Chip Kaufmann’s Pick: “Metropolis”

Metropolis – Moroder Version (1984)

When this updated version of the 1927 Fritz Lang classic, done by music producer Giorgio Moroder (Scarface), appeared in 1984, the idea of combining contemporary pop music with a silent film was considered sacrilege. Once the furor died down and the film came out on VHS, it developed quite a cult following before disappearing for over 20 years. It has finally made its digital debut on DVD and Blu-Ray and it has been worth the wait.

While not Fritz Lang’s original version, the Moroder version is worthy of being seen because of how well the whole package has been put together. The color tints are beautiful and the editing of the film, pared down to 87 minutes from over 2 hours, is masterful. The traditional silent film title cards have been replaced with subtitles, which shorten the running time and give it a modern look.

The soundtrack by 80’s superstars Pat Benatar, Freddie Mercury, Jon Andersen, Bonnie Tyler, and others is extremely effective and now has nostalgia value since it is almost 30 years old. It has been digitally remastered by producer Moroder and sounds better now than when the film was first released.

The editing in METROPOLIS was always ahead of its time and that makes it an ideal candidate for music video treatment. Adding contemporary music to silent films these days is nothing new and Moroder deserves credit for being a pioneer in this field and bringing a silent film classic to the attention of a new group of film goers. That was in 1984 and now he’s doing it again.

If you’ve never seen METROPOLIS and think you don’t like the idea of silent movies, then this version is an absolute must. It clearly demonstrates how silent films are an art form unto themselves (see the review of The Artist) and how it can be reinterpreted for a new generation of viewers. The newly restored complete original Metropolis, all 140 minutes of it, is also available on DVD as well for those who want to check it out.

Michelle Keenan’s Pick: “Miracle on 34th Street”

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

While recently visiting family for Thanksgiving I watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in years. In between the parade, the commercials promoted nothing but Black Friday madness. At some point during the morning someone mentioned that they had re-opened the investigation of Natalie Wood’s death. So when I flipped to Turner Classic Movies later that afternoon and found Miracle on 34th Street, it seemed a particularly fitting DVD pick this month.

When I was a child, I didn’t understand why Miracle on 34th Street was considered a holiday classic. I just didn’t understand how people couldn’t believe in the magic of Christmas. Flash forward several decades – it’s the holiday classic for the realist and pragmatist in all of us. It’s the first holiday film to draw attention to the commercialism of the season. It was also unusual in that one of its main characters was career woman and single mother – after all, this is a wholesome, post war America.

Maureen O’Hara plays Mrs. Walker, a marketing executive for Macy’s Department Store in New York City. She’s a woman hardened by life and trying to make it in a man’s world. She doesn’t have time to enjoy silly things like parades or believe in nonsense like Christmas, and she’s passed this pragmatic spirit on to her young daughter Susan (Natalie Wood). It’s Thanksgiving Day and she’s in charge of the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The culminating moment of the parade is Santa Claus ushering in the shopping (er, I mean Christmas) season. When her Santa turns out to be old rumpot, she is saved when a charming old man named Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) agrees to fill the role. He does indeed seem to be Santa Claus, so much so Macy’s hires him for the Christmas season. Of course he can’t be Santa Claus though, so eventually Macy’s also has him institutionalized as insane. The fate of Christmas lies in the hands of a young lawyer (John Payne) who intends to prove old man Kringle is the real deal.

If you haven’t seen Miracle on 34th Street in a while, this might be just the time to revisit it. If you’ve never seen it, it’s mandatory holiday classic viewing. Edmund Gwenn is a pure delight as Kris Kringle (he’s everything you ever wanted Santa to be).

Maureen O’Hara is lovely as Mrs. Walker; John Payne is the unsung hero of this film; the supporting cast of characters are an awful lot of fun, and last but not least Natalie Wood is forever young and innocent in this film, and given what we’re likely to hear in the coming months about her death, that’s nice.