Monster of the Day #516

Famous last pick up lines:

oh baby, should I bring the can opener?

 I think it means “red (rosy) cheek” in German which is also kinda funny, like a joke about a novice nudist  ;)

I always felt like I’d missed the boat on this one. Even as a little kid, METROPOLIS didn’t do much for me. I watched it again a couple years back and I was mostly bored by the experience, constantly shifting in my seat because my back end was going numb.

That’s not to say the film doesn’t have some impressive visuals, and I understand the historical importance of the flick, but it never blew me away like, say, THE LOST WORLD did.

That’s the wife of the robot on the cover of News of the World.

That’s the Giorgio Moroder version; it was my introduction to the movie as well. I even have it on DVD, sitting on a shelf somewhere, but can’t remember the last time I played it.

 I wasn’t bored by it, but I sure never felt the need to rewatch it.

Lost World, on the other hand, I’ll occasionally go back to.  And no doubt it’s for the reason MrTongoRad put forth: the dinosaurs.  Special Effects have come a long ways since back then, but few movies have the sort of heart put into the effort that O’Brien put in his creations.

They recently disocovered from of the lost footage from Metropolis, in South America.  TCM showed a version incorporating it. The story makes much more sense with it included.   Funny what a difference a few frames of celluloid can make.  

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Cyberman 0.8beta!”
“CyberMAN? Er, just how long have you been holed up in that lab of yours…?”

True. Despite some really sharp dinosaur footage since (BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, VALLEY OF GWANGI, WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH, etc), I truly believe Obie’s work on KING KONG remains the high water mark for celluloid dinosaurs. Given the years that have passed, that remains a remarkable achievement.

 When did they discover this footage, Sandra?  I’ve been thinking about getting the blu-ray, but if there’s another version coming down the pike, I’ll wait until then…

I just requested it from our library system. It’s dated 2010 and called The Complete Metropolis, by Kino, if anyone else is interested. Thanks for the rec- I’m kinda looking forward to it now, even though it’s been so long that I wouldn’t be able to tell the differences off the cuff. Maybe I’ll dust off ol’ Giorgio’s version while I’m waiting for it to arrive.