This event has seemingly come out of nowhere with little advance warning. While it was known that 25-minutes of never-before-seen footage of Fritz Lang’s incredible Metropolis had been discovered last year, I had no idea it had already been cleaned up and integrated into a new, digitally remastered print. Best of all, this new version of the science-fiction classic will debut online this Friday in a streamable version.

The Details:

Since this is happening in Berlin and the website in question is in German, I am stuck using Google Translator. As such, details are as close as I can surmise.

The stream will begin at this location: Arte.TV

Date of Premier: February 12th

If you have never seen Metropolis before, then this is your best opportunity to see a newly restored, nearly complete version of a science-fiction classic.

Translated from Arte.TV:

Before we dive into the “lost” scenes from “Metropolis”, let us tell two stories. One of adventurous discovery of the material for the most complete version of the film since its premiere. The others of an entirely new method of film images which, because of countless scrapes and tread are only dimly visible through the use of newly developed computer programs to restore such a way that correspond to light and again contrasts with what has turned director 1925/26.

The history of the discovery, said Helmut Poßman, Chairman of the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, which manages the restoration work, and it occurs to him to begin a discreet word “kurios a” Fernando Pena, a passionate film lover, had in the late 1980s years, a conversation with the head of a small film clubs in Buenos Aires. The complained about the troubles in the projection of a copy of “Metropolis”. More than two hours because he had to stand next to the projector and press the old film, so he does not jump out of the leadership. The “more than two hours” were either the small exaggeration of a stressed Projektionisten – or the hint of a sensational discovery.

More after break:

For “Metropolis”, which is also the unfortunate story of a film mutilation of the people believed until recently that it is irrevocable. Today we see in Fritz Lang’s film like the zeitgeist of the 20s, a volatile mix of fear and Future Vision, a Christian, Marxist and, unfortunately, proto-fascist ideas. At the time of its premiere, but this seemed so far most expensive German film to miss the taste of the audience thoroughly. And remained the criticism, for all his enthusiasm for the technical services, highly skeptical. “A factual issue cruel kitsch. Effects, not because worldviews urge to explosions, but because the film wants his tricks. The conclusion that the tearful reconciliation between employers and workers – terrible. “For example, destroying the Berliner Börsen-Courier, 11 January 1927 “Metropolis” after its premiere. At that time the film was 4189 meters long, which corresponds to a duration of approximately 154 minutes. After critics and viewers were denied their followers, got cut up on behalf of Parufamet-rental company, a drastically shortened version that conformed to one version, for which the American author responsible Channing Pollock drew. Frankly, he had known that they have made to the act its own rhyme. When the film in the new version came to German cinemas, its length was only 3241 meters.

Too good to be true

Cut into what is now Buenos Aires. Here, the reference had left the long version of “Metropolis” our film enthusiasts Fernando Pena no peace. However, the search initially went back into space, presumably the “Museo del Cine was” afraid of foreign views on more or less properly stored treasures of film history. Only when Paula Félix-Didier, formerly the wife of Fernando Pena, the Film Museum took over the leadership, has intensified the search and had success very quickly. Until of course, the prospects Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, the copy and finally give the go-ahead for the restoration could have been quite a few phone calls, emails, and trips across the ocean is necessary. The story of the almost-original copy of “Metropolis” was simply too beautiful to be able to believe she would have immediately.

Rehabilitation of a masterpiece. The plot of “Metropolis” is reasonably well known: In the future, a certain John Fredersen rules over an industrial metropolis where the workers toil to exhaustion on huge machines. When Fred Ersen’s son Freder misery in this “underworld” is aware he is on the side of the rebellion, while he has fallen in love with the beautiful Mary, who then embodied in the catacombs, an early Christian ideal of charity. But there is still a villain, the inventor Rotwang, with Fredersen has a personal score to settle. Using a robot that receives the traits of Mary, he uses the rebellion of the workers themselves. This leads to disaster. And in the end, when Metropolis is just barely escaped the destruction mediated, at that infamous reconciliation between mind and hand, through the heart.

With the new scenes in the film receives many new meaning. The original is more emotional and human than what we previously knew as architecturally daring film fairy tale. Particularly impressive is the scene about to take refuge in the children from the lower city, the straight – which is recognizable only in the full version – is being flooded by water from the upper town. This scene contains both, a much sharper critique of the class structure of the city, and an emotional impact, which may, according to the lender at the time the audience overwhelmed. Even today, the scene of a trained disaster pictures view is very close.

Almost as important in the new version, we see that Metropolis is inhabited by people. The old versions show an archetypal conflict, and hence has been watching ever broken up a bit: the admiration for the visual power of film and head-shaking about the strange ideology (by the way, Fritz Lang’s later vehemently distanced). In the restored version, we now discover the inner relationship with the metropolis of Berlin in the 20s. And in that people who are similar to and are torn between loyalty and lust for life, responsibility, and conformism. The Metropolis is not only an outward form, but also an inner life. And Fritz Lang’s film has once again what had been taken from him: a soul.

Soul, computer work

Are added up, the film conveys this life lost, had rediscovered the scenes as in a puzzle in the current version of “Metropolis”. The timetable for reconstruction was built in the Murnau Foundation in Wiesbaden, was based on the traditional music of Gottfried Huppertz original with their 1028 data for synchronous interaction of film and orchestra. Following a separate program for digital processing of damaged film images was developed. “It’s about,” said Thomas Bakels repair of Alpha & Omega, “the image without violating its integrity. There should be no foreign content by editing, not a single pixel is changed by us. ” How this works in detail, will not reveal, of course. But we suspect that even a computer can begin to recognize not only pictures, but they also think about “. After digital processing, the result is copied back to film, so that the images received the original grain. Thus, the film does not seem like a cold digital reconstruction, but as if you were sitting just in the movies. 1927 maybe.

This ultimately contributes also what gives the reconstructed “Metropolis” the last decisive hint of a soul music. The guideline is now the restoration of the original music score by Gottfried Huppertz, which the conductor Frank Strobel meticulously reconstructed frame accurate rehearsed with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. On 12 February, we “Metropolis” see not only hear but also very close to that, as was done by the visitors to the Berlin premiere. Perhaps with a little difference: we know what we have in this cinematic masterpiece that we had almost lost.

THE ARTE GASTAUTOREN Georg Seeßlen, FILM CRITIC AND AUTHOR, AND MARK METZ, JOURNALIST, THE SHOW TOGETHER MULTIMEDIA PROJECT “THE FUTURE OF CINEMA”

ARTE PLUS

PUBLIC VIEWING: The world premiere of the reconstructed “Metropolis” version in Friedrichstadtpalast and publicly broadcast will be live at the Brandenburg Gate. On 12 February from 20:15
EXHIBITION: “The complete Metropolis,” special exhibition at the Museum for Film and Television in Berlin. By 25 April 2010 BOOK TIP: “Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, ed German Cinematheque, Belleville-Verlag 2010