Newly Restored Version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis Playing at Ken Cinema
(November 11, 2002; Commentary by Val)

  This week marks the arrival of Fritz Lang's 1927 masterpiece Metropolis to the Ken Cinema in San Diego.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary, members of the Freiderich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation meticulously compiled and constructed a definitive restoration based on the 1987 Munich version of the film. The digitally restored Metropolis includes scenes originally deleted by Paramount Pictures (to make the film a more "normal" and commercially acceptable length) as well as the original 1927 score.

The newly restored version certainly does justice to what I once thought of as a good, albeit at times confusing, piece of silent film history. However, the restored version removes all confusion and returns this magnificent piece to its former glory.