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'Die Nibelungen: Siegfried': Paul Richter as the dragon-slaying hero of medieval Germanic mythology. 'Die Nibelungen': Enthralling silent classic despite complex plot and countless characters Based on the medieval epic poem Nibelungenlied, itself inspired by the early medieval Germanic saga about the Burgundian royal family, Fritz Lang's two-part Die Nibelungen is one of those movies I can enjoy many times without ever really understanding who's who and what's what. After all, the semi-historical, fantasy/adventure epic is packed with intrigue, treachery, deceit, hatred, murder, and sex. And that's just the basic plotline. As seen in Kino's definitive two-disc edition, artistically and cinematically speaking Die Nibelungen contains some of the greatest visual compositions I've ever seen. Filmed mostly in long shots that frame the imaginative sets and high ceilings, each static shot is meticulously composed with such symmetry and balance that, even though Die Nibelungen takes the viewer through a mythical fantasia,...

This month, one of Fritz Lang’s first epic masterpieces, Die Nibelungen gets a lush Blu-ray treatment from Kino, and it has to be one of the most exciting remasters of the year. Sandwiched in-between his seminal crime classic Dr. Mabuse: the Gambler (1922) and Metropolis (1927), Lang’s expansive rendering of the Nordic legend is a technical achievement that rivals the likes of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and was thus split into two parts, Siegfried and Kreimheld’s Revenge (and is not based on Wagner’s opera). Fans of Lang’s oeuvre should be salivating at the chance to experience these beautiful remastered prints, and even though Lang had his fair share of subpar titles, there’s no denying his innate genius here, with what stands as one of the most impressive feats of filmmaking before and after the advent of sound.

Siegfried (Paul Richter), is the son of King Siegmund,...

The 2012 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff) runs July 6th-14th in Switzerland, and the first few details of what they have planned this year are trickling out. Read on if you plan to be in the area this summer!

Barely two months before the celebrations begin, the Nifff is announcing details of more of the festivities planned for between 6 and 14 July 2012: P.O.V. – Point Of View, a retrospective of Found Footage and the very first films to be presented in the Ultra Movies and Films Of The Third Kind sections!

Pov (Point of View) Retrospective:

Found Footage – discover fictional films composed of supposedly documentary video footage, currently proving very popular at the box office thanks to films such as Paranormal Activity and Rec.

Point Of View explores this form of cinematography which simulates reality in order to bewitch viewers more effectively. The boundaries between reality and fiction...

Movies are the greatest time travel machine ever invented. They have the unique ability to send us back into the past and forward into the future all at once. Last night's Opening Night at the 13th Annual Ebertfest was a great example of movie time travel. Back we all went to 1927, for a glimpse of a possible future that never came to pass; then all the way forward to 2011, to see the life of a woman trapped by her own sad history. It was a reminder of a lost age, when people watched movies in palaces like Champaign, Illinois' Virginia Theatre and a hopeful glimpse of a time yet to come when gatherings like this one exist in every city in the country.

I have been to many film festivals. Ebertfest is the first I've attended that is more about the past than the future. Instead of trying desperately to discover the "next big thing,...

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has announced the nominations for The 37th Annual Saturn Awards. Among others, Director Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic, Inception leads the pack with 9 nominations. Director Joseph Kosinski‘s long-awaited Tron: Legacy pulled in 7 nominations, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 earned 5 nominations.

Check out all the nominees below!

The 37th Annual Saturn Award Nominees

Best Science Fiction Film:

Hereafter (Warner Bros.)

Inception (Warner Bros.)

Iron Man 2 (Paramount/Marvel)

Never Let Me Go (Fox Searchlight)

Splice (Warner Bros.)

Tron: Legacy (Walt Disney Studios)

Best Fantasy Film:

Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney Studios)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (20th Century Fox)

Clash of the Titans (Warner Bros.)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Warner Bros.)

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Universal)

Twilight: Eclipse (Summit Entertainment)

Best Horror/Thriller Film:

The American (Focus)

Black Swan...

Well it is awards season, and the Annual Saturn Awards have announced their nominees. For those playing at home the Saturn Awards are ‘The Academy Of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror Films‘ aka the stuff we love here at Killer Film! The winners get announced in June, so take a look at the nominee’s.

