Uncut NIGHT AT THE OPERA print found in Hungarian Film Archives?
August 2nd, 2008 by Scott Marks
Forget about the uncut Ambersons and Metropolis. Find me a print of A Night at the Opera that doesn’t have that huge, hairy splice after the director’s credit and I will die a happy man.
I’ve seen A Night at the Opera more times than most San Diegans have rain. Name it — 35mm, 16mm, 8mm, VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, 1.33:1 and even a couple of 1.85:1 screenings (the theatres didn’t own the proper lenses) — and I’ve seen it. No matter what the format, the filthy splice is eternal! It’s a form of madness, yet over the years, the jump cut to “Your man has not arrived yet?” is as much a part of the piece as Sam’s wooden direction. In spite of my adoration, it’s not even my favorite of the bunch. The Brothers’ final three for Paramount far outclass anything Thalberg did to for the boys.
Any Marx Bros. film, even Go West, is to be cherished and ardently inspected as many times as possible. When John Dacapias sent me this link to the indispensable NitraveVille , I prit’ near had a conniption fit.
A 21-year-old student by the name of Thomas Racz is credited with finding the print. According to the article, originally published on Marx Brothers.org, “Racz in Hungary has done it again,” yet a Google search turned up a few stories about his recent discovery and little more. Here is Mr. Racz’s own account of his recent archaeological dig:
Continue reading Uncut NIGHT AT THE OPERA print found in Hungarian Film Archives?
Tags: a night at the opera, Chico Marx, Film Preservation, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, hungarian film archive, hungary, Racz Tamas, the marx bros., The Marx Brothers, Thomas Racz, uncut print of a night at the operaFiled Under News
Fritz Lang’s original cut of METROPOLIS found in Buenos Aires museum
July 5th, 2008 by Scott Marks
In May, rumors that an uncut, 131 minute print of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons was discovered at the São Paulo Cinematheque. A fellow named Roberto posted this tidbit on the Turner Classic Movies website adding, “cans labeled correctly but ignored by over-worked local preservation staff which assumed it was regular print of film.”
Recently, staff members of the Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken in Buenos Aires, found a 16mm negative of what was thought to have been long lost missing scenes from Fritz Lang’s 21st Century masterwork Metropolis.
On Thursday, the recently discovered material was shown to journalists for the first time in decades. Museum director Paula Felix-Didier said theirs is the only copy of German director Fritz Lang’s complete film.
All this talk of Brazil and Buenos Aires being the meccas of lost movies prompted compulsive Emulsion Compulsion loyalist ‘Bushido’ John Decapias to slide back his porkpie hat, scratch his head and muse, “Boy, everything is being rediscovered in South America. Let’s see if they find anything else.”
How about unearthing the missing reels to Greed, the pie fight from Dr. Strangelove and a copies of London After Midnight and Don Siegel’s Baby Face Nelson while they’re at it?
The last time anyone saw the complete version of Lang’s futuristic tale of man vs. machine was in May of 1927. According to Zeit Online, “At the time it was the most expensive German film ever made. It was intended to be a major offensive against Hollywood. However the film flopped with critics and audiences alike.”
Fanning flopsweat, American reps from Paramount took a scissors and started snipping away at Lang’s creation. The plot was restructured to the point of oversimplification and many crucial scenes excised. In their wake, all that remained of the original Metropolis was an incomplete original negative and copies of shortened and reedited release prints. For eighty years, over a quarter of Lang’s original vision had been considered missing in action.
Continue reading Fritz Lang’s original cut of METROPOLIS found in Buenos Aires museum
Tags: Argentina, Argentine, Brazil, Buenos Aires, Cinemateque, Complete, Film Preservation, Film Restoration, Fritz Lang, Images, Martin Koerber, METROPOLIS, Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken, Original Cut, Original Version, Orson Welles, Paula Félix-Didier, Photos, Pictures, Preservation, Restoration, São Paulo Cinemateque, Science Fiction, South America, The Complete METROPOLIS, The Magnificent Ambersons, Uncut, VideoFiled Under News