"Actor: Brigitte Helm"

• Metropolis | Blu Ray | (22/11/2010) from £14.87   |  Saving you £4.12 (27.71%)   |  RRP £18.99

  With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse The Big Heat etc.) its jaw-dropping production values iconic imagery and modernist grandeur - it was described by Luis Bu'uel as a captivating symphony of movement - remain as powerful as ever. Drawing on - and defining - classic sci-fi themes Metropolis depicts a dystopian future in which society is thoroughly divided in two: while anonymous workers conduct their endless drudgery below ground their rulers enjoy a decadent life of leisure and luxury. When Freder (Gustav Fr''hlich) ventures into the depths in search of the beautiful Maria (Brigitte Helm in her debut role) plans of rebellion are revealed and a Mariareplica robot is programmed by mad inventor Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and master of Metropolis Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel) to incite the workers into a self-destructive riot. A Holy Grail among film finds Metropolis is presented here in a newly reconstructed and restored version as lavish and spectacular as ever thanks to the painstaking archival work of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung and the discovery of 25 minutes of footage previously thought lost to the world. Lang's enduring epic can finally be seen - for the first time in 83 years - as the director originally intended and as seen by German cinema-goers in 1927.

• Metropolis | DVD | (22/11/2010) from £34.07   |  Saving you £-11.08 (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse The Big Heat etc.) its jaw-dropping production values iconic imagery and modernist grandeur - it was described by Luis Bu'uel as a captivating symphony of movement - remain as powerful as ever. Drawing on - and defining - classic sci-fi themes Metropolis depicts a dystopian future in which society is thoroughly divided in two: while anonymous workers conduct their endless drudgery below ground their rulers enjoy a decadent life of leisure and luxury. When Freder (Gustav Fr''hlich) ventures into the depths in search of the beautiful Maria (Brigitte Helm in her debut role) plans of rebellion are revealed and a Mariareplica robot is programmed by mad inventor Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and master of Metropolis Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel) to incite the workers into a self-destructive riot. A Holy Grail among film finds Metropolis is presented here in a newly reconstructed and restored version as lavish and spectacular as ever thanks to the painstaking archival work of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung and the discovery of 25 minutes of footage previously thought lost to the world. Lang's enduring epic can finally be seen - for the first time in 83 years - as the director originally intended and as seen by German cinema-goers in 1927.

• Metropolis | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Fritz Lang's Expressionistic masterwork continues to exert its influence today, from Chaplin's Modern Times (1936) to Dr Strangelove (1963), and into the late 1990s with Dark City (1998). In the stratified society of the future (Y2K no less), the son of a capitalist discovers the atrocious conditions of the factory slaves, falling in love with the charismatic Maria in the bargain, who preaches nonviolence to the workers. But even the benevolent leadership of Maria is a challenge to the privileged class, so they have the mad-scientist Rotwang concoct a robot double to take her place and incite the workers to riot. The story is melodrama, but it's the powerful imagery that is so memorable. One of the most arresting images has legions of cowed workers filing listlessly into the great maw of the all-consuming machine-god Moloch. Unfortunately, the print used for this DVD is unfocused, scratchy, and five minutes short, altogether unworthy of a visionary masterpiece. It may be too much to hope for the complete film to be restored (only two hours of the original three-hour film are extant), but a clean transfer from a fine-grain negative ought to be possible. And why, when there are other possible future Metropolises to be had, should we downtrodden masses accept this junk? --Jim Gay

• THE LOVE OF JEANNE NEY | Blu Ray | (06/12/2021) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  An epic of the Weimar cinema, The Love of Jeanne Ney follows a young French woman's struggle for happiness amid the political turbulence and corruption of post-World War I Europe. A tour de force for director G. W. Pabst (Diary of a Lost Girl, Pandora's Box), the film blends a variety of cinematic approaches as it weaves its complex narrative of moral chaos and political upheaval: the American Style, evocative of the Hollywood studio blockbuster; the avant-garde techniques of Soviet montage; as well as the eerie moving camerawork and shadowy perspectives typical of German Expressionism. The result is a stunning cinematic experiment that never fails to surprise the viewer as it races towards its exhilarating conclusion. Available for the first time in the UK, the Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present The Love of Jeanne Ney on Blu-ray. Bonus Features 1080p presentation on Blu-ray, fully restored with a score by Bernd Thewes Optional English subtitles Alternate US release version with music by Andrew Earle Simpson Too Romantic, Too Ghastly Brand New video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson PLUS: A collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Philip Kemp *All extras subject to change

