Rating: 
Summary: Historical Masterpiece, Terrible DVD
Review: I never saw Metropolis except for small sections referenced by other films. It always appealed to me and I finally took a risk buying this used for cheap. Even at an inexpensive price I'd strongly advise to skip this version. As others have noted the trasfer is terrible, the music is good but sound quality is terrible too. Having watched this version of Metropolis I was able to get some kind of plot out of it and even with the poor film transfer the imagry is at times stunning. Here's my advice; if you just have to see Metropolis and do not want to pay the substantially high price of the Kino version buy this copy, but understand...and please take my word on this as I'm one of the people that made a similar decision, know that you are getting poor quality all around. Whether this will ruin the film's experience for you has more to do with your aesthetics. Metropolis has major historical importance and watching it I could see where other favorite dystopian films liberally borrowed ideas. In the end it was acceptable for the price I paid. I would not buy this new and would cough up the extra money and get the Kino version if buying it new. I will be purchasing the latest DVD eventually just to be able to enjoy the superior quality. 5 stars for the film being wonderful 0 stars for the quality. The average would be 2.5 and although it's a great film Metropolis is gutted by this poor DVD. When reading reviews it is easy to take it personal, that a poor review of the DVD (a product) in some way says something negative towards the film on it. In this review the quality of the film is the only reason more than one star was given. My last parting shot...
The reason I even bothered with the Mandacy product was because so many negative reviews on Amazon have been baseless or inane one line insults I have become numb to them. Take it from a usually easy to please reviewer. Stay away from this DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: A new perspective on the release debate..
Review: Metropolis is a brilliant piece of work. I'll say this up front to get it out of the way: I haven't seen the DVD, but I understand the arguments; I have a slightly different opinion. Most people absolutely adore the Moroder release of Metropolis, with the tinted scenes and the modern (for the 80's) soundtrack... but I personally found it atrocious. The quality was great, don't get me wrong.. but when I think of the imagery in this film, I don't think of Bonnie Tyler and Queen. I do, however, admire the effort. I definitely agree with putting modern scores with silent films, this one just didn't work for me. That said, I've noticed a lot of people dissatisfied with the music on several releases.. I'm a bit of a fan of the silent films.. I have yet to see one with a decent soundtrack. If I see one more 'Nosferatu' with a blaring organ score I swear I'll vomit; and don't even get me started on the 1990 version of Phantom of the Opera with score by Rick Wakeman. But I am a big fan of the films, so this is how I've managed to get past the horrible music without watching them silently. Find a CD that reflects the ideas and atmosphere you feel to be present in Metropolis, and let it play while you watch the film. I have one of the many 115-minute versions, and the image quality is a bit rough, but that doesn't really bother me.. I've always seen Metropolis as an Industrial film anyway. The rough quality just adds to it for me (granted, I have seen versions of this too rough to watch). For that reason, I chose Nine Inch Nails' "The Fragile" as the score for Metropolis.. it works very well with my release.. some memorable moments (if you try this, you may not get these exact moments with the different releases) are the "Moloch" scene when Freder sees the machine explode .. the workers gather their injured and dead as Trent Reznor screams the lyrics "Now you know - this is what it feels like" - and the first scene between Freder and Maria .. Freder kneeling at her feet, in a sort of rapture.. while Trent sings "I will take my place in the great below" .. that song (and the first disc of "The Fragile") ends as Freder kisses Maria's hand and walks away.. But I won't give away all the quirks. Anyway, that's the score that works for me.. both discs of the Fragile and the first two tracks of "Further Down The Spiral" at the end, since The Fragile isn't quite 115 minutes long. But anyway, having said all that, if you saw Metropolis and didn't like it because of the quality or soundtrack or just because it was boring, try again, and make your own score. Most people who think they don't like silent films simply don't like the music, or the silence. This is understandable.. in silent films the score is 75% of the atmosphere. Use music that you know, that you like.. music that will set the mood for horror if you're watching "Phantom" or "Nosferatu," or for Industrial SciFi if you're watching "Metropolis." I think you'll get a lot more out of the genre that way.
