Originally posted by: caligulathegod
I respectfully disagree. Considering that this whole forum is based upon the premise that a certain 30 year old movie should be preserved and viewed as it was in 1977 and not with modern tweaks, I'd think some consideration should be given to how silent films were presented back in silent days. It was actually the custom to watch films slightly sped up as they were more stylized and fantasized that way, which may seem odd to modern eyes. There's no evidence that ANY silent film was ever presented at a "natural" speed and there are 1000s of preserved music cue sheets that suggest projection speeds faster than filming speeds.
Originally posted by: OgOggilby
Well, despite any written stuff, it's always a matter of looking at the film for what seems like natural speed. The rule of thumb for a late 1920s silent is usually 20-22fps. I'm fairly sure that 20fps works the best on the restored version.
Originally posted by: tweaker
Just a random note: While there are folks that argue the film should be viewed at about 18 fps (roughly the speed at which it was filmed), there is written evidence that it was always meant to be shown at around 24 fps (what was sometimes referred to as "sound speed").
Just a random note: While there are folks that argue the film should be viewed at about 18 fps (roughly the speed at which it was filmed), there is written evidence that it was always meant to be shown at around 24 fps (what was sometimes referred to as "sound speed").
Well, despite any written stuff, it's always a matter of looking at the film for what seems like natural speed. The rule of thumb for a late 1920s silent is usually 20-22fps. I'm fairly sure that 20fps works the best on the restored version.
I respectfully disagree. Considering that this whole forum is based upon the premise that a certain 30 year old movie should be preserved and viewed as it was in 1977 and not with modern tweaks, I'd think some consideration should be given to how silent films were presented back in silent days. It was actually the custom to watch films slightly sped up as they were more stylized and fantasized that way, which may seem odd to modern eyes. There's no evidence that ANY silent film was ever presented at a "natural" speed and there are 1000s of preserved music cue sheets that suggest projection speeds faster than filming speeds.
It wildly varied. For most films, the projectionists would eye the speed of the film and adjust the projector accordingly. Of course, this was at better theaters... many took advantage of the silent film by speeding it up to fit in more shows. Comedies tended to be projected faster than others and this is often replicated on DVD (I think Kino's DVD for The General is 26 fps). Technically, Metropolis had cue sheets marked for 28fps projection. This is probably just because of the urging to speed through the film.
There's so many conflicting notations on the projection speed, though. The orchestral score sheets were marked for 28fps. Enno Patalas (reconstructed the film) says it was 25fps. Martin Koeber (restorer) says it's 20fps, but that's a bit slow. The Murnau Foundation says it's 22fps. It's very unlikely 28fps was intended since the film looks completely ridiculous that way. Given the visual speeds and the time frame, it's 99% likely that Metropolis was intended to be projected at 22fps.
It's totally accurate to just eye the speed and look for what's natural. Too slow makes a film creep too much (like the 18fps Phantom of the Opera released on DVD from Image, before the 2-disc Milestone). Too fast makes action laughable, like Paramount's DVD of The Ten Commandments '23.