• Metropolis -- Two Disc Special Edition | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  If you think you know Fritz Lang's Metropolis backwards, this special edition will come as a revelation. Shortly after its premiere, the expensive epic--originally well over two hours--was pulled from distribution and re-edited against Lang's wishes, and this truncated, simplified form is what we have known ever since 1926. Though not quite as fully restored as the strapline claims, this 118-minute version is the closest we are likely to get to Lang's original vision, complete with tactful linking titles to fill in the scenes that are irretrievably missing. Not only does this version add many scenes unseen for decades, but it restores their order in the original version. Until now, Metropolis has usually been rated as a spectacular but simplistic science fiction film, but this version reveals that the futuristic setting is not so much prophetic as mythical, with elements of 1920s architecture, industry, design and politics mingled with the mediaeval and the Biblical to produce images of striking strangeness: a futuristic robot burned at the stake, a steel-handed mad scientist who is also a 15th Century alchemist, the trudging workers of a vast factory plodding into the jaws of a machine that is also the ancient God Moloch. Gustav Frohlich's performance as the hero who represents the heart is still wildly overdone, but Rudolf Klein-Rogge's engineer Rotwang, Alfred Abel's Master of Metropolis and, especially, Brigitte Helm in the dual role of saintly saviour and metal femme fatale are astonishing. By restoring a great deal of story delving into the mixed motivations of the characters, the wild plot now makes more sense, and we can see that it is as much a twisted family drama as epic of repression, revolution and reconciliation. A masterpiece, and an essential purchase. On the DVD: Metropolis has been saddled with all manner of scores over the years, ranging from jazz through electronica to prog-rock, but here it is sensibly accompanied by the orchestral music Gottfried Huppertz wrote for it in the first place. An enormous amount of work has been done with damaged or incomplete elements to spruce the image up digitally, and so even the scenes that were in the film all along shine with a wealth of new detail and afford a far greater appreciation for the brilliance of art direction, special effects and Helm's clockwork sexbomb. A commentary written but not delivered by historian Ennio Patalas covers the symbolism of the film and annotates its images, but the production information is left to a measured but unchallenging 45-minute documentary on the second disc (little is made of the astounding parallel between the screen story in which Klein-Rogge's character tries to destroy the city because the Master stole his wife and the fact that Lang married the actor's wife Thea von Harbou, authoress of the Metropolis novel and screenplay!). There are galleries of production photographs and sketches; biographies of all the principals; and an illustrated lecture on the restoration process which uses before and after clips to reveal just how huge a task has been accomplished in this important work. --Kim Newman

• Giorgio Moroder Presents: METROPOLIS (LIMITED EDITION DVD STEELBOOK) | DVD | (23/07/2012) from £33.02   |  Saving you £-13.03 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In the era when one could still but only dream of a comprehensive restoration of Fritz Lang's silent sci-fi epic Metropolis, esteemed pop artist/producer and pioneering electronic composer Giorgio Moroder followed his work on Brian De Palma's cult-classic Al Pacino vehicle Scarface by assembling his own version of Lang's 1920s classic. The result was a zeitgeist-infused, high-kitsch/high-art amalgam of some of the quintessential cinema images and then-contemporary 1980s pop-chart melodrama. For millions around the world, it is this version of Metropolis – featuring music by Moroder himself and artistes such as Adam Ant, Pat Benatar, Freddie Mercury, Bonnie Tyler, and Jon Anderson – which first comes to mind whenever mention is made of the Lang original or, indeed, the iconic imagery and power of silent cinema.

