Metropolis: Rare Cut with Music Score by Audio Obscura

Join us for an extraordinary evening as we present a rare cut of the legendary 1927 sci-fi epic Metropolis, accompanied by a mesmerizing live musical score performed by Audio Obscura.

Nearly a century after its release, Metropolis remains cinema's most ambitious vision of the future. Fritz Lang's groundbreaking silent epic depicts a dystopian city where the wealthy elite live in luxury towers while workers toil in underground factories. When the privileged Freder discovers the harsh reality below, he becomes entangled in a revolutionary plot involving a mysterious woman named Maria and a sinister robot double.

This special presentation features a rare cut of the film, as explained by James Fennell;

"This version of Metropolis differs significantly from the modern restorations of the film. It runs at a brisk 60 minutes and features some footage not found in any other version of the film... During the production of Metropolis, as was common practice with many silent films of the era, multiple original camera negatives were assembled. These were not simply duplicate prints, but rather parallel negatives made using different takes and occasionally different camera angles. In the case of Metropolis, three master negatives were created: two intended for European distribution and one for the United States. This process minimised generation loss, as repeated copying from a single negative could significantly degrade image quality.

The modern restored version of Metropolis, widely circulated today, is based primarily on material from the surviving U.S. distribution negative. In contrast, the version presented here, was derived from one of the now long-lost European negatives. As a result, there are some notable differences in performance and shot composition. It is, in a very real sense, a different version of the film. While it may feel rough around the edges, with dirt and scratches from 90 years of projection, these are part of the object’s history. This print has likely passed through countless hands, projected in living rooms across decades, and now finds a new audience in digital form."

Audio Obscura will provide a haunting, contemporary score that breathes new life into this timeless tale. Known for their innovative approach to cinematic sound, Audio Obscura creates atmospheric soundscapes that perfectly complement the film's themes of technology, humanity, and social upheaval.

Neil Stringfellow has been creating music as Audio Obscura for around 10 years, creating a varied sound palate of ambient, electronic soundscapes which cover the wide spectrums of electro-acoustic music, musique concrète, idm & post-classical minimal leanings. Neil's soundscapes often using extensive field recordings as a reflection on the environment and ones place in the world what it means to be alive at the time on environmental collapse. As Audio Obscura Neil has released albums on many UK and Intertional record labels, includung Subexotic Records, Navair Records, Cloudchamber Recordsings and Mortality Tables

Post-Screening Q&A

Following the film, join us for an exclusive Q&A session with James Fennell, collector and owner of this rare print, alongside Audio Obscura. Fennell, a passionate collector of rare and vintage films, will share insights into the provenance of this particular cut and the world of film collecting, while Audio Obscura will discuss their approach to creating live scores for silent cinema.

Find out more about James' collection at Old Films and Stuff - YouTube and Audio Obscura https://audioobscura.bandcamp.com/

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