Item Details:

METROPOLIS LA PETITE ILLUSTRATION

FRITZ LANG

GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION, 1928

Original Release French Le Petit Illustration

Publisher: UFA

Photogravure

Size: 11.6 x 7.88 in; 29.53 x 20 cm

Signed: unsigned

When Metropolis was premiered in Germany during January of 1927, Fritz Lang's masterpiece ran 153 minutes. That complete version was heavily cut for release in America, removing a quarter of the movie, along with a good deal of the symbolism in the movie's original footage. In Germany, in the spring of 1927, an edited version modeled roughly on the American version, was prepared and released, and that became the "standard" version of the movie. Only recently was a nearly complete version of this film discovered. Any of the original printed material has become historically significant. This very rare edition of La Petite Illustration, one of the premier sources for authentic photographic material for the silent era, is dated March 3, 1928.

Private Collection