'Metropolis' is a 1927 silent German expressionism science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and examines a common science fiction theme of the day: the social crisis between workers and owners in capitalism. 'Metropolis' was the most expensive film of its time. The original 153 minute film was cut and re-edited substantially after its German premiere, changing many key elements. American and foreign theatre managers were generally unwilling to allow more than 90 minutes to a feature, during a period when film attendance was high. Many theatres projected the film at the standard sound film speed of around 24 frames per second, rather than the standard silent film speed of 16 frames per second, at which this film was made. This affected its rhythm and pace. Thus, few people outside of Berlin saw 'Metropolis' as Fritz Lang originally intended; the edited versions were disjointed and illogical in parts. In the United States, the edits almost completely obscured the original plot, which was considered too controversial by American distributors. As a result, the original premiere cut soon disappeared and a quarter of the original film was long believed to be lost forever. In 2001, a new 75th anniversary restoration was released. This 124 minute version, restored the original story-line using stills and intertitles to bridge missing footage. It also added a soundtrack of the original orchestral score composed by Gottfried Huppertz. This restoration received the National Society of Film Critics Heritage Award for Restoration, 2002. In June 2008, some 25 minutes of lost footage were discovered in the Museum of Cinema in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is believed this was a copy made from the original in 1928.
