply a thing of beauty, a proper prog-rock masterpiece. Partly because guitarist Brian May holds a degree in astronomy perhaps. Their last album was even called The Cosmos Rocks. Their musical contribution to HIGHLANDER also benefitted that film greatly... Perhaps if Freddie Mercury had lived we might have had some other fine film music...
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Back when I was studying Lang at college in the 80s I used to watch this version of Metropolis with the color desaturated and the sound off. There was no other version available. It was frankly offensive how this great work of art had been so abused. Thankfully we now have a much better, more complete edit of the film without Mr Moroder's vain, infantile, musical graffiti marring it. The fact that this obnoxious thing still exists and people would actually want to see the wretched thing makes me despair. There is no ennoblement in nostalgia. I'm very disappointed Harry. I expected better from you.
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Aug. 13, 2011, 10:46 a.m. CST
Bwahahahahahahahahahaha. I get the sarcasm, Harry! Good one!
by prof_zoom
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Someone who is supposedly a film lover endorsing this ass raping of classic cinema? For shame, Harry.
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Aug. 13, 2011, 2:22 p.m. CST
Also, John Williams should have won the Oscar for SUPERMAN, not this fucking hack...
by Mr. Pricklepants
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I never liked this "version". In fact, I remember back in the days of VHS video stores, after I rented this for quite a while I thought this was the ONLY version. I hated it, so that kept me away from the original for quite some time. Glad I know better these days.
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Aug. 13, 2011, 3:50 p.m. CST
When Harry announced this at BNAT X, I lost my damn mind, but the guy from Sweden sitting next to me told me that version played on TV almost every week there.
by The Reluctant Austinite
I hadn't seen this version of "Metropolis" since the 80's, and I think it's great. It's not a replacement for the original version, but it's a great tribute to the power of Fritz Lang's masterpiece. The guy sitting next to me, whose name I shamefully can't remember (Harry knows him very well), came all the way from Sweden. He's a really cool guy. Anyway, while I was geeking out over getting to hear "Here She Comes" for the first time in nearly 20 years, he told me that the Moroder version plays more on TV in Sweden than the original version. Lucky bastard!
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This was the first version I saw all those years ago, and I loved it. I adore this movie, and embrace this version as well. Bring it on, haters to the left!
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Moroders version of Metropolis was my first exposure to this movie and I loved it. The soundtrack was hard to track down at the time but finally managed to import it for a ridiculous price. Looking forward to seeing this again....
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Aug. 13, 2011, 8:50 p.m. CST
Bang on Mugato... this version's for people who hate silent movies and Metropolis...
by workshed
...you knows it. Are Kino out of their fucking mind. They should do Fritz Lang's legacy a favour and stick this straight in the dustbin. People are talking about this trash like it's made with love and thought, like Cinematic Orchestra's 'Man With A Movie Camera' or British Sea Power's awesome live accompaniment to 'Man of Aran'. It is not. It's tacky and was regarded as a travesty at the time of it's initial release (which I went to see on the big screen back in the 80s but left because I couldn't take the awful noise coming out of the speakers). Harry, please tell me the medication had just finished kicking in when you wrote this..?
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I didn't like the movie the first time I saw it because of this horribly distracting music playing throughout the damn thing. I wasn't able to see it without the shitty music until last year. I'm sure the music is fine on its own, but not playing over this classic.
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simply for its historic value. I've only read about this version, and it has peaked my curiosity. I have always loved being able to see films that have been re-edited by others, because it is always interesting to see somebody else's interpretation, though it is rarely successful. I saw a theatrical showing of the "restored" Metropolis last, and while I admire the the technical achievement and influence, it wasn't my cup of tea, and I love silent cinema. Also, no version of a film that has become a part of popular culture should be repressed from the masses. No matter how much you try the public will always be aware of its existence and want to see it and form an opinion of their own.
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Lets see if I get this Harry.. Giorgio Moroder takes a classic film that he didn't make, adds dubious colour, changes the soundtrack to a (then) more modern take, and this is regarded as a good thing? And yet when film-makers take their OWN films and make changes to them, they are abused to hell and back. Double standards anyone? By the way, saw the restored 'complete' version of Metropolis earlier this year on the big screen. A truly classic film.
