Nicholas at 2010-04-25 12:24:32:

Personally, I think "Birth of a Nation" is probably the most influential silent film, given the pioneering D. W. Griffith did with camera techniques.

Granted, I haven't seen Metropolis, so my opinion is probably a bit skewed.

Jeff at 2010-04-25 13:06:44:

Time for Jeff's completely useless history lesson.

Me n' Metropolis go way back.

In the early 80's, at the dawn of home video, there was a company called GOODTIMES HOME VIDEO. They were somewhat revolutionary in that you could purchase movies (public domain mostly) for under 10 bucks. They were somewhat revolting in that the quality of the prints and tapes themselves were junk.

In any event, METROPOLIS was one of their titles. I picked it up at a department store, age 14, and fell in love with the film right away... even though it was barely watchable, the print they used brutally scratched and marred.

A year later, a 90 minute version of the film appeared at art houses. They added a strange blue tint, cleaned up the print a bit, and added a sorta' cool Giorgio Moroder score. I didn't care for it too much...

Now, with this news, I can only pray this particular version will appear near my home. I would love to see this thing on the big screen, the extra half hour the cherry on top.

daveed at 2010-04-25 14:16:43:

METROPOLIS is a fascinating film, and truly worth watching. It's superbly designed; the special effects were utterly ingenious for the time.

As for the story, well I found it somewhat hamfisted and overly didactic in its interwar Euro-socialist message. Yes, it's sci-fi, but it's also allegorical for how European intellectuals saw modern industrial societies. However it's presented here in a very simplistic and adolescent manner. (Perhaps it was intentional on von Harbou's part since she knew she was communicating via film to the masses.)

But for amazing cinematic language and art direction, it's a masterpiece.

I have the 2003 Kino DVD, which is a marvelous restoration, complete with a fantastic classical score. But the real pleasure is watching it on the big screen.

I hope that this reissue will coincide with a new round of theater exhibitions. It would be great to see it again.

And if Kino comes out with a blu-ray edition of this version, I will definitely buy it.