Metropolis, A Technical Marvel with Feet of Clay

Metropolis premiered in Berlin on January 10, 1927. As all good silent movie devotees know, the film was then tinkered with, re-edited, and god knows what before it received wider distribution. Hard to know now.

Mordaunt Hall, film reviewer for The New York Times, gave that revised version a less than glowing treatment, calling Metropolis a “technical marvel” with “feet of clay.” Read the original review here.  Maybe he was just bitter cause his mom named him Mordaunt?

Film Friday | Weekly Roundup

Well I suppose the holidays are officially over. If you didn’t find Charlie Chaplin’s hat wrapped up under your Christmas tree, you’ll probably have to wait til next year. Or at least until your birthday. Maybe you should resolve to be nicer to your family? At any rate, hopefully the turkey, the turkey sandwiches, and the turkey stew have all been eaten and you won’t have to look at turkey again for at least 10 months. My New Year’s Resolutions are to watch more movies and eat more chocolate. (Ah, see what I did there?) Wishing you all the best in the new year, especially if you don’t have Pretty Clever Resolutions. Happy reading and happy viewing!

Rock Opera Metropolis Set to Hit 20 Cities

Hmm… I tend to get pretty persnickety about overtly modern soundtracks for silent movies. However, there’s no reason not to see Metropolis 1 billion times, so bring it! Girogio Moroder’s 1984 rock opera soundtrack isn’t my favorite Metropolis score, but it’s not the worst either and seeing a silent in a movie theater is always amazing.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kino Lorber has inked a deal to realease a dvd/Blu-ray titiled Giorgio Moroder Presents Metropolis this fall, and the realease will include a 20 city theatrical release. Among the cities which Moroder’s Metropolis will hit are Anchorage, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami Beach, Chicago, Albany, Charleston, Dallas, Houston, Olympia, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

While you wait to find out if your city ranks a screening, check out this fabulous all Metropolis, all the time site.