Fritz Lang's Metropolis Restored

Fritz Lang's Metropolis has often been hailed as a cautionary tale for film preservation, in that the version we view today is incomplete; what is not common knowledge is that multiple versions of Metropolis exist as a result of distributors editing the movie; the Paramount version of the movie, which is the most well-known version had nearly a quarter of the film edited away, and the complete uncut version was believed lost forever. In Argentina, the lost footage was recently rediscovered and will undergo restoration, so that the film can finally be viewed in its entirety.

Fritz Lang presented the original version of Metropolis in Berlin in January 1927. The film is set in the futuristic city of Metropolis, ruled by Joh Fredersen, whose workers live underground. His son falls in love with a young woman from the worker's underworld - the conflict takes its course. At the time it was the most expensive German film ever made. It was intended to be a major offensive against Hollywood. However the film flopped with critics and audiences alike. Representatives of the American firm Paramount considerably shortened and re-edited the film. They oversimplified the plot, even cutting key scenes. The original version could only be seen in Berlin until May 1927 - from then on it was considered to have been lost forever. Those recently viewing a restored version of the film first read the following insert: "More than a quarter of the film is believed to be lost forever."

How the lost minutes of Metropolis were lost and re-discovered.