Film

Best Science Fiction Film

Hereafter

Inception

Iron Man 2

Never Let Me Go

Splice

Tron: Legacy

Best Fantasy Film

Alice in Wonderland

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Clash of the Titans

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Best Horror/Thriller Film

The American

Black Swan

Kick-Ass

Let Me In

Shutter Island

The Wolfman

Best Action/Adventure Film

The Expendables

The Green Hornet

Red

Robin Hood

Salt

True Grit

Unstoppable

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges, Tron: Legacy

George Clooney, The American

Leonardo DiCaprio,...

It's that time of year again: The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has announced the nominations for its 37th Annual Saturn Awards.

From the Press Release:

Leading the charge is Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending sci-fi thriller “Inception” with 9 nominations. Overture/Relativity Media’s “Let Me In” and Disney’s “Tron: Legacy” downloaded 7 nominations apiece; Clint Eastwood’s thought-provoking “Hereafter” received 6; while “Alice in Wonderland,” “Black Swan,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1,” “Never Let Me Go” and “Shutter Island” earned 5 nominations each.

In the television categories, Frank Darabont’s zombie-drama “The Walking Dead” (AMC) came to life with 6 nominations. “Breaking Bad” (AMC), “Lost” (ABC) and “Fringe” (Fox) tied with 5 nominations. “Leverage” (TNT) and “True Blood” (HBO) earned 4 apiece, followed by “Dexter” (Showtime) and “V” (ABC) with 3 and “The Closer” (TNT), “Smallville” (CW) and “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” (Starz) with 2.

The Academy was founded in 1972 by noted...

The full list of award nominations have been unleashed for The 37 Annual Saturn Awards. Inception rules the nomination list with nine, Let Me In and Tron: Legacy also took seven nominations each. As for TV The Walking Dead it ended up walking away with the most nominations with six, and Breaking Bad, Lost and Fringe got five noms each. This is an award ceremony all of us geeks can get behind.

The 37th annual Saturn Awards take place in June in Burbank. Heres the complete list of film and TV nominations below:

Film

Best Science Fiction Film

Hereafter

Inception

Iron Man 2

Never Let Me Go

Splice

Tron: Legacy

Best Fantasy Film

Alice in Wonderland

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Clash of the Titans

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Best Horror/Thriller Film...

"The King's Speech" is likely to dominate the 83rd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday (February 27), but if zombies, aliens, vampires and dream hijackers are more your speed, just hang tight until June.

The Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films have announced the nominations for the 37th Annual Saturn Awards, which honor excellence in all things gruesome, awesome and everything in between for both movies and television.

Christopher Nolan's "Inception" leads the pack in the film categories with nine nominations (one more than its outstanding Oscar nom total), including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Writing and Best Director for Nolan. He'll square off against directors Darren Aronofsky ("Black Swan"), Clint Eastwood ("Hereafter"), Matt Reeves ("Let Me In"), Martin Scorsese ("Shutter Island") and David Yates ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1").

"Inception" will also vie for Best Special Effects, Best Writing (Nolan), Best Music (Hans Zimmer...

I love Saturn Awards! Of course, if you’re fan of science fiction, fantasy and horror film, you love them too.

So, you’ll be glad to hear that Saturn Awards nominations for the 37th Annual Saturn Awards were announced this Wednesday by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror and that we already have a leader!

And it’s Christopher Nolan‘s Inception that led with nine nominations, including best sci-fi pic, as well as Let Me In, Tron: Legacy,Hereafter, Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 which all garnered multiple nominations also.

On the other hand, AMC’s The Walking Dead led all TV series with 6 nominations, while Breaking Bad, Fringe, and Lost with 5 each.

When it comes to actors, we’re not surprised to see that Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr. and Ryan Reynolds gained their nominations for Best Actor,...

Premièring on the 10th of January 1927 Fritz Lang’s Metropolis did not receive unanimous positive reviews and was not the box office smash that Ufa had perhaps been hoping for. For the Us release the film was substantially altered and a significant amount of footage completely excised. This was just the beginning though and the film has since been released in a variety of cuts with a differing translations and scores. In 2008 a major discovery occurred and the most ‘complete’ version of Metropolis was found in Argentina.

You can find more details on the differences in the newly found version and my full review of the ‘complete’ cut here. The new restoration uses the best available material throughout and the only parts of the film that are not stunning in their quality, for a film over eighty years old, are the recently discovered scenes. Sourced from the Argentinian materials these...

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,...

