Berlinale 2010

As you might have noticed, I'm a bit of a film buff. I've been hoping to attend the Berlinale one of these years, but each year I seem to find myself just a bit too far behind work -- and the bank account just a bit too empty -- to justify the trip. This year, however, is the closest I have been in recent memory to being able to take the time off. If I am diligent and don't get sidetracked, as so often in my meandering life, I hope to report from Berlin next year.

This year is the 60th anniversary of the Berlinale. Last night there was a real treat on German TV. The Berlinale presented a new, restored original cut of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The Old Opera House in Frankfurt also had a simulcast with a live orchestra. We sat at home and watched the film on TV. Not only was there live orchestral music, the music was based on the original score by Gottfried Huppertz. Here is a quote from the blurb linked to above.

"For decades crucial scenes from the film - whose restoration in 2001 led to it being the first film recognized as belonging to the UNESCO World Documentary Heritage – were considered lost. Due to the sensational discovery of a 16-mm negative in Buenos Aires in 2008 and its current restoration, Metropolis can now be shown in its almost completely restored - more than 30 minute longer – original version."

Metropolis really is a seminal film that has influenced so many later directors. An added treat this year is that Werner Herzog is the head of the prize jury. For some reason he has not been celebrated as much here in Germany as abroad, so this is a belated embrace of the great director whose films have had such a big influence on me and others.

Shades of Bladerunner

My Favorite Scene

Dr. Strangelove I Presume?

1927 -- Intimations of Things to Come?