This is BrainLog, a blog by Dan Sanderson. Older entries, from October 1999 through September 2010, are preserved for posterity, but are no longer maintained. See the front page and newer entries.

February 17, 2003

Metropolis, the Restored Authorized Edition will get its much anticipated DVD release on February 18. It includes a 65-piece orchestral performance of Gottfried Huppertz's original score. DVD Savant Glenn Erickson has his usual fantastic article on the film, the version of this new restoration that toured last year, and the new DVD. See especially the bit about why Kino decided to use a speed of 24 frames per second for the DVD (dammit!), despite the use of 20 fps for the touring version.

I already mentioned The Day The Earth Stood Still will be out on March 4. More details on the extras are now available, including a 70-minute making-of documentary (!!), a commentary by director Robert Wise (!!!) and Nicolas Meyer (who's that?), the full shooting script and more.

comments...

yukino, February 17, 2003 2:03 AM:

Nick Meyer! The man who not only saved Star Trek (by writing & directing Star Trek II and VI) but also the author of several fun Sherlock Holmes pastiches (incl. "The Seven Per-Cent Solution").



As to why he's doing the commentary-- no idea!



Robert Wise seems to enjoy doing commentaries, though they tend to be somewhat dry. He's already done Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Sound of Music, while I believe the upcoming special edition re-release of West Side Story will also have one.

Dan Sanderson, February 17, 2003 2:23 AM:

Aha! The Amazon product description spelled his name wrong (he's listed as Nicholas Meyer in IMDb), so my lazy searching didn't make this connection for me. Thanks!

yukino, February 18, 2003 3:02 AM:

I will second the recommendation for "The Seven Per-Cent Solution" the movie, though it's only currently available as a terrible full-frame laserdisc rehash (licensed by Image from Universal). It's a lot of fun, even if it doesn't capture all the color from the book.



However, Trek Dreck?? :)

(I'm not foolish enough to think that Star Trek is a religion or anything, but Meyer's Star Trek films were fine films in their own right, even divorced from the Trek mythology).

Charles, February 18, 2003 4:55 AM:

Trust me, you'll enjoy Metropolis much more if you mute the DVD audio and play Bowie's "Diamond Dogs."

BTW, Nick Meyer started out as a film critic for my local college newspaper. My girlfriend told him he was so knowledgable about film that he should write scripts instead, so he started working on "The Seven Percent Solution." It's a far better movie than his Trek dreck.

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