Rating:
Summary: A Great film,BEWARE OF PUBLIC DOMAIN VERSIONS!
Review: "Metropolis",Fritz Lang's 1927 silent masterpiece,is one of the most important films ever made and also a great one! But over the years,this film has been reedited,recut,and shortened which ruins the exact vision of an extrordinary filmmaker.Since its stay on the Public Domain shelf,the prints and image quality have over the years been poor.I DO NOT recommend the following versions:1.the Goodtimes Video release has poor image quality and even worse,NO MUSICAL SCORE! 2.The now-notorious Madacy DVD, which is about 5 times as worse as the Goodtimes video release,contains horrible,blurry image quality,freeze-frame opening titles,and an annoying musical score! Just recently,TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has broadcast the brand-new,beautifully restored 2002 restoration of "Metropolis" which I taped off of and trust me,it's well worth it! Buy the Kino restored version on either VHS or DVD,but DO NOT buy the horrible Public Domain versions which can definitely rip you off! A Terrific film and thanks to Kino for making this restored version a definite must-see! I also recommend the 1984 rerelease by Giorgio Moroder (which is now unfortunately out-of-print)and buy the soundtrack to go with it!
Rating:
Summary: Lang deserves better than this.
Review: When I bought this DVD, I was actually expecting less-than-perfect picture quality. After all, $10 for a DVD is cheap. I reasoned it would at least have some version of the movie on it, and thus it's worth the money. But now, having watched it, I'm not convinced. There are no issues with tinting/no tinting, new score/old score. Here it's just that the transfer is downright painful to watch -- grainy, scratchy, at times out of focus, at times so dark you can barely see the action. The gorgeous production design and innovative filmmaking is buried under layers of artifacts from a bad transfer. It looks like someone videotaped it off of a TV (using a camcorder through a dirty window), then watched the tape about twenty times, then put it on the DVD. I know, the film's 80 years old, we can't expect a pristine presentation. But I know that better transfers exist, I've seen them on VHS. Not to mention the fact that The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu have beautiful Criterion DVDs -- why haven't they done Metropolis yet? Surely a film that influenced everyone from Ridley Scott to George Lucas deserves preferential treatment. The sound is good, a full orchestra instead of just a piano, but that's about all this sad little disc has going for it. If you want to see Metropolis (and everyone should see it at least once), you're better of getting it on VHS for now.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT Movie - Poor DVD!
Review: METROPOLIS is in simple words a classic long in the making, and probably a major inspiration for George Lucas' STAR WARS films, and many other major science-fiction films to be decades later from its' initial release in 1926. Film also works as a major triumph of human relations with the idea of slavery workers, and rebelling against greater authority. Plus what can go wrong when power falls into the wrong hands. Rudolf Klein-Rogge's Rotwang is an unforgettable character, and the creation of the robot scene is still an eye-filler even long before CG effects technology some 60 years later. The DVD quality is poor however, as the color contrast is lacking from the color contrast from the original negatives seen on VHS releases. The trivia sections are nice, but what is missing is an audio commentary, or any existence history of the making of the film which should prove very interesting. I'm sure it won't be long before such a version comes to be. TRIVIA: Brigitte Helm was one of James Whale's choices to play the Monster's Mate in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN before Elsa Lanchester got the part.
Rating:
Summary: A Silent German Classic
Review: This is not a review of any DVD version of Metropolis. I am given to understand that most of them are of rather poor quality and not worth the purchase. However, I thought I would just mention that I would love to see the "restored" version of Metropolis, as released in the mid-1980s with a rock-and-roll soundtrack, on DVD. That version had a pretty good image quality with colored hues on various reels to highlight certain moods (and I don't mean colorized, as in the horrible Ted Turner method, either). The 1980s version was also fairly complete, although I've seen a celluloid version with some extra scenes at the nightclub, which surprised me. As for the rock soundtrack, some people don't like it very much, but it doesn't bother me. And besides, that's what the volume control is for. But the bottom line is that the 1980s restored version is probably better than any of the versions currently on DVD, and I would certainly purchase it if it became available (I'm not sure it's even available anymore on VHS, though). Anyhow, the movie gets 5 stars from me for being a silent classic. The DVD gets a N/A rating from me, BUT...I should say that Madacy, which makes the most current budget DVD, is notorious for non-restored DVDs with horrible image/sound quality. You have been warned.
