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Metropolis

£95.00

Film

Metropolis

Additional information

Year

(1927) – 1984 Release

Size/Type

UK Quad (30" x 40") Single Sided

Country of Origin

UK

Condition

Near Mint minus / originally folded (as issued)

Director

Fritz Lang, Giorgio Moroder

Actor/Actress

Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich

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“There can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator.”

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Fritz Lang’s 1927 sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis was given a cinema re-release in 2010 after missing scenes, long thought lost, were discovered in an Argentinian museum and reintegrated back into the film. Twenty six years earlier, music producer Giorgio Moroder produced and released an alternative version of the film which was restored and had various scenes that were missing from the first US release reinserted back in. Controversially, Moroder also replaced the original orchestral score by Gottfried Huppertz with contemporary rock and pop music from the likes of Pat BenatarBonnie TylerAdam Ant and Freddie Mercury. Despite the heated debate that this re-release provoked it did have the benefit of bringing the film back into the public consciousness and led to further restorations over the following years. Originally folded (as issued) this British UK quad from Moroder’s 1984 release looks fantastic and displays to excellent effect….Due to a very limited cinematic release these examples are extremely scarce and hugely collectible and it represents a fine item of original 1980’s film movie memorabilia that not only features one of the tho most influential films ever made but the soundtrack is more 80’s nostalgia.

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Film Description

Metropolis Movie Poster

“In the future, the society of Metropolis is divided in two social classes: the workers, who live in the underground below the machines level, and the dominant classes that lives in the surface. The workers are controlled by their leader Maria, who wants to find a mediator between the upper class lords and the workers, since she believes that a heart would be necessary between brains and muscles. Maria meets Freder Fredersen, the son of the Lord of Metropolis Johhan Fredersen, in a meeting of the workers, and they fall in love for each other. Meanwhile, Johhan decides that the workers are no longer necessary for Metropolis, and uses a robot pretending to be Maria to promote a revolution of the working class and eliminate them.”

It’s 2026 and wealthy industrialists rule the vast city of Metropolis while the lower class toils away in the underground to keep the city’s power running. The Master of Metropolis’s son, Freder, follows the beautiful underground-dweller, Maria, under the city, where he is exposed to the horrors of life below his privileged world up top. Maria prophecies of a great mediator who will come and bring the two classes together, but when Freder’s father learns of this he aims to destroy Maria and any uprising that may occur…When METROPOLIS was originally released in 1927 people didn’t understand it. German expressionistic science-fiction wasn’t exactly a hot genre at the time, and the film’s long runtime and forced censors caused a hack-and-slash cut that left the world without Fritz Lang’s true vision…It wasn’t until 1984 that music producer Giorgio Moroder pieced together what was once thought to be a lost film. The Moroder version was tinted throughout, featured additional special effects, subtitles instead of intertitles, and a pop soundtrack featuring well-known singers including Freddie Mercury and Pat Benatar. This was the definitive version for close to 20 years…and it was AWESOME. Lang’s art deco dystopian world sizzled and popped while a raging soundtrack blew you away. If silent films cause you any hesitation, this version takes away all your excuses and provides the perfect gateway into an incredible classic film…But then in 2005, an original and complete cut of METROPOLIS was discovered in Argentina and contained more than 25 minutes of unseen, unfound footage, preserving Lang’s original vision. Full restoration was completed in 2010, and, while the Moroder version is a phenomenal and fun ‘80s watch, this version features Lang’s true vision…Whether you’re a cinephile completist or casual movie fan, you owe it to yourself to witness the true cinematic power of METROPOLIS, made even more powerful by Gottfried Hippertz score accompaniment.

Vintage Movie Posters Grading Criteria

Mint
A poster that has never been used or displayed and may show the most minor signs of age and wear. The poster should have no holes or tears.

Near Mint
A generally unused poster with fresh, saturated colors. May have minimal tears at folds. Has no significant holes, no paper loss, may have minor tears along edges, may have fine pin holes.