Back in the saddle again here on This Week in Blu-ray. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I will say that I’ve been on-time (read: published sometime during the week) for several weeks now. Pretty soon Rob Hunter will stop snickering every time he writes “Neil Miller’s hilariously titled This Week in Blu-ray” in his well-read column, This Week in DVD. But until then, I press on with a passion for that which can only be enjoyed in 1080 lines of resolution. This week we explore the past with several very old men, the likes of Fritz Lang and Sylvester Stallone. We also get to enjoy a light week that should have you (and your pocketbook) well rested for the upcoming holiday weekend. Apparently people shop like crazy on Friday, but I’ll believe it when I see it. For Tuesday, I will spare you the erroneous purchases so that you might sniff out...

The first time I saw Fritz Lang's Metropolis was three years ago when a proposed remake was supposedly in the works. That remake hasn't been heard from since, but this 1927 classic continues to make noise and the noise got louder in 2008 when 25 assumed-to-be-lost minutes were found at the Muso del Cino in Buenos Aires.

The news was massive as this was footage that hadn't been seen since the film opened in 1927 and was thought to never be seen again. Now, not only can you see it, you can watch it in the highest form of home video entertainment available and Kino has done a fantastic job delivering the film as best as possible. But that isn't to say this Blu-ray is perfect. In fact, outside of the film, it is a bit lacking.

First off, the film is presented in its "complete" version (some scenes still remain lost and...

Filed under: Trailers and Clips, Columns, Cinematical

We may find snippets of Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' locked in a vault on the moon in a couple of years, but for now Kino is gracing us with 'The Complete Metropolis' on DVD today and Blu-ray November 23. The North American release of the newly restored film includes 25 minutes of lost footage and Gottfried Huppertz's original score.

Lang's iconic 1927 film was sliced and diced after the movie's Berlin premiere in order to boost its commercial success. Aside from cutting a good chunk of the movie, theaters screened 'Metropolis' at the wrong frames per second, resulting in the schizophrenic speed that marks our viewing of most silent film. Later cuts of the movie changed Lang's vision completely (there's some cinephile debate about this, however). The film is the biggest and best it's ever been now, thanks to some previous...

Filed under: Trailers and Clips, Columns, Cinematical

We may find snippets of Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' locked in a vault on the moon in a couple of years, but for now Kino is gracing us with 'The Complete Metropolis' on DVD today and Blu-ray November 23. The North American release of the newly restored film includes 25 minutes of lost footage and Gottfried Huppertz's original score.

Lang's iconic 1927 film was sliced and diced after the movie's Berlin premiere in order to boost its commercial success. Aside from cutting a good chunk of the movie, theaters screened 'Metropolis' at the wrong frames per second, resulting in the schizophrenic speed that marks our viewing of most silent film. Later cuts of the movie changed Lang's vision completely (there's some cinephile debate about this, however). The film is the biggest and best it's ever been now, thanks to some previous...

The 2010 Restoration of Metropolis is still in UK cinemas and I can highly recommend seeing it on the big screen as it is a wonderful experience (A list of screenings can be found here). Following this theatrical run the film is set to be released on DVD and Blu-ray by Masters of Cinema.

For anyone unfamiliar with Masters of Cinema, they are a fantastic DVD and Blu-ray label who describe themselves as “a specially curated DVD collection of classic and world cinema using the finest available materials for home viewing”. The digital theatrical presentation of Metropolis was of a very high standard and given Masters of Cinema’s track record with transfers (such as the impressive Blu-ray of Lang’s M) this is sure to be an essential purchase.

Metropolis will be released on DVD, Blu-ray & Limited Edition Dual Format Steelbook on the 22nd of November.

The special features are as follows.

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,...

Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic Metropolis returns to the cinema in a newly restored, extended re-issue. Here’s our review of one of sci-fi’s key movies...

On paper, Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis must have read like the work of a madman. Here was a movie that lasted two-and-a-half hours in an era when films typically ran for less than 90 minutes. That employed almost 40,000 extras, required the building of vast sets, an entire city replicated in miniature, and a baroque robot out of materials never before used.

It was a film that, at a time when films often cost about as much to make as a theatrical production, swallowed an estimated budget of over 5 million reichsmarks, making it the most expensive feature yet made by a considerable margin.

Fritz Lang's Metropolis was an insanely, audaciously inventive film, establishing the framework for science fiction cinema when such a genre barely even existed.

