I hadn’t realized that the restored version of Metropolis would be in Boston (actually, in Cambridge) this weekend, so Pepper Mill and I quickly found a sitter to watch MilliCal and we went to see it.
A few thoughts. I realize there are other versions, but the three others I was familiar with are the anysmal Standard American Version )SAV), for years the only one available, and still the basis for most of the VHS and DVD copies you see. Badly cut, horribly faded, and grossly cut. I first found out how gorgeous Metropolis could be when I saw the restoration done by Giogiou Moroder (MOR). Moroder found a wonderful negative from which to strike a copy, then found a lot of missing footage, “reconstructed” lost scenes using stills, and added a quasi-disco score that most people hated. Then there was the KINO version, which also featured an excellent print, but which lacked the extra scenes in the Moroder version, and, amazingly, even some scenes in the SAV. Prior to this weekend, these are the only versions I’d seen. Despite the abuse heaped on it, I still this MOR the best version I’d seen until now, even though it actually cut out some scenes to make way for the new material (and still keep the running time down to 90 minutes).
The new restoration is all black and white, with no tinted scenes. The scenes that do exist have, I’ve been told, been digitally restored, and some of them are noticeably more distinct. To tell the truth, though, aside from a lack of the usual film glitches and wear-and-tear, I’d never have known this if I hadn’t been told. The film doesn’t look crystal-clear.
Damn! The thing got away from me before I finished!
The new version has a gorgeous opening sequence – the digital restoration shows.
The sequence in the Eternal Gardens is longer than in any other version I’ve seen, and that helps a lot. Even in the Moroder version it seems too clipped. The scene in Frederson’s office is longer, too, and I think it is clearer. These two scenes got, i think, the bulk of the added footage. They didn’t find any more of the footage with “The Tall Man” (Frederson’s spy), but they explain his actions more than in other versions.
On the Other Hand, Moroder’s version uses stills better to explain the actions of 11811 better than the new restoration. Moroder’s still of the bust of Hel and the monument to her are better than in this version, too. The robot scenes all look great in this version.
Moroder skimped on the scenes of Frederson and Rotwang/the workers in the catacombs (even the SAV has more than him), but in doing so he lost a telling scene – Frederson looks at his watch in impatience, and we see that it’s a 12 hour clock, not a ten-hour clock like you see in the factories. I don’t know if that clock reflects the ten-hour workday (the intertitles tell us it’s that long), or if the workers are on “digital time”, but it’s clear that Frederson is exempt from this.
I really didn’t note many major additions after this point. The use of the original score was a definite plus – almost every version I’ve seen had a miserable and usually inappropriate score added. I’ve heard it with “silent movie generic” and “electronic special” and orchestral, and nothing else worked. I can’t recall what’s on the Kino video version. As I’ve stated, I rather liked the Moroder rock/disco score. One thing I will give the 1984 version’s score over the original orchestral version – it highlighted significant moments much more than the original score did. There’s a buildup to Josaphat’s attempted suicide that’s altogether lacking in this new version, and the Moroder score seemed more appropriately emotional at the robot creation scene and at the climax. No movie scorer from the 1940s onward would come up with music that so poorly highlighted the dramatic high points of the film as this current score does.
The other film I saw was Cameron’s Director’s cut for Aliens. It’s the first time I’ve seen the whole thing, and, much as I like the theatrical release version, this was much, much better. In fact, three of Cameron’s films – Abyss, Aliens and Terminator 2 – are far better in the director’s cut versions than in the theatrical release versions. Why? Time can’t account for all of it.
I wanted to bump this thread so I don’t lose it. I saw the same Metropolis recently and wanted to add a few things to what CM observed. Be back soon…
I saw the MALTESE FALCON a while ago on TV, and the sounstrack was horrible-you could not make out much of what people were saying. Can the sound tracks be digitally cleaned up? I’m afraid a lot of these older movies (from the 30’s to the 60’s) are really degrading fast.
Anybody know where I can get a restored videotape of the MF?