The most notorious unmade Stanley Kubrick project is probably his "Napoleon," a massive biopic that the director infamously researched for years. In 2012, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art hosted a Kubrick exhibit, and guests were permitted to see Kubrick's filing cabinet where he stored thousands of hand-written notecards, each one detailing a single day in Napoleon Bonaparte's life. Kubrick worked on "Napoleon" in the 1970s, and claimed he wanted Jack Nicholson to play the part. Kubrick wrote a screenplay, secured filming locations in Romania, and was all ready to go. The 1970 film "Waterloo" bombed, however, and the then-recent film version of "War and Peace" threatened to flood the market with too much Napoleon. A lot of Kubrick's "Napoleon" research went into the production of 1975's "Barry Lyndon."
Kubrick's unrealized projects are plentiful. Audiences may also know all about Kubrick's plans to make "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" near the end of his life,...
Kubrick's unrealized projects are plentiful. Audiences may also know all about Kubrick's plans to make "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence" near the end of his life,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Above: German poster for The Strike of the Thieves. Art by Walter Riemer.In 1944, as Allied air raids intensified towards the end of World War II, Germany’s centralized state film archive, the National Socialists’ Reichsfilmarchiv, decided to protect their vast collection of film and film publicity materials by hiding them in a salt mine in Grasleben, 125 miles west of Berlin. After the Allied victory, American units entered the mine and recovered the film reels. But much of the paper material was left behind.In 1986 a treasure trove of German film posters from the first four decades of film history were found, profoundly damaged by a fire, in the mine where they had remained for forty years. Starting in 2017, the posters were recovered, restored, and digitized.Many of those posters are currently on view at the exhibition Burn Marks – Film Posters from a Salt Mine, which opened in June at...
- 7/17/2020
- MUBI
What, another docu about Nazis? Rüdiger Suchsland’s show tells the entire story — with many rare clips and interesting actor and filmmaker profiles — of the hundreds of state-produced German films made during the Third Reich. It’s the most thorough, informative and eye-opening show on the subject I’ve yet seen. It comes with revelations about some surprising names, like Douglas Sirk and Ingrid Bergman.
Hitler’s Hollywood
DVD
Kino Lorber
2017 / Color & B&W / 1:78 enhanced widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date July 10, 2018 / Hitlers Hollywood: Das deutsche Kino im Zeitalter der Propaganda 1933 – 1945 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Narrated by Udo Kier
With film clips of Hans Albers, Heinz Rühmann, Zarah Leander, Ilse Werner, Marianne Hoppe, Gustaf Gründgens, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Alfred Abel, Lída Baaroví, Willy Fritsch, Gustav Fröhlich, Lilian Harvey, Johannes Heesters, Brigitte Helm, Paul Henreid, Margot Hielscher, Emil Jannings, Pola Negri, Magda Schneider, Kristina Söderbaum, Anton Walbrook.
Film Editor: Ursula Pürrer
Produced by Gunnar Dedio,...
Hitler’s Hollywood
DVD
Kino Lorber
2017 / Color & B&W / 1:78 enhanced widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date July 10, 2018 / Hitlers Hollywood: Das deutsche Kino im Zeitalter der Propaganda 1933 – 1945 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Narrated by Udo Kier
With film clips of Hans Albers, Heinz Rühmann, Zarah Leander, Ilse Werner, Marianne Hoppe, Gustaf Gründgens, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Alfred Abel, Lída Baaroví, Willy Fritsch, Gustav Fröhlich, Lilian Harvey, Johannes Heesters, Brigitte Helm, Paul Henreid, Margot Hielscher, Emil Jannings, Pola Negri, Magda Schneider, Kristina Söderbaum, Anton Walbrook.
Film Editor: Ursula Pürrer
Produced by Gunnar Dedio,...
