I’m looking at getting three films shortly, all German from the prewar period and two directed by Fritz Lang. The first one, “Metropolis” (1927), is the standard class-war, man-against-technology period piece inspired by Marxist Theology and WWI’s brutality. The second one, “M” (1931), is a very good (or so I’ve been told) murder thriller set in pre-Nazi Berlin starring Peter Lorre. The third, “Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens” (1922), the only one on my list not directed by Lang, is the first vampire movie, and is widely reputed to be the best. I can find versions of each at Amazon.com.
But I run into problems: There are various versions of each film, of varying lengths and qualities. I know that “Metropolis” has damaged footage and is often edited. “M” seems to have aged better, but the subtitles are not always up to snuff (for example, the German ‘scheiss’ does not translate to ‘oh, darn’). “Nosferatu” seems to have had some bad soundtracks (Yes, I know these are all (with the exception of “M”) silent films, but much of the atmosphere was provided by the music even in the early days.) mar it, but all my TVs have mute functions. One with a decent soundtrack would be appreciated. If there are canonical versions, I’ll look for those, but there don’t seem to be (I’ve done limited research). I’d like to have as original a version as I can get without buying a projector and the old prints, but I’ll accept restorations as well.
Thanks for your time and the wide-ranging expertise of the Teeming Millions.
Someone released a new rescored version of Metropolis, I don’t think it was very well received. Personally, I like to cue up Metropolis and then play my own soundtrack, Diamond Dogs by Bowie. imdb.com has some good info on the various endings of classics like M. There’s a link “alternate versions” that has all the info.
Chas.E may be talking about the version that came out in the early 80s with a score by Georgio Moroder (IIR his name C). I think it made the claim of being the most complete version of Metropolis around, in that it included a partial restoration of the lost Yoshiwara sequence - a montage of production stills replacing footage that was at the time (and still is, I think) presumed destroyed.
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“Yoshiwara” in the film was the name of the big party nightclub in the Masters’ City where anything went. Found out much later that it was also the name of the biggest red-light district of the Edo period in Tokyo. That Fritz Lang, what a card.
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I’ve seen Metropolis twice with live music by a group called The Alloy Orchestra, and they were brilliant. The order form at their web site has a couple of VHS tapes, but not Metropolis. They do have their full Metropolis score on CD though. You could probably get a tape of the movie (both times I saw them they played to the Moroder-restored version) and the CD and play them together. It might be tricky to sync the music with the film (there are some cues and sound effects), but you could write to them and ask if anyone’s tried that.
Metropolis fell into the public domain and can now be distributed by anyone who cares to snag a copy from the local library. I can tell you for certain that my $6.99 DVD from… Screen Gem Classics (?) isn’t up to snuff. The cover is brown.
A while back, someone reconstructed the orchestral score for Nosferatu. It was performed by the National Symphony Orchestra, accompanying the film, at Wolf Trap, in about 1995. That was amazing. You might want to check to see if the NSO has lent their performance to a video release.
The version of M that I checked out from the video store a couple of weeks ago left much to be desired. I have yet to see a truly satisfying treatment of that film.
(I’ve mentioned this before, but that Prodigy album goes suprisingly well with Metropolis, particularly if it is started about twenty minutes into the film, when the boss is drawing the curtains in his office. Yes, I suppose I do have a lot of spare time.)
I really like the German expressionist cinema of the 1920’s-30’s. I would rate Metropilis as one of the most daring films of all times.I’ve been trying to locate a really obscure german film of the late 20’s-it was called “THE CHINESE MAGICIAN”, and I’ve only seen a few stills from it. Does anybody know if this film still exists? And, is it available on videotape?
I really appreciate your help!
You’re not kidding there are a lot of versions of “Metropolis”! I’ve found versions that run from 87 minutes (the Moroder version) the 3 1/2 hours (the original cut, now lost). The “official” German version is 93 minutes long. Amazon has a VHS version that runs 131 minutes, which seems to be the most complete version out. The DVD runs 115 minutes.
As for “M”, you want to find a version with the original ending (a short post-courtroom coda). You’ll want the 111 minute DVD version.
The original version of FW Murnau’s “Nosferatu” was destroyed after Bram Stoker’s widow sued; the versions we have today are copies of copies found overseas. I’ve never seen a good copy; all of them are scratched and smudgy. The Kino video is slightly better.
*LE THAUMATURGE CHINOIS (1904/Star Film) 200feet. BW. Silent. France.
Aka: TCHIN-CHAO, THE CHINESE CONJUROR.
Credits: Georges Melies.
A Chinese magician transforms three lanterns into a dog, and then into a girl. With the help of his assistant, the girl is placed on a table and disappears to reappear on another table opposite. The magician then wraps her up in a sheet, opens it and her dismembered body falls out. *
I know it’s French, and two decades early, but this is one of those classic Melies special effects shows for which he was so renowned.
BTW, Kino really does do nice work with their films. I love my copy of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. They also have one of the most comprehensive catalogs. Check it out at http://www.kino.com .
Thanks, SOFAKING, but the film I’m looking for was definately german. I read about it in a book about expressionism, which disappeared from my library one day. Appreciate the link to KINO, but they don’t have it. In this period (1920-1938) the German directors were some of the most daring in the world. What a pity thet the Nazis shut them all down!
Guy, I taped “M” (one of my top 10 films) off of PBS (along with NSO’s Nosferatu). The narrator at the beginning stated that the film sequence at the end was lost for good. I’m glad to know he was wrong.
Enoch Pratt Library (Balt., MD)has (had) a 16mm film of “M” that ended with the police officer putting his hand on the accused’s shoulder and telling him it was “OK” (I don’t think this is spoiler - especially for this crowd). The version on PBS stopped mid-“court room”.
FL was a master director! I love the way he “showed” the crimes being committed. Peter Lorre also showed himself as a superb actor. Shame he could only get work in the US based on his looks. His life story is quite interesting for those who care.
The only thing I don’t like about “M” is that after I watch it I start whistling “In the Hall of the Mountain King” for about 3 days when it mysteriously starts sounding like “Inspector Gadget”!!! << where’s that “frustrated” smiley?>>
Guy, is this the VHS on amazon.com you were referring to? None of them tell you the running time. Also, I do not currently have any way to play DVDs. Can you point me to a similar VHS version for M? Oh, and thank you for the Nosferatu hint. I’ve found an 84 minute version of it at the official website http://www.kino.com
Everyone: Thanks for the information. I feel much better making purchases now than before.
Wow-thanks everyone. My German teacher is doing a class on German expressionism in a couple of semesters and I’ve convinced her to get Nosferatu for us. I’ll run this thread under her nose.
