METROPOLIS 2010

The world premiere in Frankfurt and Berlin of the restored version of METROPOLIS (Germany 1927/2010) returns to the screen the original version of a monumental silent film classic which for decades was considered lost forever.

The 2008 discovery of a 16mm negative at the Museo de Cine in Buenos Aires became sensational news worldwide, as well as a milestone in the history of film preservation. Many original scenes cut from the film after its 1927 premiere to shorten the film and simplify its storyline, were kept intact in a 35mm nitrate positive print and copied to 16mm negative in the 1970s. The 2001 restoration combined with the newly recovered Argentine scenes reveals completely new perspectives on Fritz Lang's original masterpiece. Former secondary characters like the 'Thin man' are now leading players in the story; while the robot-like Machine Man has been somewhat displaced from center stage. The complete Metropolis will definitely present all viewers with an exciting new experience. The German ZEIT-magazine was the first to break the discovery of the new Argentine footage, in an article called "Reise nach Metropolis"

The monumental silent film classic screened at several film festivals around the world and was given a wide theatrical release. Before the end of the year The Complete Metropolis will be released with an orchestral music soundtrack on DVD and Blu-ray.

The premiere of the 2010 restored version at Berlin's 'Friedrichstadtpalast' was highlight of this year's Berlin Film Festival. Frank Strobel conducted the original music score played by the Berlin symphony orchestra 'Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester'. The event was broadcast live on the TV cable channel 'arte'in HD resolution as well as screened in the „open-air“ on a huge mobile screen erected at the Brandenburg Gate.

The Berlin premiere had a simultaneous „twin“ premiere screening in Frankfurt inside the beautiful Old Opera building. The music score was played by the 'Staatsorchester Braunschweig' conducted by Helmut Imig. The Prime Minister of Hessen Roland Koch spoke about the importance of preserving German film heritage, and the Murnau-Foundation's CEO Helmut Poßmann expressed appreciation to all the participants that made the event a big success. The special guest for the evening was Paula Felix-Didier, the director of the 'Museo del Cine' in Buenos Aires, who was interviewed on stage by 'ZEIT'-magazine. Ms. Felix-Didier was a key person in the discovery of the formerly 'lost footage'. Fernando Martin Peña, an essential partner in the discovery, unfortunately was unable to attend.