- 7/3/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
He's back and more diabolically ruthless than ever! Berlin cowers under the influence of a gambler-mastermind, the secret architect of an 'Empire of Crime.' Restored to near its full length (4.5 hours!), Fritz Lang's monumental pulp masterpiece is a Euro-classic lover's delight. Dr. Mabuse The Gambler Blu-ray Kino Lorber Classics 1922 / B&W / 1:33 flat Full Frame / 270 min. / Street Date September 13, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Alfred Abel, Aud Egede Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Bernhard Goetzke, Robert Forster-Larrinaga, Paul Richter Cinematography Carl Hoffmann Art Direction Otto Hunte, Erich Kettelhut, Karl Stahl-Urach, Karl Vollbrecht Writing credits Fritz Lang, Thea von Harbou & Norbert Jacques from the novel by Norbert Jacques Produced by Erich Pommer Directed by Fritz Lang
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Fritz Lang really upped his game, directing-wise, between his 1921 fantasy epic Destiny and his next thriller extravaganza Dr. Mabuse The Gambler. Transcending contemporary notions of a popular release, the...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Fritz Lang really upped his game, directing-wise, between his 1921 fantasy epic Destiny and his next thriller extravaganza Dr. Mabuse The Gambler. Transcending contemporary notions of a popular release, the...
- 9/12/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Metropolis (entire movie, above), the 1927 silent film directed by Fritz Lang, is regarded as one of the most important and influential films of all time. The world’s first epic science fiction movie, it continues to serve as inspiration for countless films, and forced humanity to look critically at it’s increasingly complex relationship to industrial and technological growth. In cinematic terms, evidence of its influence can be seen everywhere from to Soylent Green to Snowpiercer.
Aesthetically, it's influence is still present in popular culture, with contemporary artists like Guy Maddin and Tim Burton liberally borrowing stylistic elements from Metropolis is also a film that contains serious cultural and political messages. For example, the dystopian society it portrays was direct commentary on the possible result of the industrial revolution. Metropolis has also proved itself to be prophetic, as many of the themes it explored almost a century ago are as relevant,...
Aesthetically, it's influence is still present in popular culture, with contemporary artists like Guy Maddin and Tim Burton liberally borrowing stylistic elements from Metropolis is also a film that contains serious cultural and political messages. For example, the dystopian society it portrays was direct commentary on the possible result of the industrial revolution. Metropolis has also proved itself to be prophetic, as many of the themes it explored almost a century ago are as relevant,...
- 7/12/2014
- by Brandon Engel
- www.culturecatch.com
Metropolis original poster Who says silent movies don't make money? Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist has grossed more than $100 million worldwide, in addition to winning a total of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Jean Dujardin). And now comes an original poster of Fritz Lang's 1927 Ufa classic Metropolis, which you can buy now for $850,000 at Movie Poster Exchange. The information below is from Mpe: Posters from this all-time classic science-fiction film are the rarest of the rare and this, the most famous image ever associated with the film is no exception. Created by art deco artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, this poster depicts the classic image of the automation Maria and the fantastic cityscape of Metropolis itself. There are four copies of this poster known to exist. Two of them are in permanent museum collections (Museum of Modern Art and the Austrian National Library Museum) while...
- 3/13/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Happy Feet Two - Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 - Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Movie of the Week
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
The Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
The Plot: The Quileute and the Volturi close in on expecting parents Edward and Bella, whose unborn child poses different threats to the wolf pack and vampire coven.
The Buzz: The only drawback to having to choose a movie of the week becomes apparent on weeks such as this one, wherein I have absolutely zero interest in any of the new releases. First of all, I hated what I saw of the first Happy Feet, and the trailer for Happy Feet Two advertises a film which looks to be about as bearable as swallowing a glass full of shards of glass. And so, the...
Happy Feet Two - Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 - Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Movie of the Week
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
The Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
The Plot: The Quileute and the Volturi close in on expecting parents Edward and Bella, whose unborn child poses different threats to the wolf pack and vampire coven.
The Buzz: The only drawback to having to choose a movie of the week becomes apparent on weeks such as this one, wherein I have absolutely zero interest in any of the new releases. First of all, I hated what I saw of the first Happy Feet, and the trailer for Happy Feet Two advertises a film which looks to be about as bearable as swallowing a glass full of shards of glass. And so, the...