Very Fine
A poster with bright colour and crisp overall appearance. It may have very general signs of use including slight fold separation and fold wear. It may have pin holes or very minor tears. This is the highest grade allowed for a poster that has been restored either on linen or on paper.

Fine
A poster with good colors and overall clean appearance. It may have minor tears small paper loss and minor stains. It may have some fold seperation.

Good
An average poster with overall fresh color. May have tears, minor paper loss, minor hazing. Paper may be brittle due to age, may have minor stains. May have a small amount of writing in an unobtrusive place. May have medium or major restoration.

Fair
A poster with faded colors and brittle paper, showing significant signs of use. May have tears and paper loss. May have tape, writing, stains in image area. In need of restoration or had major restoration.

Poor
A poster that is worn, torn, and/or damaged. May have staining, cracking, dry rot, and/or large tears. May be heavily soiled, may have pieces missing. In need of major restoration.

All photographs and images used on our site are photographs of the actual poster/item you are buying, we do not use stock photographs.

Most Popular Poster Types

US Posters

LOBBY CARD
11 x 14″ printed on heavy stock paper. Used as display in theatre lobbies. Originally made in sets of eight. Some sets have a title card, which contains credits and artwork, essentially a mini-poster. The remaining seven cards are coloured photographic credits and poster artwork showing different scenes from the movie.

WINDOW CARD
14 x 22″ printed on heavy stock paper with the top 4-6 inches usually left blank for the local cinema owner to fill in the cinema and the date it was due to play. Largely discontinued during the 1970’s.

HALF SHEET
22 x 28″ printed on heavy stock paper. The image displayed is normally a smaller version of the main poster, although some do have different artworks and sometimes come in two versions.

INSERT
14 x 36″ printed on heavy stock paper. Inserts usually have the same artwork as a one sheet. Popular with collectors since they are smaller and easier to frame. Normally come tri folded or rolled.

STYLE Y/FORTY BY SIXTY
40 x 60″ printed on heavy stock paper. Rare since they were primarily used for major motion pictures only. Designed to be used outside the theatre, on an easel, normally at a drive-in movie theatre.

ONE-SHEET
27 x 41″ printed on paper. This is the most common size of poster, intended to be displayed in a glass “marquee” case. It is the most sought after size by collectors. Since the 1980’s most posters are sent to the theatre rolled and maybe slightly smaller measuring 27″ by 40″ and with the advent of backlit light boxes a growing number of modern movie posters are available double-sided and the more traditional single-sided.

THREE-SHEET
41 x 81″ printed on paper. These were printed on two or three separate sheets designed to overlap, few survive. Used for larger advertising spaces, normally posted on walls, perfect for huge movie theatres the drive-in, where people could see them from a distance. From the 1970’s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as “international” versions to be used abroad.

BRITISH Posters

BRITISH QUAD
30 x 40″ Most common poster size used in the UK. British Quads are horizontal and may have different artwork to the US one sheet. Like a US one sheet they normally come in two versions. Like a US one sheet they are usually supplied single-sided or more commonly now as a double sided poster.

BRITISH ONE-SHEET
27 X 40″, printed on paper. Very rarely used size.

ITALIAN Posters

ITALIAN LOCANDINA
13 x 28″ six inches shorter than the US insert, very nice size to frame. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.

ITALIAN PHOTOBUSTA
18 x 26″ Glossy, high quality, used as lobby cards in Italy. Size may vary, either vertical or horizontal format. There are also double Photobusta or mini Photobusta.

2-FOGLIO (DUE)
(DUE): 39 x 55″ This is the standard poster size used in Italy. Italian poster illustrators are some of the best in the industry.

4-FOGLIO
(QUATTRO) 55 x 79″ Very large Italian poster printed in two pieces, often contains very beautiful artwork.

FRENCH Posters

FRENCH
47 x 63″ (GRANDE) or 24 x 33″ (PETITE) French movie posters normally come with different artwork to either the US or the UK. Like the Italian’s some of the artwork is extrememly beautiful.