Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009 - Page 4

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Here's a rougnh translation from this site:

Stummfilm-Klassiker «Metropolis» wird restauriert

Silent film classic "Metropolis" being restored

The restoration of the silent film classic "Metropolis" by Fritz Lang (1925/26) has started, a few months after the discovery of previously lost scenes.

Initial work showed that an approximate version of the original could be created, said the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation in Wiesbaden. Last year around 30 minutes of film sequences were found in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. The material, however, was in a deplorable condition. The exact cost of the project is still unclear.

"Together with our partners we now want to use every opportunity to show this masterpiece at a wide range of festivals as well as on television and on DVD," said Foundation Board member Helmut Possmann. This film, from cultural point of view, represents a long-cherished dream.

The science-fiction silent film "Metropolis" with Gustav Fröhlich and Brigitte Helm in the leading roles, is seen today as a milestone in film history. It was released in January 1927 in Berlin. Later this version was significantly reduced, because the film, according to the Murnau Foundation, had no success for four months. A 2001 restored version received much praise. At the time, the cut parts were thought irretrievably lost. Certain scenes not included in the Argentinian version are still missing. We hope that a new global search will find them, said the Murnau Foundation.

The Foundation, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany has the rights to film classics and many other films. For more than 40 years, it has preserved and cared for German film heritage. Another costly restoration project is currently the two-part "Die Nibelungen", also by Fritz Lang. The project will be completed by 2010, the film should be released with a new musical score.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Are they starting from scratch and scan the best film elements again or do they plan to add to the existing HD/2K master? As far as I know the digital restoration done some years ago is now no longer state of the art and could be improved upon. Among other things it's apparently 8 bit data only.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Personally, I think they should get DTS Digital Images and Warner's Motion Picture Imaging to do the new digital work. Perhaps the Lowry Process can help the 16mm footage, while more traditional manual work would be fine for most of the 35mm.

Alpha-Omega's work was amazing for the time, but it can be vastly better now. I didn't like how they used static mattes for some shots instead of manual damage removal.

Now is the time to create a definitive version that is as pristine as technologically possible, not adding onto an already obsolete digital file.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Michel, you're getting 1st hand reply here from the man who restored METROPOLIS with his crew. I'm Thomas from Alpha-Omega and I confirm that 9 years ago the software was not there to do the restoration in 10bit. At least not for budgets that silent films have (much different from what is spent in commercials or new films !!) Many software packages offered 10bit dpx, but in reality they use the last 2 bits for Alpha-channels not for image information. To this day the software out there is ignoring the fact that one would need a black/white 10-bit dpx file - they all just 'know' RGB what blows up the size of the project 3 times.
To call our work 'no longer state of the art' sounds awful to me, but there's truth to it technically. But then ... so is the restoration on THE GODFATHER and many many more films that have been done more recently.
Sad but true - if you would always wait for the next, better technology before you do a restoration, you might never get started. Right ?

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

I watched the Kino restored version in a theatre in MPLS MN a few years back they got a new print as the annivsary of the film that was eventually released on DVD and it looked very good. So did the DVD release.

I am sure the eventual BD release will hold up well as it can for the source material...

As far as restorations go Disney has done at least has it been 3 known restorations to Pinocchio - the technology just wasn't there. Over time restoration gets more advanced so there is no use saying someone elses restor. work is bad because of the technolgy involved.

Even Warner said they have to do a whole new restoration for Singin' in the Rain even though the two disc release looked amazing a few years back.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Patrick, this is Thomas from Alpha-Omega, responsible for the restoration of METROPOLIS in 2000. I actually signed in just to get your statements the legitimate comment, after they were brought to my attention.
First: you can't have a slightest clue what the 'new' scenes actually look like in damage and detail of that material. I do. To just throw out there it might help to do the Lowry Process is not more then trying to sound smart !! Since I happen to know the Lowry Process just like I know (hands on) the MTI, Revival, Diamant, DVO and all other tools for restoration, I can assure you there is NO software out there that can deal with the damage on this particular footage, and all of the terrible damage is printed in, not physically present. - There is a task to be done that won't ever make the new scenes match to what we've done in 2000, simply for the enourmous damage.
So - who ever will get to perform that work will have to do miracles.
Interesting I find that someone who admires our work doesn't wonder what we could do on that task ! Wouldn't you be curious what we learned since we performed that job ?
You say: now is the time to create a definitive version. Will you supply the budget for let's say new 4K scanning plus months of restoration with the most recent tools ? If so, you would certainly be very welcome at the foundation !
See - it's all a matter of time and money. In our country nobody can throw money on a project like they can in Hollywood, and let me tell you they don't go further then they must too. I happen to know most of the guys in charge. You can trust me when I say, we ourselves know what could be done better today, since we're still around and know our sh.. well. But are you really ready to wait another 20-25 years for the last footage to pop out of the bushes and maybe 8K restoration ? People want to see the films ! And if dramatic changes come over the years, some work might be done again - but only if someone supplies the bucks to do so. - Cheers Thomas

