Metropolis 1927 - restoration comparison
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- Film restorer Martin Koerber said the 16mm print of Metropolis found in Argentina in 2008 was the worst print of a film he had ever seen. Here are some samples of the impressive restoration work done on the print before its 2010 release.
I would like to see the full Argentinean print, in all its glory
Ultimately, that decision is up to the owners of “Metropolis.” But I am glad that they were able to find the footage that was missing for over 80 years.
Fun Fact: That print is the ONLY copy that was fully approved by Fritz Lang. Not only is it a complete version of the movie, but it is all taken from one negative instead of being cobbled together from sources derived from all three negatives. Why they wouldn’t release both the 35mm/16mm hybrid print and the 16mm Argentina print side by side is beyond me.
@@darthkurland at least up until the end of this year, then it’s basically a free-for-all
This was called Metropolod 27/10. I hope there will be a Metropolis 27/27 restoration for its 100th anniversary. I think with todays technology especially Ai a lot more is possible.
I was thinking the same.
watched Metropolis with the added Koerber restored Argentine footage on Turner Classic Movies the other night and it was fantastic. the Alpha-Omega Digital GmbH techs demonstrated true "Deutsch Kunst"
Why they didn't keep the Argeniniamn movie as an extra? It's great to see the Spanish titles!
Others have also asked for that, especially since the Argentinian print is made up almost completely of alternate takes. I guess they thought the unrestored print is so unwatchable (it's really horrible), that nobody would want to see it.
+Broadway Classixs the footage isn't that horrible in my opinion. I'd like to see the spanish version along with the two scenes they cut from the restoration.
+Aggelos Zorbas I think those two scenes didn't make it because they happened to be at the ends of their respective reels and were accidentally cut off when the print's owners made the 16mm copy back in the 1970s. They didn't quite do it right when they copied the film, they neglected to wash the print of dust and dirt (the fluid would have also hid most of the scratches) and they copied the film in a sound gate so the image was cropped on the top and left side. They made the 16mm copy from the 35mm print because they didn't have the proper facilities to safely store nitrate based film. Once the copy was made the original 35mm print was deliberately destroyed.
1987VCRProductions Interesting info. I guess thats why we cant have those 2 scenes.
Yes, those two scenes are definitely lost.
I must ask; is there any way to seen the scenes that were excluded from the restoration because they were too damaged?
It's only a few seconds, I think. They were at the beginning of a reel, so I think they were actually lost completely.
There are still missing scenes in Metropolis (e.g. the monk). Any chance they might be found some day?
Never say never, but I doubt it - it took 80 years to find these. But I sure would like to see that Fredersen/Rotwang fight!
They were found, but the reasons why they aren't there is because either the film would be destroyed if they tried to process it or because there was no possible way to make the footage viewable.
As for the two "lost" scenes, I'll describe them as clearly as possible, with their content and music based on the latest restoration. The first is the scene of Freder in the cathedral. As he walks in and starts looking for Maria, he sees a monk at the pulpit. The monk dramatically sweeps his arm across, pulling his cape with it. (The monk is played by Fritz Rasp, the same man who played the Thin Man, and it's possible that the monk was actually the Thin Man in disguise.) The music then plays a more dramatic, much darker version of the music from the dance scene, as he declares to the crowd, "Verily, I say unto you, the days spoken of in the Apocalypse are nigh-!" He then holds his bible up, showing a picture of the Whore of Babylon (posed in the same way Maria was posed in the dance scene). Under that picture and on the next page, there is text, which is in German, and it cuts between the book and the monk, and the text is displayed on several intertitles, as well. "And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, having a golden cup in her hand." "And upon her forehead was a name written, a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT, mother of abominations of the earth." "And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints." After he finishes reading, he dramatically slams the book shut, and the film then cuts to Rotwang gazing at his creation, to which he says, "You will destroy Joh Fredersen - him and his city and his son." As the other people leave the cathedral, Freder then goes into another area, which reveals statues of the Grim Reaper, and seven statues, each embodying one of the seven deadly sins. They have engraved text above them in German, each word being the sin depicted by the statue. As Freder views all of the statues, he says, "If you had come earlier, you wouldn't have scared me... But now I beg you: Stay away from me and my beloved...!" Freder then leaves the cathedral, but stops on the steps when he takes Georgy's hat out, and he begins to think about him.