- 11/16/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
The Complete Metropolis [Blu-Ray]
The Film
I had only seen the film that featured the futuristic city that would inspire Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) once before sitting down for the Fritz Lang's restored, "complete," two and half hour Metropolis (1927). It was a film, like D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916) or Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), that I had always appreciated with regard to its influence on film style and storytelling and felt deserving of a redemption beyond it's original reception. Like Intolerance, Metropolis, despite its mold-breaking craftsmanship, imploded at the box office. Budgeted at 5 million Reichsmarks (I believe that is roughly 16 billion dollars today, given that $1 dollar bought 4.2 Reichsmarks in 1927, that budget would have been just over $1 million dollars at the time). The large budget of the film and its meager return at the international box office nearly bankrupted the German film studio Ufa,...
The Film
I had only seen the film that featured the futuristic city that would inspire Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) and Tim Burton's Batman (1989) once before sitting down for the Fritz Lang's restored, "complete," two and half hour Metropolis (1927). It was a film, like D.W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916) or Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), that I had always appreciated with regard to its influence on film style and storytelling and felt deserving of a redemption beyond it's original reception. Like Intolerance, Metropolis, despite its mold-breaking craftsmanship, imploded at the box office. Budgeted at 5 million Reichsmarks (I believe that is roughly 16 billion dollars today, given that $1 dollar bought 4.2 Reichsmarks in 1927, that budget would have been just over $1 million dollars at the time). The large budget of the film and its meager return at the international box office nearly bankrupted the German film studio Ufa,...
- 11/30/2010
- by Drew Morton
Chicago – One of the cinematic highlights of my life happened earlier this year when I was lucky enough to see “The Complete Metropolis” on the big screen. Fritz Lang’s legendary film is not only riveting by virtue of being one of the most influential of all time but the story that developed after it was made is a historically fascinating one. Almost a century after it was released, we can now see “Metropolis,” recently released on Blu-ray, in a more complete manner than ever before.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
The fact is that most early filmmakers and film watchers had no concept of where we would be today in terms of the longevity of the medium. Most historians estimate that a majority of the films released before 1930 are completely gone, likely destroyed and never to be found. Even the films we do have from that era are often truncated with whole reels lost to history.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
The fact is that most early filmmakers and film watchers had no concept of where we would be today in terms of the longevity of the medium. Most historians estimate that a majority of the films released before 1930 are completely gone, likely destroyed and never to be found. Even the films we do have from that era are often truncated with whole reels lost to history.
- 11/18/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
The Next Three Days – Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Liam Neeson
Movie of the Week
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
The Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
The Plot: Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on a treacherous quest to hunt down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality — the Horcruxes.
The Buzz: I am the least qualified to helm a discussion on the buzz surrounding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I’m the least qualified to discuss anything at all about Harry Potter, as I’ve read a mere ten pages of the first book, and only recently caught up with the films. That being said, having watched the first six films in swift succession, immersing myself in Rowling’s world, I...
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
The Next Three Days – Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Liam Neeson
Movie of the Week
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
The Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint
The Plot: Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on a treacherous quest to hunt down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality — the Horcruxes.
The Buzz: I am the least qualified to helm a discussion on the buzz surrounding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I’m the least qualified to discuss anything at all about Harry Potter, as I’ve read a mere ten pages of the first book, and only recently caught up with the films. That being said, having watched the first six films in swift succession, immersing myself in Rowling’s world, I...
- 11/17/2010
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
It is by far the most influential film in the history of science fiction and following a triumphant tour of the freshly restored version assembled after the discovery of twenty five minutes of footage long believed to be lost, Fritz Lang's Metropolis is hitting BluRay all buffed and polished and restored back to the form it was in when originally released.
With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot, Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars, among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, The Big Heat, etc.), its jaw-dropping production values, iconic imagery, and modernist grandeur - it was described by Luis Buñuel as "a captivating symphony of movement" - remain as powerful as ever.
Drawing on - and defining - classic sci-fi themes,...
