Metropolis

Rating:
Summary: Silent Film Meets Science Fiction
Review: During the time that this movie was created Science Fiction was not a re-occurring theme in the social consciousness and or new medias. I greatly admire the futuristic vision that was brought to the mainstream within the plot of this film (although the movie itself states that the time is undesignated). I believe that were this story retold today, it would still make for an interesting one and I would be curious to see how it could be further developed with modern special effects and diving further into the character relationships. Considering the limitations at the time however, the special effects in this movie were groundbreaking, the map scene and elaborate otherworldly buildings overlapping each other. This movie is a story of cold people controlling people who make a wonderful life for other people. The hand that controls the underground, deprived and enslaved workers who build and maintain the city above them are controlled unfairly by the main character's father. The son who finally sees the condition of the underground workers, takes one of the workers place and falls for the woman who spreads hope and peace to those below. When she is discovered by the father, he has a scientist kidnap her and make a robot in her likeness (my favorite image is the viewing of this robot). The robot then spreads discord among the workers so they will be driven out and the machines can take over as the father now wishes. This movie went beyond entertainment to conjure thoughts of what is real, and what is right and what relationships are worth in compared to moral obligations. And as other reviewers have stated, it is not the cleanest cinematography, but that is to be dismissed considering the age of the film, and because it is worth it. This movie is the perfect marriage of sci-fi and silent. A must have.

Rating:
Summary: Wait for the Kino DVD
Review: If you're reading this, you doubtlessly know already that Metropolis is a magnificent classic of the silent era. No definitive version is available yet, they're all incomplete, but this DVD is especially atrocious. The picture quality is an insult to DVD technology. I just saw the theatrical release of Kino International's new restoration, and it's a beautiful, pristine print. The film has been restored to be as close to the original theatrical release as possible, with title cards inserted to describe the missing scenes. This version will be out on DVD in early 2003, and it should be worth the wait.

Rating:
Summary: Unwatchable DVD
Review: Sorry I bought this. I'm looking forward to the 2002 restoration (now playing art houses around the USA) on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Wish I Would Have Known Sooner.
Review: METROPOLIS is a masterful piece of cinema. I've heard people talk about this movie for most of my life and how it inspired filmmakers and brought about a new type of moviemaking. Some of the scenes become fixed into one's mind and have become engrained into our culture.

Unfortunately, I had never seen METROPOLIS until I bought this Madacy version of the movie. I bought the DVD for a whopping (Money). I knew that the quality was probably going to bad (I only paid (Money)), but I never expected it to be this bad. I wish I could have read some of the reviews here at Amazon first. Much of the printed narrative at the very beginning of the film is completely cut off the screen. The film is rather grainy and at points it is difficult to see anything on the screen. Also, there are several times throughout the movie that the film skips like a scratched record. My only positive comment about the film is that I did enjoy the musical score, it reminded me of sitting in a theatre and listening to an orchrestra perform while a silent picture was being projected onto a screen.

The movie METROPOLIS deserves five stars. This DVD, would have gotten only one star, but because I still came away enjoying the film and because I liked the score, I give it two stars. Now I just have to wait until the Vino DVD version comes out and I can sell this puppy for fifty cents.

Rating:
Summary: The Worst
Review: I cannot agree more strongly with the previous reviewer who advised to wait until the new Kino release comes out on DVD later this year. I saw it at the Historic Uptown Theater in Minneapolis with my wife last night, and I was completely blown away. I don't know if this film has ever looked this good.

This DVD version is, without a doubt, the worst DVD I have ever seen by a longshot. It really does look like someone shot it while it played on a run-down TV, with a camcorder, through a dirty window.

Also, the new Kino release has restored the film to its original form. Although some of the scenes/shots are forever lost to history, Kino cleverly inserted text which describes the action in the missing footage in the form of original looking title boards. In my opinion, it works flawlessly. This DVD version is not complete by any means of the imagination. Though to be fair, none in existence today are. But the new Kino version is the closest that can be assembled today.

The movie itself is a flawless masterpiece that, along with a few other films, can be argued invented the language of film. Easily in the top 5 most influential films of all-time IMHO.

Your patience regarding the new DVD release will be greatly rewarded.

Rating:
Summary: Great movie HORRID DVD
Review: This is the problem with movies that fall into the public domain. Anyone can release a copy and BUYER BEWARE! This version is one of the worst DVDs I have ever seen. You know right from the opening titles which don't fit within the frame. The whole thing looks like it a videotape of the film being projected onto a bed sheet. .....

Rating:
Summary: Good movie; horrible dvd
Review: Yes, Metropolis is a classic and is a wonderful film which I love. I only wish when they made this DVD they would have used the restored version.... I remember seeing a restored version in the theatre, and not just the GM colorized rehash. So why didn't they use that one? The resulting film is so fuzzy and out of focus it is almost unwatchable.

This is a great film, I only wish it had a decent DVD to go with it.

Rating:
Summary: keep your cash
Review: ce dvd est une horreur, je n ai jamais vu une aussi mauvaise copie de film, tout support confondu.
je ne sait pas ou l editeur a trouver le master pour la gravure mais ca devais certainement etre au fond d une cave humide.
la bande son est a pleurer et l image ...... et bien je ne prefere pas en parler on dirait un scopitonne des annees 40.
de plus l intro du film est manquante ainsi que certaine scenes.

enfin pour en finir garder votre argent jusqu a la sortie d une meilleur edition celle ci ne vaut pas un clou.
conseil pour ceux qui comme moi ont fait l erreur d acheter ce DVD: revender le le plus vite possible.

Rating:
Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS!
Review: This version is an insult to the film, being of horrible quality as well as a version that Lang himself detested. It's not even worth the low price. So what to do? The most accurate version of this film since 1927 has just been completely reconstructed in Berlin after a three-year effort, using the latest restoration technology as well as newly discovered footage that doubles the running time of the SEVERELY edited existing versions. It is being shown in cinemas now, and upon its release on DVD later this year, it will be the only version of this film to own. The version offered above is basically like an 8-track tape from 1975, and the editing and music makes the film look like a bad comedy. (This is not the Moroder/Queen version, which is far better, but still nothing like this latest version.) Do yourself a favour and wait for the restored release. It's incredible.

Rating:
Summary: The Begining Of The Science Fiction Film
Review: There will never be another film like Metropolis. It paved the way for 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars with the scene where they change a robot into a human. I will now review this film in this way:

The Film:
5\5 Stars
This the best science fiction film of all time and the greatest silent film of all time. I can't imagine that any science fiction film would have been made if Metropolis had not been made. The beauty of this film is the set design and SFX. It pushed the limits back in a time where this could never be imagined. The story also paved the way for the game Red Faction and the film Total Recall. It is about a future where slave miners work underground. A son of a leader of Metropolis finds out about the terrible conditions of the slaves. This is a film for everyone... but beware:

The DVD:
Must Be Destroyed By Nuclear Bombs
This is down right terrible. I can't believe they would treat this film this way. The picture quality, the audio quality, even the cover art is terrible.

If you have never seen Metropolis before, love the film, or want to have a collection of the history of film, get this. It is cheap and is one of the greatest motion pictures ever created.