FanDominion

If you're a fan of the 1927 silent science fiction classic Metropolis, I've got some news for you: you haven't seen the whole movie. In fact, you don't know the half of it. Literally.

This past summer, film archivists discovered Fritz Lange's director's cut of the 1927 film that has been thought lost for 80 years.

The version known to most audiences is the 1929 114-minute theatrical release version by U.S. studio,Paramount.

The director's original cut, on the other hand is three and a half hours, or a whopping 210 minutes.

According to the discoverers, the previously deleted scenes - once restored - flesh out entire subplots and give new meaning to secondary characters in the film.

Because of scratches and degraded condition of the long-lost film, restorers say it could be years before the full 3.5 hour epic director's cut is ready to be shown in theatres or available for sale on DVD.

 

Sources/Additional reading:

• AFP: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvdX-dyfyMFmNKJeUMeMGPwNfvCQ
• NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/movies/05arts-LOSTANDFOUND_BRF.html?em&ex=1215403200&en=1222edeba861a31c&ei=5087%0A
• CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/07/04/metropolis-original-lang.html
• BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7489278.stm
• Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL0344303820080704
• Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/missing-reels-from-langs-metropolis-discovered-860006.html
• Duetsche Welle: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3460612,00.html

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