Lang's original cut had almost become an urban myth; after the movie bombing during its original release, the classic was re-edited and re-released by its studio, UFA, who excised almost half an hour of material. The outtakes were considered lost until the discovery of an uncut 16mm print last year that has since been restored by a team comprised of the Murnau Foundation as well as ZDF, Arte and the Deutsche Kinemathek.

The first screening of the uncut Metropolis since 1927 will take place at a gala on February 10th, 2010, as part of the Berlin Film Festival.

Berlinale to show uncut 'Metropolis' [Variety]

The Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken in Buenos Aires found the 16 mm negatives, which include the character of Georgy in his "reduced" state, a character named Slim and his transformation into an apocalypse-preaching monk, and a car journey through the city of Metropolis. Just in time for the no-doubt-ridiculous remake to start work, we can finally see what the original Metropolis was about. A lot of stuff that made no sense in the edited version now actually makes sense. The only question is, will Giorgio "Love To Love You Baby" Moroder write a new score for the missing parts, to go with the score he already wrote in 1984? [Murnau-Sifting, thanks tynansanger]

• Metropolis cost over 7 million Reichmarks to film in 1927, which is about the equivalent of $200 million today. That makes it one of the most expensive silent movies to date.
• Originally clocking in at over 153 minutes long, most subsequent edits were only 90 minutes in length. The cut footage is believed to have been lost forever.
• Brigette Helm plays both Maria and a robotrix in the film, even though as the robot you never see her face. Director Lang wanted her to play both parts so audiences would sense a connection between the two characters.
• That Robotrix costume was so uncomfortable that it left Helm covered in cuts and bruises after filming. Where's SAG when you need it?
• Film scholars can't agree on what speed Metropolis is meant to be shown. Silent films were hand-cranked at the time, and tended to be between 16 and 20 frames per second. Showings of the film have ranged from 18 fps to 24 fps, resulting in both slowed-down and speeded-up movement.
• In 1984, music composer Giorgio Moroder made a version of the film replacing the soundtrack with modern rock, featuring Pat Benatar, Adam Ant, Loverboy, and Freddie Mercury. Sadly, this Metropolis Meets The Early 80s edition hasn't been released on DVD.
• DC Comics released Superman's Metropolis in 1996, based on the film and featuring Lois as "Futura" (the original name for the robot in Lang's script).
• Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy, saw a poster for the film and created his own manga called Metropolis. He never actually saw the movie, but his version shares similar themes with the original. An animated version of Tezuka's manga came out in 2001.
• There have been numerous re-releases of the film over the years, some shortened to an hour. In 2002 a digitally restored version was released on DVD that was 123 minutes.

Famous names: Fritz Lang

Crunchy goodness: 5

Spinoffs/sequels/copycats: Arguably this movie spawned an entire class of fembot supervillains, including the ones in Stepford Wives, Eve of Destruction, Terminator 3, and of course Austin Powers.

Design breakthrough: All of the sets and conceptual design in Metropolis were state-of-the-art futurism at the time. The soaring skyscrapers in the city, flying vehicles, elevated roads, and robotics tech were truly visionary, and introduced audiences to urban futurism.

Sight you'll never unsee: The mad engineer bringing robo-Maria to life. This scene has become so iconic that it's been referenced in everything from beer commercials to doctoral dissertations.

Read the novelization online by the original screenwriter Thea von Harbou