5 GREAT FILMS THAT HAVE BEEN RESTORED

5 GREAT FILMS THAT HAVE BEEN RESTORED

The Third Man The Third Man is a 1949 film directed by Carol Reed. The story is set in post-World War II Vienna. Holly Martins, a pulp fiction writer, arrives in Vienna at the invitation of his friend Harry Lime. Upon his arrival, Martins learns that Lime has been killed in an accident. However, in his talks with Lime’s fellow army officers and a mysterious porter, Martins discovers that his friend may have been murdered. The film ends with an interesting twist. The American version of the movie had 11min cut from its footage. This was added back to the movie during its restoration. King Kong The King Kong movie of 1933, told the story of a film crew from New York which sets out for an uncharted island, known for a dreaded creature called Kong. The island’s natives kidnap the film’s actress and offer her as sacrifice to Kong who falls in love with her. The crew rescue the actress and take Kong captive back to New York. Many scenes were censored by the US government after its first release — such as Kong undressing the actress and sniffing his fingers. Some of these scenes were found in 1969. A six-year restoration effort finally put together all known footage of the film . Gone With The Wind Based on the Margaret Mitchell novel of the same name, this 1939 movie starred Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh playing Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara. The film is set during the American civil war, and gives glimpses into the Southern American society during the upheaval. However, the real draw of the film is its characters. The film was converted to widescreen format in 1954, which compromised the original aspect ratio. The re-issue in 1998, both in theatres and DVDs, restored the film to its original format. In 2009, the film was converted into high-definition format for Blu-Ray discs.   Metropolis Metropolis, which released in 1927, is a futuristic German film set far ahead of its time. It shows a classist society where the rich stay in towers, whereas the workers stay underground. The story follows the workers’ revolt, a robot which impersonates one of the workers and ends with a truce that is forged by the son of the city’s ruler. Numerous attempts have been made to restore the film. It is believed that 1/4th of the film has forever been lost. Various prints of the film have been found in museums and private collections across the world. The latest re-issue was released in 2010. Once Upon A Time In America Directed by Sergio Leone, Once Upon A Time In America (1984) is about the rise of organised crime in America. It spans the period between 1920s to 1960s, following a bunch of boys from Jewish ghettos who eventually become gangsters. The original film was 269min, but Leone cut it down to 229min for release in Europe. However, in the US, the producers edited the film down to 139min. In 2012, the film foundation set up by Martin Scorsese restored the film to its full length under the supervision of Leone’s children and the film’s sound editor.