GEGRÜNDET 1927
METROPOLIS, DONNERSTAG, 28. MäRZ 2024
98. JAHRGANG
Review of the Dutch DVD release of The Complete Metropolis

The complete Metropolis
Dutch Release 25-11-2010
Region 2 DVD
2 Discs
PAL 720x576 25 FPS (Frames per second)
Classification: 12
Distributor: Living Colour Entertainment

Disc 1: Metropolis
Duration: 2:24:06
Original German intertitles
Audio: Original orchestral score by Gottfried Huppertz in Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 Surround
Optional Dutch and French subtitles

Disc 2: A journey to Metropolis (Die Reise nach Metropolis)
Duration: 0:52:27
German voice over
Optional Dutch and French subtitles

Review

Although the cover art and DVD menus bear resemblance to the American Kino release, the contents of the DVDs are more similar to the European release by Eureka: Masters of Cinema. The film features the German intertitles and introduction text and the documentary is spoken in German. Both discs have optional Dutch and French subtitles, which is not uncommon as most Dutch releases are often aimed at both The Netherlands and Belgium. Strangely perhaps the DVD menus and part of the sleeve text are in English. Also noteworthy is the Dutch classification of 12 years and up. Although on its premiere in the Netherlands in February 1927 the film was only deemed appropriate for 18 years and older!

The picture quality is good. Even in the highly restored parts, one can still make out the film grain. Of course the 25 minutes of newly added footage, are cropped and of far lower quality, but the transitions are not too distracting. There are no noticeable MPEG artefacts in scenes with a lot of motion. Furthermore there is no visible ghosting, as the transfer was probably done per frame at 25 FPS.

The duration of this version is about 144 minutes. The Eureka Blu-ray releases of Metropolis are around 150 minutes. The 6 minute difference can possibly be explained by the Eureka versions running at 24 FPS (a feature of Blu-ray), while this version runs at 25 FPS. (24*150/25=144)

Overall, this is a nice set without any disc space consuming extra’s . The only criticism would be the lack of a booklet and the rather bland DVD menus.

2011-06-19

DVD cover
DVD inside
Disc 1 DVD Menu
Disc 1 Chapter menu
Disc 1 Setup menu
Disc 2 DVD Menu
Disc 2 Setup menu
Hauptredaktion - Neuer Turm Babel - Metropolis