Film fans uncover lost 'Metropolis' footage

Rex Features

Two film fans in Argentina have discovered lost footage from Fritz Lang's Metropolis, reports Reuters.

Released in 1927, the film was considered a commercial flop on its initial run and was drastically cut in length to make it more palatable to cinema-goers.

Buenos Aires distributor Adolfo Z. Wilson purchased a print of Lang's original cut in 1928 and the film ended up in the archive of a local film museum.

Two film buffs - one of whom had just started working at the museum - discovered the reels and confirmed that the footage was authentic after taking the contents to Germany for analysis.

Helmut Possmann, head of the foundation that owns the rights to Metropolis, said: "We were overjoyed when we heard about the find. We no longer believed we'd see this. Time and again, we had had calls about supposed footage but were disappointed."

Possman said the 20 to 25 minutes of extra footage will be restored, allowing the movie to be shown "more or less as Lang originally intended it".

He added: "In terms of understanding what it's about, we'll be seeing a new film."