• Metropolis | Blu Ray | (19/01/2015) from £31.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  If you think you know Fritz Lang's Metropolis backwards, this special edition will come as a revelation. Shortly after its premiere, the expensive epic--originally well over two hours--was pulled from distribution and re-edited against Lang's wishes, and this truncated, simplified form is what we have known ever since 1926. Though not quite as fully restored as the strapline claims, this 118-minute version is the closest we are likely to get to Lang's original vision, complete with tactful linking titles to fill in the scenes that are irretrievably missing. Not only does this version add many scenes unseen for decades, but it restores their order in the original version. Until now, Metropolis has usually been rated as a spectacular but simplistic science fiction film, but this version reveals that the futuristic setting is not so much prophetic as mythical, with elements of 1920s architecture, industry, design and politics mingled with the mediaeval and the Biblical to produce images of striking strangeness: a futuristic robot burned at the stake, a steel-handed mad scientist who is also a 15th Century alchemist, the trudging workers of a vast factory plodding into the jaws of a machine that is also the ancient God Moloch. Gustav Frohlich's performance as the hero who represents the heart is still wildly overdone, but Rudolf Klein-Rogge's engineer Rotwang, Alfred Abel's Master of Metropolis and, especially, Brigitte Helm in the dual role of saintly saviour and metal femme fatale are astonishing. By restoring a great deal of story delving into the mixed motivations of the characters, the wild plot now makes more sense, and we can see that it is as much a twisted family drama as epic of repression, revolution and reconciliation. A masterpiece, and an essential purchase. On the DVD: Metropolis has been saddled with all manner of scores over the years, ranging from jazz through electronica to prog-rock, but here it is sensibly accompanied by the orchestral music Gottfried Huppertz wrote for it in the first place. An enormous amount of work has been done with damaged or incomplete elements to spruce the image up digitally, and so even the scenes that were in the film all along shine with a wealth of new detail and afford a far greater appreciation for the brilliance of art direction, special effects and Helm's clockwork sexbomb. A commentary written but not delivered by historian Ennio Patalas covers the symbolism of the film and annotates its images, but the production information is left to a measured but unchallenging 45-minute documentary on the second disc (little is made of the astounding parallel between the screen story in which Klein-Rogge's character tries to destroy the city because the Master stole his wife and the fact that Lang married the actor's wife Thea von Harbou, authoress of the Metropolis novel and screenplay!). There are galleries of production photographs and sketches; biographies of all the principals; and an illustrated lecture on the restoration process which uses before and after clips to reveal just how huge a task has been accomplished in this important work. --Kim Newman

• Fritz Lang Box Set | DVD | (23/04/2007) from £74.90   |  Saving you £-24.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Hailed as one of the greatest directors of silent films and after the coming of sound Fritz Lang was one of the most influential and innovative artists of the twentieth century and in the history of cinema. Released to mark the 80th Anniversary of the epic Metropolis this Box Set contains five of the filmmaker's most legendary works in their recently restored forms spread across eight discs and supplemented with a host of extras. The two-part film Dr. Mabuse the Gambler is one of the most sensational crime thrillers ever filmed and mirrors German society of the 1920s in all its crime-ridden decadence. Its sinister theme is dominated by terror as the power-crazed Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) masterminds the worlds most dangerous gang of counterfeiters thieves and murderers wielding hypnotic powers with an iron fist to obtain total obedience to his will. Inspired by the towering Manhattan skyline Metropolis is a science fiction classic. Sixteen months in the making with a cast of over thirty seven thousand the film cost over two million dollars at 1920s prices. Set in the year 2026 a mammoth city is ruled by the super efficient industrialist Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel). On the surface the city appears to be a utopian dream with wealthy inhabitants living in palatial apartments set in colossal glass and concrete spires but underground it's a different story. Armies of slaves work gruelling hours to maintain the luxurious lifestyles of their masters. The tense balance of these two societies is soon realized when the workers revolt and destroy everything in sight. Fritz Lang's penultimate silent film Spione is a flawlessly constructed labyrinthine spy thriller. An international spy ring headed by Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) uses technology threats and murder to obtain government secrets. As master spy president of a bank and music hall clown Haghi leads several lives using instruments of modern technology to spearhead a mad rush for secrets - secrets that assert his power over others. Like a brand the letter 'M' has made its mark on film history as one of the most chilling serial killer films ever produced; its disturbing theme having lost none of its power or impact. Sinister dark and foreboding M tells the story of Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) as the globe-eyed child murderer hunted by both the law and the underworld of Berlin. Fritz Lang resuscitated the evil genius Dr Mabuse ten years after making Dr Mabuse the Gambler in the sequel The Testament of Dr Mabuse. The sequel picks up the story with Mabuse's capture madness and incarceration. Even though he has been locked away in an asylum for ten years his crime organisation is still perpetrating an insane orgy of wanton destruction threats shoot-outs thefts explosions bombings burnings and floods. Rudolf Klein-Rogge reprises his role as Dr Mabuse. Banned by the Nazis The Testament of Dr Mabuse is one of Fritz Lang's most inventive crime thrillers and one of cinema's most accomplished early talkies.

