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1927: France
This is the poster for the French release,
designed by
Boris Konstantinovich Bilinsky.
This poster reveals the identity of the distributor:
Alliance Cinématographique Européenne (ACE).
According to IMDb, which is not always reliable, the French première was on
6 February 1927.
Can that be correct?
That was prior to Paramount’s abridgment,
but, as far as I know, France did not see the full-length film.
We find more claims below.
This promotional newsletter is dated 15 November 1927,
but it advertises a show scheduled for 2 through 8 March 1927.
Confusinger and confusinger.
Shall we?
As you know, advertisers pull quotes from movie reviews in a most selective manner.
For instance, we can see that from the seemingly enthusiastic quotation from The New York Times
is actually from a pretty negative review.
Nonetheless, shall we?
Courtesy of Google Translator, here is what this says:
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Foreign Opinion ———
THE NEWS (Barcelona) ...The film is wonderful. Ufa amazed the world with its technique. Metropolis triumphed in Barcelona as it triumphed everywhere.... THE TIMES (London) ...There is no other such thing in cinema. Metropolis is unique in its perfection.... WORLD (New York) ...Metropolis, the Ufa superfilm, absolutely stands out from anything before seen on screen.... TIMES (New York) ...Nothing like Metropolis has been seen on the screen. It stands alone as a remarkable achievement. It is a technical marvel.... FILM (New York) ...It is a marvel, this great film Metropolis.... Cecil B. de Mille sees himself surpassed.... BERLIN DAILY ...It is the most marvelous film that the German industry has ever created, the great Ufa film with images of sovereignty unparalleled to this day.... LAUSANNE GAZETTE ...In Metropolis there is an accumulation of indisputable successes, an endless amount of work.... BASIL COÖPERATIVE ...Metropolis is a film that must be seen.... VEVEY NEWS ...Metropolis marks a huge step for cinema in the field of ideas.... MINERVA PARIS ...You have to have the visionary genius of Fritz Lang who knew how to make a perfect choice, and everything he reveals to us in Metropolis will be admired by all.... NEPTUNE (Antwerp) ...Metropolis is a special film that deserves the extraordinary success that it achieved last night.... INDEPENDENCE (Brussels) ...The greatest film ever made in the world. |
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The French Press ———
THE HOMELAND ...Never before now have we seen such a brilliant achievement. Metropolis is an incalculable work.... THE PEOPLE ...It is generally necessary to be aware of qualifiers dictated by enthusiasm. However, we have no hesitation in saying that Metropolis is a wonderful film.... THE TINY NEWSPAPER ...There is nothing but unrestricted praise for the making of Metropolis.... JOURNAL OF DEBATES ...Here is a work that deserves its place in the list of films that we do not forget.... THE MORNING ...Beautiful technical execution... tremendous achievement... excellent acting.... THE PRESS ...The harmony of this film called for a resounding success.... FRENCH GAZETTE ...How can cinema afford to build an entire city like this, a factory with airlifts?... EXCELSIOR ...Several important films are released this week, which is a way of speaking, but the interest is concentrated in one: Metropolis. Everything we have seen is crushed by this film. It is not just a great film, it is something other than what we have been shown so far... DRAMATICS ...Metropolis, by its mechanical and artistic power, represents a culminating point, a height of cinematic art.... NEWS ...This is a film you have to see. It is a wonderful work (Jean CHATAIGNIER) THE FREE MAN ...Metropolis opens fire to the boulevards. It is the most colossal production of this epoque.... THE TINY NEWSPAPER ...The biggest event on the screen in Fritz Lang’s greatest work, the superfilm Metropolis, a film without equal.... PARIS-MORNING ...At the gala presentation of the superfilm Metropolis, the public, moved by intense emotion, made the huge hall resound with endless cheers.... PARIS-NOON ...This film marks a date in the history of filmmaking (Gaston THIERRY).... THE DAUPHINOISE DISPATCH ...Metropolis takes the viewer off the beaten track and immerses him in a hallucinatory atmosphere.... CINEASTE-CINEMA ...The most colossal film in the world, the most astonishing and also the most discouraging. Another closed door. Unless we try bigger, but what would we invent? |
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Two Letters ———
Mr. de Margerie, Ambassador to France at Berlin,
addressed the following letter to Ufa:
GENTLEMEN,
You were kind enough to send me a copy
of Thea von Harbou’s novel upon which the film Metropolis was based. I was very sensitive to your kind attention and I ask you to find here the very sincere expression of my sincere thanks.
I attended with the greatest pleasure the presentation
of this film, which is an astonishing work, not only from the technical and scientific point of view, but also because of the great talent of the main actors.
Accept, gentlemen, the assurance of my highest
consideration.
P. de MARGERIE.
Conan Doyle, the celebrated creator of Sherlock
Holmes, writes:
Gentlemen,
I want to tell you what everyone says —
that Metropolis has made the greatest impression upon me. The film is a most gigantic work that must be seen.
Arthur C. DOYLE.
Windlesham, Crowsborough, 28 March.
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Click the images to enlarge.
Originals at Heritage Auctions.
This is dated April!
So, when was the movie really released in France?
Does anybody know?