8 / BD 16 Metropolis

[MichaelB]

It just comes down to time and money i guess.

No it doesn't - no amount of time or money will get a pristine high-definition picture out of a badly scratched 16mm dupe, because the source information just isn't there.

For much the same reason, the BFI's restoration of the 1903 Alice in Wonderland (viewable here) is riddled with severe physical and chemical damage to such an extent that some of the YouTube commentators have expressed scepticism that it's actually a restoration at all.

But in both cases, the restorers have done the best that they possibly could. In fact, I'm absolutely astounded by what the Metropolis team have been able to extract from that footage.

[matrixschmatrix]

One of the other positive aspects of the damaged/low-res newly restored footage is that it highlights how goddamn amazing the fully restored print of the rest looks- it's an incredible improvement even over the old restoration, which was itself impressive. The restored stuff doesn't look great, but I've seen whole movies that looked roughly of that quality, so the overall package is pretty delightful to me.

[Svevan]

They should apply a filter over the old footage so it matches the 16mm footage. Surely we can make this an option on the Blu-ray - would go a long way to preventing complaints about the disparity between the two restorations.

[Florinaldo]

They should apply a filter over the old footage so it matches the 16mm footage. Surely we can make this an option on the Blu-ray - would go a long way to preventing complaints about the disparity between the two restorations.

To filter out what exactly? Surely, the damage we see on the recovered sequences cannot be eliminated by a simple filtering process.

[perkizitore]

Svevan is being purely sarcastic here.

[Florinaldo]

Svevan is being purely sarcastic here.

How can you tell?

[Jonathan S]

Svevan wrote (with humorous irony, I believe) "apply a filter over the old [i.e. 35mm] footage so it matches the 16mm footage", i.e. degrade the high quality 35mm so it looks as bad as the damaged 16mm dupe, then nobody will worry/complain about noticing the difference between the two (as someone earlier in the thread did).

[MichaelB]

Svevan is being purely sarcastic here.

How can you tell?

Because the alternative is that he's incredibly stupid, and his other posts strongly suggest that he isn't.

Wasn't there a DVD release that offered an authentic 'drive-in experience' soundtrack? Which turned out to be a hideously crackly sound that played out of just one speaker, in homage to the usual car-radio reception method? (Fortunately, it wasn't the only soundtrack on the DVD!)

[Svevan]

If your joke has to be explain by three different posters, the odds are that the joke, if not the poster, is "incredibly stupid." Ah well.

[MichaelB]

Well, I laughed.

[matrixschmatrix]

If your joke has to be explain by three different posters, the odds are that the joke, if not the poster, is "incredibly stupid." Ah well.

Haha, I was about to make a defensive post defending the original joke and calling this post stupid before I noticed some relevant data.

[tojoed]

The restored Metropolis will be showing in August at the Cambridge Film Festival for anyone in the vicinity.

[peerpee]

Full UK cinema screening information for METROPOLIS here: http://metropolis1927.com/#screenings" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This page will be updated daily with the latest info.

All screenings will be HD digital, just like the Berlin Premiere in January. There will be no 35mm prints.

[RossyG]

New Park Chichester are on the list but they aren't equipped to show digital films, except on a 1080p domestic set-up.

Will they be just using the Blu Ray disc for that one? It'd be a bit of a swizz if so. I'll go to the Duke of York', Brighton. They have proper 2K digital projection.

[reaky]

The restored Metropolis will be showing in August at the Cambridge Film Festival for anyone in the vicinity.

Actually, I believe the festival runs from 16-26 September. But thanks for the info about the screening.

CFF

[Mozart]

Metropolis will also run next Thursday (12.08.2010) at the International Silent Film Festival ("Internationale Stummfilmtage") in Bonn, Germany. With live orchestra.

[Der Spieler]

I would guess the MoC 'Metropolis' DVD and Blu-Ray come out on November 16, same day as the Kino?

[peerpee]

The studio recording of the orchestra has not been fully completed yet (long story). It'd be cutting it very fine for a Nov 16th release date, so we're going to hold out for a few more weeks so we can be sure. I can say that we're definitely looking at a November release date though.

Cryptic puzzler: the choice will be red, blue, or green.

[swo17]

Cryptic puzzler: the choice will be red, blue, or green.

Color of the plastic case?

[peerpee]

Nope.

[Napier]

Green-ray disc? Whatever it is, I can't wait.

[peerpee]

We're pulling it all together at the moment. Will be about a week until reveal.

[antnield]

Red is the colour of the label on the standard defintion release. Blue is the colour of the label on the Blu-ray release. So green is dual-format...?

[swo17]

Cryptic puzzler: the choice will be red, blue, or green.

Promotional tie-in?

[zedz]

Red is the colour of the label on the standard defintion release. Blue is the colour of the label on the Blu-ray release. So green is dual-format...?

Red is SD; Blue is BluRay; Green is the same BluRay transfer with a yellow filter applied (since Criterion won't be releasing this title).

Alternatively, 'Green' might mean a new eco-friendly format: hemp disc that plays once and then self-composts (since Warner Archives won't be releasing this title).