Rating:
Summary: A Great film,BEWARE OF PUBLIC DOMAIN VERSIONS!
Review: "Metropolis",Fritz Lang's 1927 silent masterpiece,is one of the most important films ever made and also a great one! But over the years,this film has been reedited,recut,and shortened which ruins the exact vision of an extrordinary filmmaker.Since its stay on the Public Domain shelf,the prints and image quality have over the years been poor.I DO NOT recommend the following versions:1.the Goodtimes Video release has poor image quality and even worse,NO MUSICAL SCORE! 2.The now-notorious Madacy DVD, which is about 5 times as worse as the Goodtimes video release,contains horrible,blurry image quality,freeze-frame opening titles,and an annoying musical score! Just recently,TCM (Turner Classic Movies) has broadcast the brand-new,beautifully restored 2002 restoration of "Metropolis" which I taped off of and trust me,it's well worth it! Buy the Kino restored version on either VHS or DVD,but DO NOT buy the horrible Public Domain versions which can definitely rip you off! A Terrific film and thanks to Kino for making this restored version a definite must-see! I also recommend the 1984 rerelease by Giorgio Moroder (which is now unfortunately out-of-print)and buy the soundtrack to go with it!
Rating:
Summary: Wait
Review: Not a good copy of this great movie. I'd wait and buy the "Restored Authorized Edition." Even though I bought this version, I've ordered the other. That's how much I like Metropolis is general.
Rating: 
Summary: A triumph of speculative fiction film
Review: Despite what H.G. Wells, (a favorite author), writes about this film by Fritz Lang, (a favorite director), and understanding his disgruntled feelings, it is a masterwork. When one views Metropolis, one isn't looking at a sad-face clown portrait, but at a Renoir or Dali. This film is beautiful, with a poignant look at how society works. The robot Maria is indeed one of the most alluring robots ever to grace a film.
The story is well done, and the filming superb. The acting, as with most silent films, is very expressive. Keeping this in mind, the actors do an excellent job. In particular Joh Fredersen, the master of Metropolis is fantastic and plays his concern for his son against his despotic abuse of the workers. Thea Von Harbou, the author of the original book, unfortunately joined the Nazi party later on. In viewing Metropolis the film, it is obvious that Nazism was on the extreme opposite of its intention.
This DVD print is exceedingly disappointing, with many scenes washed out beyond recognition. Despite some fun extras and nice packaging, it just doesn't make up for the poor quality print. Fortunately, it has recently been restored and made available, which is a costlier version, but well worth the money. If you'd prefer to not spend the money, this edition will serve you fine. The film I give 5 stars, but this edition I give 1 star, which averages to a three overall, but I'll give the film another star, because it's great anyway, and that makes 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Quality? What Did Everyone Expect?
Review: Nothing more can really be said about "Metropolis" that hasn't already been said a thousand times...it's a classic, that's a given. However, a lot has also been said from people who have purchased this Madacy DVD complaining about the bad quality. My question is, what did everyone expect? For those of you not "in the know", here's a little education: Madacy does not claim to have the best quality prints available for their transfers to DVD; in fact, many Madacy discs post a "disclaimer" stating that the films they use are NOT restored, having been "rescued" from film vaults, libraries, etc; therefore, the picture and/or sound might not be "top notch". How else could Madacy produce these discs at bargain prices? It's a classic example of "you get what you pay for". Bearing that in mind, the quality of Madacy's "Metropolis" is not all that bad; next to their issue of "Charade", it's probably the best one they offer. For what it is, I enjoyed it! I'm sure many people will flock to buy the Kino release, which promises to be an eye-popper (and a price-gouger, I'm sure); so all I can say to those that have bought this DVD and complained about it: "Caveat Emptor"...Let the buyer beware!
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