Aliens

In a video interview conducted during the promotion of this weekend's "Avatar" re-release, James Cameron confirmed he's done a "complete remaster" of "Aliens" for the upcoming "Alien Anthology" Blu-ray boxset and worked with the same colorist he used on "Avatar".

In comments that might cause controversy though, Cameron says he went in and "completely de-noised it, de-grained it, up-rezzed, color-corrected every frame". The film itself is famously heavy with grain because "it was shot on a high-speed negative that was a new negative that didn't pan out too well and got replaced the following year" says Cameron who adds that "We got rid of all the grain. It's sharper and clearer and more beautiful than it's ever looked. And we did that to the long version, to the 'director's cut'"

The worry is if the changes have a negative impact, much like the odd color timing on "French Connection...

Anybody out there unfamiliar with Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic Metropolis?

We guess not, so you probably already had a chance to hear that last year a huge chunk of footage that was missing from this one, and presumed lost forever, was actually found in a museum’s archives in Argentina.

So, after 83 years, Lang’s Sci-Fi classic Metropolis has returned to the Berlin Film Festival in its full glory, and today there’s a trailer for the restoration, which is being released in Us theaters via roadshow started in May by Kino International.

Kino International has announced the North American release of the new restoration of Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction masterpiece, now with 25 minutes of lost footage and the original Gottfried Huppertz score. This new 147-minute version will be shown in all major markets throughout the Us and Canada.

The Complete Metropolis, premiered on February 12 at the Berlin Film...

Anybody out there unfamiliar with Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic Metropolis?

We guess not, so you probably already had a chance to hear that last year a huge chunk of footage that was missing from this one, and presumed lost forever, was actually found in a museum’s archives in Argentina.

So, after 83 years, Lang’s Sci-Fi classic Metropolis has returned to the Berlin Film Festival in its full glory, and today there’s a trailer for the restoration, which is being released in Us theaters via roadshow started in May by Kino International.

Kino International has announced the North American release of the new restoration of Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction masterpiece, now with 25 minutes of lost footage and the original Gottfried Huppertz score. This new 147-minute version will be shown in all major markets throughout the Us and Canada.

The Complete Metropolis, premiered on February 12 at the Berlin Film...

The most influential of all silent films – and a blueprint for future sci-fi classics like Blade Runner and The Matrix - Fritz Lang’s visionary Metropolis can finally be seen as intended, with 25 minutes of newly-discovered footage and Gottfried Huppertz’s magnificent original score – all carefully restored and edited into the 2002 restoration, results in the closest rendition ever seen since the film’s 1927 Berlin premiere, which is now being released in Us theaters via a screening roadshow beginning in May by Kino International.

Here are the dates and cities scheduled:

Film Forum, New York NY, Opens May 7

Cinema Arts Centre, Huntington NY, May 7-13

Laemmle Royal Theatre Los Angeles CA, Opens May 14

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Oh, May 21-23

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline Ma, Opens June 4

Detroit Film Theatre , Detroit Mi, June 11-20

George Eastman House, Rochester NY, June 26-27

Cornell Cinema, Ithaca NY, June 26

San Francisco Silent Film Festival,...

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,...

As we reported [1] back in February, a newly restored version of Fritz Lang's classic Metropolis premiered at Berlin International Film Festival and is headed back to theatres this year courtesy of the folks at Kino International. The new cut includes 25 minutes of additional footage that were discovered in a museum in Buenos Aires, making this the closest we'll come to experiencing the film's original form when it debuted back in 1927. It is presented with an adapted version of the original score by Gottfried Huppertz. The Complete Metropolis made its North American debut yesterday at the Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival, and will expand to other theatres in the coming weeks. Kino recently released a trailer for the new cut of the film, showcasing some of the restored footage. The Complete Metropolis will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray in November. For more info on the restoration and upcoming screenings,...

Kino International is set to release the new restoration of Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction masterpiece Metropolis, now containing 25 minutes of lost footage and the original Gottfried Huppertz score in a national theatrical release commencing on May 7. The film will have it's first Us screening on Sunday, April 25 at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival and today the trailer for the restoration has appeared online at Apple.

This new footage was found back in July of 2008 when Paula Felix-Didier, director of the museum Museo del Cine, discovered a copy of the film that included nearly all of the scenes once thought lost forever totaling some 700 meters, making for 25 minutes of new footage. All of it has been restored, some in ways unimaginable as you can see from the image above. Additional images from the found footage can be seen here as well as...