The second scene takes place in Rotwang's house, in the room where Maria is held captive. He had previously gloated to her, "Joh Fredersen wants to let those in the depths use force and do wrong, so that he can be justified in using force against them..." "When you spoke to your poor brothers, you spoke of peace, Maria...Today, a mouthpiece of Joh Fredersen is inciting them to rebel against them..." "She will destroy their belief in a mediator!" "...But I have tricked Joh Fredersen! Your double does not obey his will - only mine!" About three minutes later in the movie (here's where the lost part begins), Fredersen is walking by Rotwang's house, and it's revealed that he heard what Rotwang said. He then sneaks into the house, and while outside the room where Maria is being held, he hears Rotwang again: "...and I tricked Joh Fredersen twice over-! For I concealed from him that his son wants to be your brothers' mediator - and loves you-!" Enraged both at Rotwang's deception and the fact that Freder will undoubtedly end Fredersen's reign as Metropolis' unquestioned ruler, he charges into the room and attacks Rotwang. As the two fight, Maria escapes. After she escapes, Fredersen finally throws Rotwang down on the floor, knocking him out. He then has a horrified look on his face, partially because his plan is unraveling, and partially because he believes that he killed Rotwang, when he was only knocked out. He then leaves and heads back to his office, unaware that the workers are rioting at that exact time.
Through very careful handling of the physical film and the use of Bullet-Time (the same program used to create some of the more advanced shots in The Matrix), these two scenes could easily be restored. Also, Bullet-Time and some CGI (used very carefully) could easily fix the 16mm footage, repairing the damage and filling in the black portions on top and on the side.
Perhaps we could find them technically by making a little stop motion where we have it extremely zoomed in to the strips, and with enough light, we could see them without processing.
I would LOVE to see the monk scene
@@dengamleidiot Apparently the monk scene is not missing, after all. I saw it recently, I'm not sure if it was the complete scene, but it was there.
Actually I think that the cleaning up process could be done better, looking at other restaurations. Glad it was found though, and glad to see it
Sadly, it really couldn’t. The footage shown here is from a copy that transferred all of the damage of the original right on the new film, meaning all of the work had to be done digitally.
@@robinanwaldt i mean this was restored over 12 years ago. Today, especially with Ai Technology much more is probably possible. And in my opinion the worst isn't the scratches. Its the bad contrast and that they left in the black bars left and at the top.
@@PassCookie Them leaving the black bars is intentional, as that’s where material was lost during the botched copying process decades ago.
@@robinanwaldt i know. But imo it makes it worse than just making it fullscreen. It distracted me more than the ultra bad quality. But thats only my opinion.
I don't understand, with a simple Avisynth filter I could remove more scratches.
Please do so and upload your results.
Broadway Classixs if you’re boasting about that, prove it.
but if you are spanish?
This is from the recently discovered Argentinian print, restored for U.S. release. I believe there are Spanish editions available, too.
Worst print of film? I mean, it definitely doesn't look good, but I don't think this man has seen any of the Kodak Eastmancolor films from the 50's-Early 80's. lol.
0:45 why the need to change the text?
the same reason they changed the PELIGRO/DANGER warning sign at 1:08 - it's written in Spanish and they wanted it to be written in german (fairly sure even the DANGER sign reads GEFAHR in the original print). Chances are the german text on the note is the original.
Wow, there's still a lot for improvement.
Hopefully, AI will make all of this easier.
Maybe with the help of AI it can be even better
To be honest, in the Argentinian print, the illusion of movement basically doesn't exist because of how bad it looks to where with each bit of flicker & each scratch, your eyes can tell that it's just stills.
All film is series of still images. The scratches don't destroy the illusion of movement at all.