Metropolis - comparing the versions

Fritz Lang's Metropolis
A comparison between the commercial versions

Metropolis picture

There are many versions of Metropolis available at video stores. You may see the Covers of released VHS, Laserdisc and DVD versions as well as some comments about the different soundtracks. Differences between some of these versions are so great that make them actually different movies.

I think that everyone should see both the Moroder version and at least two of the B&W versions. It is possible that you hate one and love the others. For me, Moroder's version is the best movie I ever saw, and the new soundtrack is superb. However, a lot of people hated Moroder's restoration.

I decided to see two versions (Moroder's version and the 139-minute B&W version) side-by-side, using 2 TVs and 2 VCRs. A version was paused when this was necessary to wait for the equivalent scene in the other version. Latter, Aitam Bar-Sagi told me about other differences I hadn't noticed, and about the differences found in Madacy version.

In the table below, the differences are shown. I bought my Moroder's copy in Australia (used PAL), while the 139-minute B&W version was bought from Videoflicks (brand-new NTSC).

The 90-minute B&W version (as distributed by Kino International) has almost the same scenes as the 139-minute. Captions are the same. The differences are:

runs at higher speed;
image quality is much better;
the soundtrack is very different;
in the 139-minute version a caption has been forgotten. In the first dialog between Freder and his father, Freder says "It was their hands that built this city of ours, father." and then "But where do the hands belong in your scheme?". Jon answers "In their proper place - the depths.". In the 139-minute version Freder's second phrase is not shown, and therefore Jon's answer seems disjointed.

Running Time
Moroder's Version	139-minute B&W Version	115-minute B&W Version
© 1984 by Giorgio Moroder	© 1986 by JEF Films	© 1997 by Madacy entertayment
Reported as 87 minutes. Has 80 minutes of real movie scenes, plus 2 minutes of Moroder's introductory texts /music (with no correspondence in other versions).	139 minutes, but... the scenes are in much lower speed (!!!) than in Moroder's version; the captions are stills between movie scenes (in Moroder's version the captions are over the movie scenes); conclusion: the 139 minutes are equivalent to some 70-80 minutes of Moroder's version...	115 minutes, but... the scenes are in intermediate speed between Moroder's and JEF's versions; the captions are stills between movie scenes, like in JEF's version.
Soundtrack
Moroder's Version	139-minute B&W (JEF)	115-minute B&W (Madacy)
Modern and related to each scene's main emotion (love/fear/etc)	Almost homogeneous	Famous classic musics being played with no relation to the movie
Sound Effects
Moroder's Version	139-minute B&W (JEF)	115-minute B&W (Madacy)
Many. Examples: city sounds when the city of Metropolis is shown; metal sounds when the robot is walking.	None	None
Image Quality Note: I played simultaneously Moroder's version in VCR "a" and TV "a" and B&W version in VCR "b" and TV "b", and then inverted the video tapes - the results were the same, so the results below were not due to the characteristics of the TV / VCR used. Madacy version was seen on a new 6-head VCR.
Moroder's Version	139-minute B&W (JEF)	115-minute B&W (Madacy)
Image quality was much superior (both in contrast and in sharpness), even though it was a NTSC copy of an Australian PAL copy already used for rentals... Showed more of the left and upper corners of all images (!!!)	Although it was a brand-new copy, image quality was poor, faded, looking like what I imagine Moroder's version would look after some 5 cumulative VCR to VCR copies. Showed more of the right corner of all images (!!!)	Although it was a brand-new copy, image quality was still terrible with too much contrast, lines, dots and stains. Showed less from the top, less from the left and only a little more from the right(some times even the captions are croped !!