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The most recent release is the only one I'll ever watch again.
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Aug. 14, 2011, 11:01 p.m. CST
That just made my day. I love Moroder's version just as much as the original. Fantastic.
by Mr Nicholas
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His re-scoring is fantastic - go search for it on YoiuTube if you don't know it. His industrial-tinged, electronic score suits the imagery just perfectly. Not to be missed.
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Aug. 15, 2011, 1:38 p.m. CST
The restored version is touring with live accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra
by tonagan
Now *that's* a good way to see Metropolis.
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Failing that, anything but 80's crap, PLEASE! I'd rather it was scored by The Wiggles.
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It's not like Kino are trashing their existing inventory of the grand, unspoilt, fully-restored version to supplant it with Moroder's garish oddity. I admit to loving this release for completely nostalgic reasons. I would never advocate for its acceptance as the ultimate and only cut of Metropolis. I don't believe anyone here, who might want to own this blu, would suggest such an idea. So can we - its misguided fans - just have our little 80s-kid moment for today without some arsehole going blue-in-the-face over a twenty-seven-year-old controversy that has long since been put to bed by subsequent and quite thorough restoration efforts. Thanks. X
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I have owned both versions, and prefer the Moroder over the original. Why? 1> subtitles. I prefer subtitles so the continuity stays intact. I hate the movie interrupted just so I can see what they said. Grant you, this was how it was done at the time, but I'm more for the movie's premise, not nostalgia. 2> Soundtrack. While some of the music was in weird taste, the sound effects seem to match better vs the original. Maybe if Kino, now that they have both versions, can release a new mix, with newer artists, but based on the Moroder premise, it'd be awesome. In the meantime, I'll get the Moroder version.
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I have owned both versions, and prefer the Moroder over the original. Why? 1> subtitles. I prefer subtitles so the continuity stays intact. I hate the movie interrupted just so I can see what they said. Grant you, this was how it was done at the time, but I'm more for the movie's premise, not nostalgia. 2> Soundtrack. While some of the music was in weird taste, the sound effects seem to match better vs the original. Maybe if Kino, now that they have both versions, can release a new mix, with newer artists, but based on the Moroder premise, it'd be awesome. In the meantime, I'll get the Moroder version.
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I attending a screening of Metropolis in London with Mills doing the score live and have always wondered why they never released a version of the movie with that score. I'd certainly urge anyone to check out the album.
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I love film, but somehow don't share the love of the older silent films. I recognize their achievement in their day. Cinematography, light and shadow and yada yada, but in the case of Metropolis and another highly touted classic, 1922 Nosferatu, I find it difficult to sit through these films. And no, I'm not from the ADD generation of flash editing. I appreciate subtlety and pacing and all that, but some of this just drags and drags. I'm going to watch Metropolis again and see if I can't find what it is so many people love. Certain moments stand out, but it's so long before anything of interest happens. Some will agree, and others will think I'm just not edjubacated enough to understand the genius. Ah well.
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Aug. 16, 2011, 4:49 p.m. CST
In the 80s THIS was the most COMPLETE version of Metropolis available.
by elwinransom451
My friend, who majored in film in the 90s told me that his professor showed this version in class because, prior to Kino's previous "restored" version, it was the MOST COMPLETE version available. Let's see what Moroder did: 1. Found the most complete version of the film available. 2. Added interstitial cards to move the narrative in place of the lost bits of film. 3. Color tinted it, but still kept it's "classic" look. 4. Added a "modern" (at the time) soundtrack as an added attraction. 5. Forever linked a classic band to a classic film (Queen/Mercury). Yes, some of the music dates badly (I'm looking at YOU Billy Squire) but much of the music was played often on FM radio and it brought this film to youth consciousness in a BIG way. I'll admit that the lyrics may be pretty banal, but this version does deserve some respect.
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it's boring, meandering and poorly edited. M is a much better Fritz Lang film, and if we are talking german expressionism silent-era then The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari trumps it in every fashion but no one ever mentions it. Same with The Golem.... Metropolis is incredibly overrated
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