Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, one of the most celebrated films in cinema history, has not been viewed in its entirety since it opened in Berlin 83 years ago. Following an unsuccessful original release, Paramount Pictures made drastic edits to the film in order to make it more digestible for an American audience. The cut footage was thought to have been lost until 2008, when an original version – brought to Argentina by a film distributor who happened to be visiting Berlin at the time of its premiere – was found in the archives of the Museo del Cine and the film was finally restored to the ‘director’s cut’ with an additional 25 minutes of footage.
The premiere of this new version of Metropolis was the highlight of the Berlin Film Festival in February and we are delighted to be bringing this extraordinary film to Dublin, to both the IFI (from September 10th) and the National Concert Hall for a special gala screening with live orchestral accompaniment on September 4th.
The influence of Metropolis and Fritz Lang’s other films continues to be seen across contemporary culture, and to mark the rediscovery of this seminal work we will be showing a selection of Fritz Lang’s other early films and a special season of science-fiction classics that have all openly declared their debt to Metropolis, a list ranging from 1930s British sci-fi classic Things to Come to Alphaville, Dr. Stangelove and The Matrix.
Later in the month we present Before the Revolution curated by Enrique Juncosa who, as well as being Director of IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art), is also a dedicated cineaste and one of our most frequent visitors! As he explains in his introduction, this very personal selection of films recalls the radicalism of the 1960s that culminated in the protests of ‘68 and ‘69, and a series of discussions throughout the weekend will revisit this time in both the Irish and international context, and consider what it means to us now.
As part of IFI National and in an exciting new collaboration with The Model in Sligo, IFI@The Model will bring a year-round programme of a selection of the IFI’s new international releases to audiences in the North West. This is a thrilling development in the IFI’s ongoing commitment to bring access to our programmes to audiences throughout Ireland and we are delighted to be working with The Model, one of Ireland’s most ambitious and innovative arts centres.
We’re also delighted to be participating in Culture Night on September 24th, offering a free screening of Jim Sheridan’s Into the West from the IFI Irish Film Archive at 18.50 that evening. Please call our Box Office to reserve your place.
This month is just the start of what promises to be a busy autumn with Horrorthon, Darklight and the IFI’s French Film Festival all coming soon, so watch this space and we look forward to seeing you here during September.
Sarah Glennie
Director
Congratulations on the blog.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that the screenings of the two seasons (Fritz Lang and Science Fiction) are scheduled opposite each other. Why are once-off screenings scheduled at the same time as other once-off screenings? It happens on Sat 4th, Sun 5th, Sat 11th, Sat 18th and Sun 19th (three films playing at overlapping times on the last date). It's very frustrating.
We try to pack in so many films and special events that unfortunately it's impossible for us to schedule once-off screenings without overlapping. But we'll certainly keep a close eye on it in future months to try to avoid the once-off screenings from clashing as much as possible. Hopefully you'll still be able to catch a few of the ones you're looking forward to.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the congratulations on the blog!