The reemergence of Giorgio Moroder to mainstream prominence over the last year has been one of the great unexpected gifts for music enthusiasts. In the wake of his seemingly inevitable collaboration with dance icons Daft Punk, Moroder has been collaborating, remixing, and working on new material of his own—not to mention DJing live for the first time in his storied career. In the process he has introduced himself to a new generation of fans, rightly receiving his due as an influential producer and sonic innovator. But what has yet to be widely recognized is the thumbprint Moroder has left on modern film composing. His iconic, Oscar-winning scores and songs for many of the biggest films of the late-1970s and ‘80s (Midnight Express, Top Gun) have long since entered the pantheon, but with the recent popularity of nostalgia-fueled films such as Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, Moroder’s influence...
- 3/25/2014
- by Jordan Cronk
- MUBI
The retrospective dedicated to the work of Peter Nestler organized by Tate Modern and Goethe-Institut in London that runs between the 10th and the 17th of November is the first big retrospective of Nestler’s films in the Anglophone world. The program of the documentary festival Dok Leipzig also featured a collection of Nestler’s films, and absolut Medien just put out a DVD box set featuring many of Nestler’s films. This interview, conducted with Martin Grennberger, is a shorter version of the original text published at Magasinet Walden and was translated to English by myself and Kurt Walker.
Martin Grennberger: The documentary filmmaker Hartmut Bitomsky has described your thematic approaches and ideological concerns as a product of attitudes that took shape during the 1950s. Specifically, a position which tries to establish a functional critical attitude and a policy based on an anti-fascist stance; but also criticizes what you...
Martin Grennberger: The documentary filmmaker Hartmut Bitomsky has described your thematic approaches and ideological concerns as a product of attitudes that took shape during the 1950s. Specifically, a position which tries to establish a functional critical attitude and a policy based on an anti-fascist stance; but also criticizes what you...
- 11/13/2012
- by Stefan Ramstedt
- MUBI
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,...
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,...
- 11/30/2010
- by Drew Morton
Above: Alexandre Trauner's sketch for Canal Saint-Martin and Hotel (second building from right).
Besides classical Hollywood, one of the other periods of film history in which studio production design has been so highly noted is the French poetic realist cinema of the 1930s. That period was the peak of creativity and influence of set designers in French film industry since the magical two-dimensional background paintings of Georges Méliès. The achievements of the era saw the making and consolidation of the reputations of designers in France, and growing critical and public interest in the nature of film design. Collaborations between director René Clair and art director Lazare Meerson had been widely seen in Europe and in even North America, where factory’s sets from À nous la liberté (1931) became a source of inspiration for Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936).
Among the architects of poetic realist cinema, one of the most skillful,...
Besides classical Hollywood, one of the other periods of film history in which studio production design has been so highly noted is the French poetic realist cinema of the 1930s. That period was the peak of creativity and influence of set designers in French film industry since the magical two-dimensional background paintings of Georges Méliès. The achievements of the era saw the making and consolidation of the reputations of designers in France, and growing critical and public interest in the nature of film design. Collaborations between director René Clair and art director Lazare Meerson had been widely seen in Europe and in even North America, where factory’s sets from À nous la liberté (1931) became a source of inspiration for Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936).
Among the architects of poetic realist cinema, one of the most skillful,...
- 10/10/2010
- MUBI
Last November we told you about the new cut of Metropolis that would be screening at the Berlin Film Festival. We then talked about the footage we were able to see which was streamed live over the internet. It looks like Kino is now preparing a theatrical run here in the the states, as well as a DVD/Blu-ray release this fall.
I was able to catch some of the footage that streamed online, but I wasn’t able to get much out of the experience, as far as seeing what was added with the found footage.
With all of the recent talk of the death of the theatrical experience, with more and more content being pushed online directly, it is so reassuring to be a cinephile right now, as we are getting more and more theatrical re-releases of classic films, completely restored. Rashomon, The Red Shoes, Breathless, the list goes on.
I was able to catch some of the footage that streamed online, but I wasn’t able to get much out of the experience, as far as seeing what was added with the found footage.
With all of the recent talk of the death of the theatrical experience, with more and more content being pushed online directly, it is so reassuring to be a cinephile right now, as we are getting more and more theatrical re-releases of classic films, completely restored. Rashomon, The Red Shoes, Breathless, the list goes on.
- 4/9/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
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...
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...
- 4/8/2010
- by Eric M. Armstrong
- The Moving Arts Journal
San Francisco, CA -- Roger Ebert will receive the Mel Novikoff Award at the 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival (April 22 - May 6). The award, named for the pioneering San Francisco art and repertory film exhibitor Mel Novikoff (1922-87), acknowledges an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public's knowledge and appreciation of world cinema. The Novikoff Award will be presented at An Evening with Roger Ebert and Friends, Saturday, May 1 at 5:30 pm at the Castro Theatre. Confirmed guests to date include directors Jason Reitman and Terry Zwigoff, with others to be announced soon.
The program will close with a screening of Julia, touted by Ebert as one of the finest films released in 2009. Erick Zonca's character-driven thriller, starring the fearless Tilda Swinton, barrels straight into the sleazy wasteland of an abrasive alcoholic kidnapper who is in way over her head.
"It's an honor to pay...
The program will close with a screening of Julia, touted by Ebert as one of the finest films released in 2009. Erick Zonca's character-driven thriller, starring the fearless Tilda Swinton, barrels straight into the sleazy wasteland of an abrasive alcoholic kidnapper who is in way over her head.
"It's an honor to pay...
- 3/30/2010
- Makingof.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.