Films/DVD Asylum

1927 Metropolis restoration on BluRay

118.243.85.132

This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

I have 4 versions of this film now; the Giorgio Moroder scored 1980's makeover, a Japanese laserdisc with a v. marginal musical score, that predates the Moroder revamp by several years and a Japanese videodisc ( CD sized movie tho' not a DVD ) of indeterminate vintage + the "New" 2010 restoration
They've done a stunning job of the films restoration; not just cleaning up the graphics but also the motion, the way people move in the scenes now is way more fluid + natural than any previous release The increased definition alone may very well eclipse the quality of the original film; one scene in particular where we first see the "Good" Maria, ( Brigitte Helm )you can see the reflection of carbon-arc stage lighting in her eyes, but her hair is also backlit on one side, things I would suggest are well-intentioned digital sleight-of-hand, rather than an artifact of the original film. I'm not complaining, this was a labor of love. The restoration adds startling clarity to Bauhaus interiors + the "Pleasure Garden" scene near the start of the film is much extended + a slice of cinematic heaven in itself... The edit occasionally plays the film as a scratched + grainy original, perhaps to remind the viewer it's an old film This doesn't detract from enjoying the disc!
Strangely, there are scenes on the Japanese laser disc that are neither in the Moroder film nor the BluRay release, mostly outdoor street shots of Dresden; in the Japanese laserdisc there's a clear pan of the exterior of Rotwangs thatched cottage( for eg ) that is substituted in the restoration with a still photo, the LD is also quite a different edit to the others This really makes me wonder if the restorers had every scrap of extant original footage, or if there are different master copies that have been dubbed + released over time ( ? ) I could stitch together a single "Metropolis" and add between 3 to 5 minutes of footage from the versions I have, to the recent restoration
Love the score of the restoration too as it suits the film so well

Two thumbs up; while it remains a fairly silly story overall "Metropolis Restored 1927" is a Masterpiece
GW

Edits: 02/21/11 02/21/11 02/21/11 02/21/11

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