While in the past decade there have been
two superb reconstructions of the Fritz Lang masterpiece
Metropolis (both well worth viewing or owning), the long OOP 1984 reworking by Giorgio Moroder has held a soft spot in many peoples' hearts (including mine) for his valiant pre-cgi attempt at reconstruction using the best existing print along with stills of expurgated scenes following the novelization written by the movie's screenwriter, Thea Von Harbou (Lang's wife).
Purists screamed about Moroder's use of subtitles instead of intertitles, animation to enhance the stills, color tinting of various segments, and a rock-based music score.
But the "enhanced" version didn't change
any of the original story (unlike certain recently-"enhanced" movies
[cough] Star Wars [cough]), the subtitles reduced running time by presenting information on-screen
during key sequences instead of interrupting them, and the limited animation livened scenes using stills to restore previously-lost plot elements.
The use of color and the rock score are really matters of taste.
At any rate, the Moroder version is
finally receiving a dvd/BluRay release this coming week.
Good thing as my VHS of it is wearing out! ;-)
If you're a fan of
Metropolis, rent or buy it as a fascinating "alternate" look at Lang's masterpiece.