With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot, Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars, among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M, Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse, The Big Heat, etc.), its jaw-dropping production values, iconic imagery, and modernist grandeur - it was described by Luis Buñuel as "a captivating symphony of movement" - remain as powerful as ever.
Drawing on - and defining - classic sci-fi themes,...
- 10/8/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Metropolis is a film that is often celebrated by critics for its importance in film history and also for being an incredibly effective and beautiful film too. This praise is entirely justified as Fritz Lang’s 1927 film is a true masterpiece for so many reasons and this week it returns to UK screens with a beautiful new print featuring approximately 25 minutes of previously missing footage.
The Metropolis of the title is a huge futuristic city run by the dictator like figure of Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel). The city is divided in two; the rich live high above where everything is plentiful and they are free to relax and enjoy life and below them is the lower level where the working class struggle for their lives, working long and arduous hours dominated by physical labour on the huge machines that run the city. Whilst frolicking in the gardens of the great city,...
The Metropolis of the title is a huge futuristic city run by the dictator like figure of Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel). The city is divided in two; the rich live high above where everything is plentiful and they are free to relax and enjoy life and below them is the lower level where the working class struggle for their lives, working long and arduous hours dominated by physical labour on the huge machines that run the city. Whilst frolicking in the gardens of the great city,...
- 8/26/2010
- by Craig Skinner
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Complete Metropolis Directed by: Fritz Lang Written by: Thea von Harbou Starring: Gustav Frölich, Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge Fritz Lang’s Metropolis was the first film I ever rented from Netflix. The (then) two-hour German expressionist science-fiction masterpiece carried an immediate appeal for me I know not many will share. Nevertheless, I was excited at the prospect of seeing the film again, and on the big screen this summer, now "complete" with 25 minutes of newly integrated footage uncovered in Buenos Aires in 2008. Other than that the experience was marred by a crummy digital projection, the new cut of the film is nothing short of revelatory for fans and cinephiles. The restored scenes, which were cut in 1927 following early criticism, expand the scope and breadth of the narrative, rounding out a much more human film. It’s a shame so little could be done to spruce up the supplemental material.
- 7/29/2010
- by Colin
- FilmJunk
Silent film fans rejoice. The 1927 classic Metropolis has gotten even better! One of the most ambitious movies of the silent era, Metropolis, which has often been called the first great science fiction film was last released theatrically in 2001 in a newly restored version but since then, 25 more minutes have been excavated, bringing the running time up to 148 minutes and now they.re calling it The Complete Metropolis. The sets, cinematography, art design, and special effects of Metropolis have influenced countless subsequent movies, and are still most impressive today. Metropolis is a futuristic city run by industrialist Fredersen (Alfred Abel), whose pampered son Freder (Gustav Frohlich) becomes interested in the welfare of workers after he becomes smitten with Maria (Brigitte Helm), a mysterious quasi-religious figure, and follows her into Metropolis’ subterranean depths where he discovers the army of slaves that really make Metropolis run. Meanwhile, Fredersen is plotting with deranged scientist...
- 7/23/2010
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Rating: 5.0/5.0
Chicago – Not since the restoration of Orson Welles’s “Touch of Evil” has a butchered cinematic classic been brought to such startling new life as “The Complete Metropolis.” Though Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece “Metropolis” may never be restored to its original cut, this latest theatrical re-release is as close as film preservationists have ever gotten to recreating the legendary science-fiction epic in its entirety.
The twenty-five minutes of new footage added to this cut of “Metropolis” are nothing short of miraculous, especially in light of how they were found. Two summers ago, a 16mm back-up copy of the film’s original 35mm nitrate print was discovered in Buenos Aires. Though the print was badly damaged, it offered a wealth of missing scenes, as well as a complete blueprint for the film’s editing. Despite its permanently scratched surface, the Murnau Foundation decided to add the new material into the...
Chicago – Not since the restoration of Orson Welles’s “Touch of Evil” has a butchered cinematic classic been brought to such startling new life as “The Complete Metropolis.” Though Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece “Metropolis” may never be restored to its original cut, this latest theatrical re-release is as close as film preservationists have ever gotten to recreating the legendary science-fiction epic in its entirety.
