Metropolis: complete print discovered

A complete print of Fritz Lang's Metropolis has been discovered at the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires. The full-length version, which premiered in 1927 at over three hours long, had previously been considered lost.

There have been various attempts to restore the film over the years, the most successful being the 2001 Murnau-Stiftung version, though even that superb edition represented only 75% of the original footage. Archivists had given up all hope of ever finding the missing 25%.

The complete print discovered in Buenos Aires is in 16mm, and, as the photographs indicate, its condition is not exactly pristine. However, the fact that a complete version exists, in any condition, is a revelation. A new Murnau-Stiftung restoration, incorporating the Buenos Aires footage, has already been initiated.