Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009 (1 Viewer)

[Jesse Blacklow]

Wow. Just...wow.

The "Godfather" movies, 1938 "Robin Hood", and news (only a day after the discovery was announced!) that Kino will be adding the lost footage to the new discs...

This has been a great week for fans of classic films on Blu-ray.

 

[DavidJ]

Now that is AWESOME!

 

[Danny Burk]

A thread on Nitrateville includes a report from a screening today in Buenos Aires (see post #17) plus photos and discussion:

NitrateVille.com :: View topic - Lost scenes from 'Metropolis' rediscover

 

[oscar_merkx]

wow thanks for the link

 

[Jim_K]

Great news on the confirmation!

Looking forward to the complete Metropolis on Blu-ray.

 

[MielR]

Footage shown in German TV news report:

YouTube - Verschollene Szenen Metropolis (1927)

 

[Stephen_J_H]

A shining example of how film in motion looks different from screencaps. The screencaps linked earlier in this thread looked hideous; however, once seen in motion, it's not hard to imagine the rediscovered footage as being restorable.

 

[kevin_y]

Kino will probably just show the new footage as a DVD bonus feature, unrestored and unscored. To incorporate the new footage into the main film would be a major, time-consuming undertaking. The score would have to be recomposed to allow the added running time, and new intertitles would be needed. Efforts would be needed to make sure Lang's original vision would be preserved. And this is something I don't think Kino can do; that would be the job of the Murnau Foundation, which would most likely try to restore the picture quality as much as possible, and that could take months, if not years.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Or 2009 could become 2010. Hell, even December 2009 is still 15 months away.

 

[kevin_y]

First, I can't imagine the Murnau Foundation not trying to restore the picture quality of the new footage, and that could take a year or two. Then, the theatrical premiere of the restored version, which will be a big media event in Germany for sure. Then the theatrical runs worldwide... It could be a long time before we see the restored version on home video.

That's why I think the upcoming blu-ray, which I read would be an early 2009 release, would probably be the same as Kino's 2003 edition except in blu-ray, and with the discovered footage thrown in as a special feature.

 

[Brandon Conway]

Well, what's the point of this release and saying it'll have the rediscovered footage if it's not incorporated within the film?

I just think that Kino knows its consumer audience will pass on this release without the full version of the film, especially if they are going HD. Since they worked so closely with the Murnau Foundation on the previous authorized release it's only logical to me that they'll be doing the same for this release.

The elements were discovered in January, and only announced in July. Restoration is likely already in process. And besides, we're talking at most 30-35 minutes here, not hours of footage.

 

[MielR]

Only 23 minutes, I believe.

But still, can they do the restoration work that quickly on film that is so fragile and scratched? I wouldn't be surprised if the release date got pushed back by at least a few months, if not more.

Also, I know I've said this before, but I really hope KINO chooses to use still photos with titles to replace whatever footage is still missing. I was really disappointed that they used plain black cards with text describing the missing scenes in the last DVD release.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Step printing as you suggest has been tried with silents before, and the results have been ghastly, to be charitable.

 

[Michel_Hafner]

I had a look at the Transit PAL DVD, apparently made directly from the digital files. It looks ok. For some reason they added EE which looks bad and there are also DNR artifacts which makes me wonder if the 2K files have DNR artifacts as well or if this is limited to the DVD. Anybody know? Did the 35mm prints have DNR artifacts?
The supplement about the restoration is not entirely clear about this. They explain that the stone age DNR of the time (2001) which (partially) removes heads and limbs was not appropriate for a master element (but claimed at the same time you can't see it at 24fps which is nonsense, of course you can see it!) so they did not use it. But they also say that they carefuly used automated software solutions together with human supervision, plus manual clean up work. So I'm not sure if the DNR artifacts I saw are on the 2K or the DVD only. The Blu Ray will show, no doubt.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I do not recall any DNR artifacts on the 35mm prints of the touring restoration; it looked gorgeous. There was certainly no EE. And since I saw it at 20 fps those should have been readily visible if they were there.

 

[Brian Borst]

I was a bit skeptical at first. I didn't know if it was another hoax or something, so I was reserved at the beginning. But now, since I have seen actual bits of it, I think it's absolutely fantastic. It's so incredible, that I still can't believe it. This should make an awesome new release.
I do have one question, though. How much more is still missing from the film? Twenty minutes have been found, so how much remains missing?

 

[MielR]

"Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell post a whopping wrap-up of Il Cinema Ritrovato, the festival of rediscovered and restored films in Bologna. Among the highlights are notes from a briefing on what's known so far regarding this version": "Contrary to some reports, virtually all the missing scenes are present on the Argentine print, the single exception being a small portion at a reel end."

From everything I've read so far, about 23 minutes have been discovered, and perhaps about 5 minutes are still missing- some of what's missing may be the monk scene in the cathedral (there's a still photo from this scene on the current DVD). I guess we'll know for sure when the DVD/blu-ray comes out.

 

[Brian Borst]

Thanks, that helps a lot. With all these varying running speeds it's difficult to find out what the exact length of the film is. The premiere cut was about 210 minutes, but that probably would be with 20 fps.

 

[marknyc]

Early in this thread, someone mentioned having a 20fps version of Metropolis. If it's my "camera speed" version, it's actually at 16/12fps, depending on how much undercranking was done during filming.

I emailed Martin Koerber to see if there was any chance of the new restored version being released at a speed slower than 24fps, and he thought not. He told me I'd just have to update my version!

I guess that's what I'll have to do, since I am too spoiled to watch the Keystone Cops version ever again! =)

Mark

 

[Patrick McCart]

From messing around with my video software, Metropolis usually looks good at 22 fps for most, 20fps possibly for other parts. Even 24fps looks fairly good except when people run. 25fps and up... too fast.

It would be great that an ultimate BluRay edition would include the 24fps version on one disc (1080p), then the second disc with the speed-corrected version on the other (1080i). WB provided two versions of How the West Was Won, Lionsgate included both the color and B&W versions of The Mist. Metropolis is a major title that would justify the added expense.

On that note, a few wish-list items for the BluRay:

- How about some actually interesting commentaries? It would be a good idea to bring on historians and other experts. I'd personally like to hear a team-up between David Kalat (has recorded a lot for Lang films), Martin Koerber (restoration supervisor), and maybe an effects expert like Dennis Muren.
- Include the U.S. Paramount version. It would be great to have the near-complete restoration and the most butchered version side-by-side. Sort of like the comprehensive Brazil and upcoming Touch of Evil. (But for God's sake, let the Giorgio Moroder cut stay vaulted).
- Have seamless branching to have the option between original German intertitles with removable English subtitles and English intertitles.
- PCM 5.1 for the score (maybe have the Robert Israel organ transcription for the slow-speed version?)