The twenty-five minutes of new footage added to this cut of “Metropolis” are nothing short of miraculous, especially in light of how they were found. Two summers ago, a 16mm back-up copy of the film’s original 35mm nitrate print was discovered in Buenos Aires. Though the print was badly damaged, it offered a wealth of missing scenes, as well as a complete blueprint for the film’s editing. Despite its permanently scratched surface, the Murnau Foundation decided to add the new material into the...
- 6/3/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The TCM Classic Film Festival closed out an incredible weekend last night with a bang, with the North American premiere of The Complete Metropolis, the definitive restoration of Fritz Lang’s science fiction masterpiece, incorporating footage discovered in Buenos Aires in 2008. Nearly a half an hour has been restored into the film, seen here (almost) complete for the first time since the film’s Berlin premiere in 1927.
Immediately after the premiere, German distributor Ufa re-cut the film from 153 minutes to 114 minutes, and it was this version that was distributed internationally, including American release through Paramount Pictures, who performed their own editing job on the picture, excising content to fit the film into a 90 minute slot as well as to tone down the political themes at the core of the film. This is the version that had been available to audiences for nearly 80 years. In 2001, Kino International released a superb restoration of what was then available,...
Immediately after the premiere, German distributor Ufa re-cut the film from 153 minutes to 114 minutes, and it was this version that was distributed internationally, including American release through Paramount Pictures, who performed their own editing job on the picture, excising content to fit the film into a 90 minute slot as well as to tone down the political themes at the core of the film. This is the version that had been available to audiences for nearly 80 years. In 2001, Kino International released a superb restoration of what was then available,...
- 4/26/2010
- by Jesse
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
"Maybe you’ve heard the buzz about Metropolis," reads a newsletter from the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. "The incredible discovery of long-lost footage from director Fritz Lang’s masterpiece. Found in a vault in Buenos Aires, the complete film has been reconstructed and restored by the F.W. Murnau Foundation." The restored 1927 silent classic starring Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm, and Gustav Fröhlich had its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on February 12. Come next July, Sfsff will screen the restored version as part of its 15th anniversary festival. The screening will be accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra. Back to Metropolis at the Berlin Film Festival: The sold-out screening at the Friedrichstadt Palace was beamed simultaneously to [...]...
- 2/16/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cinema Retro has just received the following press release
Queens Theatre in the Park (Qtp) announces its 2009/2010 season of film. Qtp and the Museum of the Moving Image have partnered to present Moving Image Masterpieces, a series of six of the greatest films of all time at Qtp's home, a 464-seat auditorium at the former New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which also has a 99-seat performing arts space. The new series is programmed by David Schwartz, Chief Curator of the Museum of the Moving Image, who will introduce each screening: Citizen Kane, Metropolis, Rules of the Game, Toyko Story, 8 ½, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Tickets are $10 per film ($8 multi-show discount).
Queens Theatre in the Park's2009-2010 Film Series includes:
Citizen Kane - Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 7:30pm
Directed by Orson Welles
With Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead
Wunderkind director Orson Welles used Hollywood as his playground to make his astonishing film,...
Queens Theatre in the Park (Qtp) announces its 2009/2010 season of film. Qtp and the Museum of the Moving Image have partnered to present Moving Image Masterpieces, a series of six of the greatest films of all time at Qtp's home, a 464-seat auditorium at the former New York State Pavilion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which also has a 99-seat performing arts space. The new series is programmed by David Schwartz, Chief Curator of the Museum of the Moving Image, who will introduce each screening: Citizen Kane, Metropolis, Rules of the Game, Toyko Story, 8 ½, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Tickets are $10 per film ($8 multi-show discount).
Queens Theatre in the Park's2009-2010 Film Series includes:
Citizen Kane - Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 7:30pm
Directed by Orson Welles
With Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead
Wunderkind director Orson Welles used Hollywood as his playground to make his astonishing film,...
- 10/1/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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