Rating: 
Summary: this tinted version is NOT Moroder's version
Review: This is the 139 minute, tinted version, with the disjointed music, distributed by "JEF films" and labeled "Aikman Archive" in yellow on the box. The sound is bad and the video quality is poor. For superior video quality, get the version produced by Kino Video instead. although the Kino version has a bad sound track, at least the video quality is very good. For superior sound, get the Moroder version of Metropolis.This review assumes that you have already seen Metropolis. For those unfamiliar with Metropolis, it is considered "the" first SciFi movie -- the robot, the cool visual effects of future cities, and a few mad scientist lab scenes. But it is only a great movie IF you see the right version. Sadly, there are more then 6 versions of the film floating around -- Black/white, bad music, slow playback B/W, bad music, fast playback tinted, bad music, slow playback tinted, good music, fast playback plus a few versions with terrible video quality (the DVD version is such a case) and other versions with missing scenes, a non-logical flow to the story line due to bad editing, etc. Unfortunately, the situation with prints of Metropolis is a bit of a mess. Those looking for the tinted Girogio Moroder sound track should NOT get this tape. Although the run time of this version of the movie is 139 minutes, it is actually missing scenes that are in the 90 minute Kino Video and Moroder versions of the tape. The reason is that this 139 minute tape is run at a SLOWER speed than the Kino tape is. Also, the music is totally out of sync and unrelated to the action. Unfortunately, Moroder's copy is not available from anywhere. At $24.95, I'd hoped that the folks at Amazon.com had found a copy but this is not the case. Someone should find a good copy of the Moroder tape, sell that, and burn all of the other versions. Although some people object to Moroder's rock soundtrack, at least it follows the story line and is an excellent sound track on its own. I was fortunate enough to have seen Moroder's copy the first time I saw Metropolis and I am very glad that I did. To add further insult to injury, the CD of Moroder's soundtrack is not the same as the music that appearred in the movie. The CD has some additional songs and is missing some others. So you can't redub a video from the CD. So don't get the "Moroder CD" and expect to remix your own copy of the video. OK, having provided all of the background info, there is the review: 139-minute B&W version published by JEF films. The cover says it is a "newly restored version", but image quality is so bad that I would rather call it "newly destroyed version". It has actually more missing scenes than both Kino's and Moroder's versions, but runs longer because of slower frame speed.
Rating:
Summary: Typically Poor Madacy Effort
Review: Fritz Lang's greatest silent film, "Metropolis," is a masterpiece of the sci-fi genre, with some thought provoking social commentary and an amazing, nightmarish vision of the future. In fact, it ranks among the best movies ever made.
But you wouldn't be able to tell it by this shoddy Madacy disc. A muddy, scratchy version is introduced by title cards that go off the screen and a pretty bad musical score. Things get so bad that first time viewers will have trouble even figuring out what's going on. There are also the usual not-very-good Madacy extras (Poster, Biography, Trivia Game, Credits). In fact, the only reason that I haven't given this disgraceful disc one star is because the movie is just so good.
A prestigious, fully restored and digitally remastered version with a full plate of extras has been released by Kino. Get it.
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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