• L'Argent | DVD | (24/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Adapted from ''‰mile Zola's novel of the same name Marcel L'Herbier's L'Argent [Money] is an opulent classic of late-silent era cinema. Filmed in part on location at the Paris stock exchange it reveals a world of intrigue greed decadence and ultimately corruption and scandal when business dealings and amorous deceit combine. Business tycoons Saccard and Gunderman lock horns when the former attempts to raise capital for his faltering bank. To inflate the price of his stock Saccard concocts a duplicitous publicity stunt involving the unwitting aviator Hamelin and a flight across the Atlantic to drill for oil much to the dismay of his wife Line. While Hamelin is away the lascivious Saccard attempts to seduce Line whose own temptation by the allure of money puts herself and her husband in danger - pawns in a high-stakes chess game played out by unscrupulous speculators. With an all-star cast (Brigitte Helm and Alfred Abel fresh from Fritz Lang's Metropolis alongside Pierre Alcover Yvette Guilbert and luminary of the French avantgarde Antonin Artaud) and a mammoth budget L'Argent is comparable in period and scale with other celebrated epics of the silent era such as Abel Gance's Napol''on. With its use of portable cameras that literally descend into the Bourse and revolve around its lavish contours L'Argent represents a type of cinematic Impressionism distinctive to the silent art - a poetry that would change forever with the coming of sound.

• L'Atlantide | Blu Ray | (30/12/2019) from £22.89   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Metropolis | Blu Ray | (22/11/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse The Big Heat etc.) its jaw-dropping production values iconic imagery and modernist grandeur - it was described by Luis Bu'uel as a captivating symphony of movement - remain as powerful as ever. Drawing on - and defining - classic sci-fi themes Metropolis depicts a dystopian future in which society is thoroughly divided in two: while anonymous workers conduct their endless drudgery below ground their rulers enjoy a decadent life of leisure and luxury. When Freder (Gustav Fr''hlich) ventures into the depths in search of the beautiful Maria (Brigitte Helm in her debut role) plans of rebellion are revealed and a Mariareplica robot is programmed by mad inventor Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and master of Metropolis Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel) to incite the workers into a self-destructive riot. A Holy Grail among film finds Metropolis is presented here in a newly reconstructed and restored version as lavish and spectacular as ever thanks to the painstaking archival work of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung and the discovery of 25 minutes of footage previously thought lost to the world. Lang's enduring epic can finally be seen - for the first time in 83 years - as the director originally intended and as seen by German cinema-goers in 1927.

• Metropolis | UMD | (03/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

• Metropolis/M - Ultimate Box | DVD | (22/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Metropolis: Set around the year 2000 a mammoth city is ruled by the super-efficient industrialist Jon Fredersen (Alfred Abel) and on the surface appears to be a utopian dream with wealthy inhabitants living in palatial apartments set in colossal glass and concrete spires. But underground it's a different story - armies of slaves work gruelling shifts to maintain the luxurious lifestyles of their masters. The workers a subhuman species of sluggish creatures are led by the saintly Maria (Brigitte Helm) who urges them not to rebel but to wait patiently for the arrival of the mediator. Fredersen kidnaps Maria and orders mad scientist Rotwang (Rudolf Klien-Rogge) to create a robot replica to take her place. His plan is doomed when the evil mechanical Maria incites the massed workers to revolt and destroy everything in sight... Taking 16 months to film with a cast of 37 383 and costing over million at 1920s prices everything about this epic German science-fiction film which was inspired by the towering Manhattan skyline is gigantic. Although director Fritz Lang hated the ending of his film it was an instant hit with Adolf Hitler and Goebbels who first saw it in a small German town. When they came to power in 1933 they asked Lang to make prestige pictures for the Nazi party. He packed his bags and left for Hollywood the same day. On its first release it was a box-office flop and nearly bankrupted its financiers UFA Germany's largest film production company. Metropolis is now a monument to Fritz Lang's artistic vision and film craftsmanship. M: Like a brand the letter M has made its mark on film history with its disturbing theme having lost none of its impact or relevance. Sinister dark and foreboding M tells the story of Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) - child molester and murderer. Tension builds - a child late home another child missing. Posters reveal the fate of earlier victims and the police seem to have few clues as to the perpetrator of the crimes. Gangsters beggars and petty criminals incensed by both the crimes and the police crackdown track the killer themselves. Cornered caught and dragged off to face an equally barbaric form of justice Beckert endures his own personal torment. As with his earlier classics Die Nibelungen and Metropolis Lang collaborated on the script with his wife Thea von Harbou in what was to become his most stark and uncompromising film. Allegedly based on the story of Peter K''rten the Monster of Dusseldorf M remains one of the most chilling serial-killer films ever produced.

• Metropolis | DVD | (24/01/2005) from £27.00   |  Saving you £-7.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Set around the year 2000 a mammoth city is ruled by the super-efficient industrialist Jon Fredersen (Alfred Abel) and on the surface appears to be a utopian dream with wealthy inhabitants living in palatial apartments set in colossal glass and concrete spires. But underground it's a different story - armies of slaves work gruelling shifts to maintain the luxurious lifestyles of their masters. The workers a subhuman species of sluggish creatures are led by the ""saintly"" Maria (Brig