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

OK, I'm asking. What do you think is the best approach to restoring and preparing the longer cut for Blu-Ray? Are the raw scans available from the first restoration, and what needs to be done to bring them up to snuff? Finally, what kind of budget are we talking about if you were to do the restoration, either using the existing 2K scans, or starting from scratch with new 4K scans?

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Doesn't anybody think it's really sad nobody is willing to pay money to restore one of the most influential science-fiction films ever made?

And Thomas, do you know who are restoring Metropolis now? And do you know why you and the team you're working with aren't involved?
And how bad is the state of the discovered scenes? Probably not unwatchable, otherwise they wouldn't be working with it.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Brian, it wasn't me saying they aren't investing in Metropolis, if that's the film you meant.

And ... it's not decided who will be doing the work, that is up to the foundation only. Did I say we haven't been contacted ? hmmmm ...
On a list from 1-10 where 10 is the worst possible I have seen, this did hit 25, and it needs some really clever experiments to make this look a tenth as good as the rest. very very unfortunately the nitrate that had been the source to the 16mm to my information has been destroyed long time ago.
Does Anyone have another full length copy out there ? maybe nitrate ??

By the way: I thought it was bad to date someone who thinks Fellatio is an italian filmmaker !!

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Hey Stephen, you're asking very interesting questions. All of them have answers, but some foundation is not happy about information being put out other then by them. If it's more then just curiousity driving you, if you have anything to contribute to this sort of work, contact me.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Oh, I'm sorry, I thought that was what you meant by the comment that they cannot throw money at a restoration in Germany like they can in America. Sorry if I was mistaken.
And you did say 'them' a couple of times. I just assumed you weren't involved. Of course saying 'them' gives you the advantage of still being able to talk about the project, without admitting you're directly involved .
And I'm not even going to say anything about the Fellatio comment .

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

I apologize if I came off as negative. It's shortsighted on my part to not consider Alpha-Omega would handle revisions, since you worked miracles the first time around!

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

That seems like asking God for another miracle when the Red Sea has already been split before your eyes.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Maybe the scenes that are excessively damaged could be recreated as photo-realistic animation sequences, now that we know what the shots looked like.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Thanks for posting. I'm not trying to put down what you did back then. I have not seen the HD of it, only some of the DVD which is no reliable basis for judging the work. And concerning digital techniques for film restoration everybody's work quickly becomes no longer quite state of the art in some areas as progress with (filtering) algorithms and scanning hardware is rapid and sets the bar ever higher. That's true for Lowry and all the other shops. Now we have reached a high level of quality where differences become more subtle, though. No need to wait for better when the funds are there to save a film.
Can you go back to the film elements again or do you have to add to the existing data?

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

Your idea is not 'out of this world' ... I have heard this from other people too, that have close contact to the project. BUT: a restoration is a restoration, not a re-production (of any kind) ... so that idea -no matter if done well or not- would never meet the general thinking of 'restorers'.
"Film-Archeologists" always deal with the bones they dig out from the dirt, not make new bones replacing the ones they found.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

It would make for a cool bonus featurette though (like Peter Jackson's recreation of the spider pit sequence from King Kong '33).

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

I'd like to see all of the footage incorporated into the film- no matter how terrible the condition.

I DO hope that they fill in whichever scenes that remain missing using still photos instead of the approach they took with the previous DVD release (which used just a different typeface on a black background to indicate missing segments) which IMO was confusing and ineffective.

It's hard to understand why it was done that way, especially when you consider they had stills from the missing scenes available (some of which were included in the bonus material section of the DVD).

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

And one would hope that Kino won't mess up your work with sloppy PAL/NTSC conversion this time around.

Re: Kino to bring METROPOLIS to Blu-Ray in 2009

I got to see the 2000 restoration in the theater last fall here in St. Louis. It was absolutely stunning - I don't see any reason why someone doing a decent mastering/compression job (not Kino's strong suit) for DVD or BR couldn't make the current restoration look incredible for home theater with the exception of the new found footage.