----------------------------Original message---------------------------- >----------------------------Original message---------------------------- > >David Smith writes: >"If anyone has seen both a reasonable facsimile of Lang's 1926 >METROPOLIS, I would appreciate hearing how titling and >dialogue were handled in the original. > >And, would anyone agree that an underlying problem of cultural >confusion has been introduced by Moroder in his determination >to make a commercially-viable project out of his 'restoration,' >through the overlay of a 1970's Italian pop design sensibility on >a 1920's German film. (I must admit some of the original footage >is of dubious merit, even in glorious black and white - Lang might >better have stuck to his wonderful machinery montages and left >well enough alone). > >By the way, was the project commercially successful?" > > >The Morodor version is listed by Maltin at 87 minutes, compared to 120 for >the original! I assume there was some hacking away done (although >projection speed--or printing to compensate for silent speed) might be a >factor. I'm sure someone out there can fill us in on that. I'm also >curious how the "monochrome" colorization compares to whatever original >tinting might have been used. > > *********************** We have Metropolis list in our catalog as 120 min. silent speed (18 fps) & 87 min. at 24fps. Stephen > Stephen O'Riordan Film/Video Archives Media Center, UCSD 9500 Gilman Dr. La Jolla, CA 92093-0504 Tel: 619/534-7981 Fax: 619/534-7180 [log in to unmask]