Last night's viewing on iTunes in HD:
Last night:
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This was a first time viewing of this cut of the film. This version runs 124 minutes and is the best I've ever seen the film with the original score making it even better. I have a copy of the later "Complete Metropolis" which runs at 153 minutes that's awaiting a viewing.
According to the included booklet this version is comprised of surviving pieces of the film from archives all over the world.Is this a version with some "re-discovered" footage from a film vault in Argentina?
I mentioned in another thread that two nights ago, I began watching my DVD of Watch on the Rhine, an Oscar-nominated Best Film I hadn't seen in at least a decade. About 50 minutes into the disc, the layer change occurred, and the disc froze, the victim of Warner's 2008 production line of discs that have now gone wholly or completely bad.
Instead of bothering with a replacement DVD, I went to iTunes and found the HD version of the movie for $7.99, so I bought it, and today I watched the remaining portions of the movie. The movie is good, not great, though I can certainly understand that during World War II, it would have resonated much more strongly with people. Grand performances from Lucile Watson and Beulah Bondi (among others).
The HD transfer on iTunes could be released on Blu-ray today; it is pristine, very sharp, and with a strong grayscale. Of course, the disc would likely be lucky to sell 100 copies nowadays, but at least this HD version is available for those who want the movie in top quality.
Moroder's version is the 82 minute cut of the movie. Lots of stuff missing on that one and it's a non-restored print as well. I never cared for his tinting job or the pop music score.Back in the day, I really liked the Giorgio Moroder version even though the storyline didn't make a lot of sense. I liked it for the special effects and visuals, and it had a lot of "emotional attachment" for me.
When I finally saw the re-edit version a number of years ago, the storyline made more coherent sense. Though for whatever reason, I found it didn't have much (if any) emotional "gravitas" for me.
@Matt Hough What is the basic premise of that series?I finished the new season of Grantchester tonight. It was a very entertaining series, but with only six episodes, they're always over before you know it.