Kino International announced Monday that Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece, “Metropolis,” will be released theatrically in “all major markets throughout the Us and Canada” in May. The version to be screened will include an extra 25 minutes once thought to be lost. Here is the official press release:

Kino International is proud to announce the North American release of the new restoration of Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction masterpiece Metropolis, now with 25 minutes of lost footage and the original Gottfried Huppertz score.

This new 147-minute version, being released as The Complete Metropolis, premiered on February 12 at the Berlin Film Festival and will have its first Us showing on April 25 at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival.

The film’s national theatrical release will commence on May 7, with a NY premiere at Film Forum, and on April 14, at Laemle’s Royal Theater in Los Angeles...

If you've seen Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi masterwork Metropolis, you know that it's not only one of the great movies ever made, but also among the most influential. Its DNA is all over subsequent sci-fi flicks from Blade Runner to The Matrix. Now Kino is releasing the restored 147-minute The Complete Metropolis--with 25 extra minutes of footage and the original Gottfried Huppertz score--that debuted at the Berlin Film Festival. The new version will launch in the Us on April 25 at Grauman's Chinese as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival, followed by major markets including New York (May 7) and La (May 14). The DVD/Blu-Ray comes out in November. Details of Metropolis cuts and restorations and trailer are below. Cuts And Major Restorations: When it ...

North Americans take heed! Kino has announced theatrical dates and a DVD/Blu-Ray release of the restoration of Fritz Lang's Metropolis  (now called The Complete Metropolis). This 147 minute version, which played at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, includes 25 minutes of lost footage discovered in 2008 and the original score by Gottfried Huppertz.

The first theatrical dates will occur in Los Angeles and New York in mid-April. A nationwide theatrical release will commence on May 7th. The home video release will follow in November 2010.

A new Metropolis web site, which will feature complete annotations for the new footage, will go live on April 15th. Be sure to check in for screenings in your area.

Fritz Lang's futuristic 1927 masterpiece to be shown in full for first time after lost scenes are restored

Film buffs from around the world have gathered in Berlin to catch the first glimpse of a restored, full-length "director's cut" of the sci-fi epic Metropolis that has not been seen for 83 years.

The resurrection of Fritz Lang's 1927 silent futuristic thriller follows the discovery in Buenos Aires two years ago of key scenes that were thought lost forever on the cutting room floor. The homecoming is being celebrated with simultaneous, orchestra-accompanied screenings tomorrow evening across Germany.

Evoking the glamour and decadence of the Weimar era in which the film celebrated its original premiere, a gala screening will be held at Berlin's Friedrichstadtpalast, a revue theatre best known for its 1930s style female chorus lines and cabaret. Berlin's Radio Symphony Orchestra will play Gottfried Huppertz's original score and several Hollywood stars,...

A rare, intact version of director Fritz Lang's 1927 silent feature "Metropolis", discovered in Argentina, will be screened at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, February 12 as part of the 60th Berlin Film Festival.

"Metropolis" will also play at simultaneous showings in Berlin and Frankfurt, accompanied by a live orchestration of composer Gottfried Huppertz's original score.

Written by Lang and his wife Thea von Harbou, the 'expressionist' film, set in a city of the future, pictures the working class slaving at corporate machinery while the rich fritter time with idle and decadent pursuits. Meanwhile, the son of the city's boss falls in love with a beautiful 'proletarian prophet, while a mad scientist named 'Rotwang' creates an erotic "Maschinenmensch' robot to infiltrate the masses.

The film has since inspired legions of science fiction directors including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and James Cameron.

Sections of the original film, were cut by the...

Cologne, Germany -- A restored version of Fritz Lang's original cut of his silent classic "Metropolis" will have its premiere Feb. 12 at the Friendrichtstadtpalast as part of the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.

Lang's science fiction opus premiered in its original 153-minute version at the Ufa Palast in Berlin on Jan. 10, 1927. But it was a huge flop with audiences and critics at the time and was chopped down substantially. Much of the original footage disappeared and was thought lost forever.

Even the famed 2001 restored version of "Metropolis," which also premiered at the Berlin festival, was a good half-hour shorter than Lang's original.

But last year, an original 16 mm negative print, likely the last in existence, was discovered at the Museo del Cine Pablo in Buenos Aires. The Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation, together with broadcasters Zdf and art and Berlin film museum the Deutsche Kinemathek, have restored the film to its original form.