UPDATE. 4:10pm EST: Larger, HD stream here: http://bit.ly/aKEcbZ
UPDATE. 2:40pm EST: Apparently they are running a little bit late; the pre-show is still in progress, with movie to come.
Fritz Lang’s Metropolis is the first great sci-fi masterpiece – a visionary epic that would define all other sci-fi movies to come. Its vision of a futuristic city, a stratified class system (between the elites and the workers), mad scientists and robots, is still being ripped off today, almost a century later. (More at Techland: The 5 most underrated sci-fi movie masterpieces)
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The film was long rumored to be incomplete, edited and gutted by producers who chiseled away at Lang’s vision. Well back in the summer of 2008, one of the greatest discoveries in the history of cinema took place in Buenos Aires. A complete print of the film was discovered, that was nearly 60 minutes longer. The lost footage had been found, languishing in a museum. Archivists set to reconstructing the masterpiece. The film community started the countdown to the day it would be unveiled, in its original glory. (More at Techland: A nerd’s guide to Valentine’s Day gadgets and films)
Well that day is today; actually in about 5 minutes, starting at 2:15 p.m. EST. Debuting at the Berlin Film Festival, organizers have launched a live stream that will allow anyone around the globe to watch it. You can see it above, streaming from 2:15 to around 5-ish? (we don’t know how long the movie is any more!) And I would highly encourage you to check it out. Apparently the title cards are in German, but that really doesn’t matter. This is a silent film; the images speak for themselves. (Check out the Techland Screening Room: Your film course on Primer, the most brilliant time travel film ever made)
More at Techland: The All-Time best sci-fi ice planets.