Different Scenes
Moroder's Version	139-minute B&W (JEF)	115-minute B&W (Madacy)
-	The first scene of the workers and their way to the underground city is a little more complete	Like in the 139 min version
Shows the scenes at the Stadium.	-	-
Shows the first view of the Gardens of Pleasure.	-	-
Shows an extra scene of Freder chasing after the girl in the Gardens of Pleasure.	-	-
Shows Maria opening the doors of the Gardens of Pleasure.	-	Like in Moroder's version
Shows Maria being expelled from the Gardens of Pleasure.	Shows just the doors closing. One might think Maria left by her own	The scene showing maria being expelled is more complete
You see Freder running out the doors after talking to that old man.	-	Like in Moroder's version
-	Freder shouts "Moloch!" after the machine explodes	Like in JEF's version
You see the workers taking the dead and woonded	-	Like in Moroder's version
Shows Freder taking his car and saying "To my father!"	-	Like in Moroder's version
-	-	Shows Joh walking accros his office (the office window on the background)
-	Shows Josaphat working, before Freder enters.	Also shows Josaphat, but he is called Joseph
Shows Freder entering his father's room.	Once more, this versions fails to show people opening / closing doors.	Like in Moroder's version
-	Shows more scenes of Freder's dialog with his father.	The dialog between Freder and Joh is more complete that in both other versions.-
-	Joh talks to Josaphat before he ends his dialog with Freder.	Like in JEF's version
-	Some of Joh's officers briefly appear.	Like in JEF's version
After Freder runs out, Joh calls his tall employee.	-	-
Shown Hel's Memorial, and the message "Born to be my joy. Lost to Jon Fredersen. Died in giving birth to his son Freder".	Does not show anything about Hel.	Does not show anything about Hel.
Shows the "small man" telling Rotwang that Joh was there.	-	Also shows the small man that tells him about joh.
-	Joh's dialog with Rotwang is a little more complete.	Like in JEF's version
Shows Georgy taking Freder's car and seeing the lights of Yoshiwara.	Georgy virtually disappears from the movie, after he exchanges clothes with Freder.	Georgy also disappears...
-	Shows Rotwang working on the plans and shows Joh looking in his watch	Like in JEF's version
Shows the Tower of Babel being built by the slaves, and their rebellion.	-	-
Before Freder arrives to Rotwang's house, there are extra scenes showing Freder walking in the streets of Metropolis.	-	-
While Freder is captured in the basement, there is an extra two second scene where we see a moving shoot of Freder grabbing a piece of Maria's dress	-	-
Shows Joh talking with Freder's doctor.	-	-
Shows Joh leaving freder's room with the tall emploee	-	-
-	-	Shows more shoots of people in Yoshiwara that in both versions
The robot's dance seems to be more complete.	-	Like in Moroder's version
When Josaphat visits Freder to tell him about Maria, we see extra scenes that take place in Yoshiwara and the gardens of Pleasure.	-	Doesn't show the scenes in the Gardens/Yoshiwara, but the dialoge between Freder and Josaphat is more complete.
Shows Georgy being killed by a worker, while trying to defend Freder.	Georgy is shown briefly, and it isn't shown how did Freder escape the workers's attack.	Like in JEF' version
The scene of the workers' in their city and their run to the machine-rooms is more complete.	-	-
The scene where the machines explode is more complete.	-	-
-	-	Show a worker that shoots something, just before the workers take the robot to the worker's city
Maria escapes from Rotwang after having a fight with him	Doesn't explain how Maria escapes.	-
Shows more footage of Maria's travel to the workers' city.	-	-
Shows more footage of Freder's and Josaphat's escape.	-	-
Joh's dialog with the tall employee is more complete.	-	Like in Moroder's version
-	Grot's dialog with the workers is a little more complete	Like in JEF's version
Shows Freder leading the workers' children to safety in the upper city.	-	-
The robots' dance outside Yoshiwara is a little more complete.	-	Like in Moroder's version
Shows more footage of Freder's run to Yoshiwara	-	Like in Moroder's version
Shows an extra scene Where Rotwang chases after Maria in the cathedral.	-	-
-	Before Joh runs into the cathedral Josaphat speaks to him.	Like in JEF's version

Captions are totally different in the versions.

Many thanks to Aitam Bar-Sagi for telling me about many differences I had't noticed before in JEF's version, and for doing the entire column corresponding to Madacy's version.

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