Darth Bizarro said:
So I guess my real questions are, is the 1987 Patalas restoration the same as the 2002 restoration, or an earlier draft of the same restoration, or something entirely different.
They are different. The 2002 restoration is much improved with more material.
And what about the 1968 restoration?
I assume you mean the 1978 BBC restoration with electronic sound. While it is not available through any of the public domain DVDs since it is official BBC, a guy is bootlegging it here at IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/board/nest/186173768
It could be interesting since it's realistic motion speed. Towards the end of the thread, he even goes as far as to offer a copy for absolutely free... If anyone makes contact with him, it could be an interesting copy to share around the forum...
And what about the original re-cuts. Are these available in their original form?
I'm not sure about the British and French Cut, but the American Cut has definitely been transferred. I believe the public domain versions usually are slightly longer than the heavily trimmed American Cut. A man who does several releases based off of relatively good quality 16mm transfers is selling a copy of the 94 minute American Cut:
http://reelclassicdvd.com/silent_era.htm
Just keep scrolling and you'll find it.
What was the story that they cobbled together in these re-cuts. From what I read, Moroder's version was the first to actually reconstruct the original story structure. So what were the others like then?
No idea. I believe they just cobbled certain scenes in a hard to follow fashion. Moroder's version tried to restore a plot, even at the expense of cutting scenes which were no longer intelligible to other cut material unavailable at the time.
What's the significance of Moroder's version in the grand scheme of Metropolis's history?
Moroder's version revived interest heavily in Metropolis. By doing a theatrical release, he inspired a new generation to try to preserve Metropolis. His... interesting... score also helped to attract the masses. More Metropolis restorations followed afterwards, with more footage being discovered.
What versions are these public domain prints?
These versions I believe are slightly extended from the US Cut. They run around 115-122 minutes, so they definitely have some material. They can be sourced from 16mm prints, normally in rubbish quality. The link here gives a good run-down on all DVDs, including public domain versions:
http://www.silentera.com/video/metropolisHV.html
I would recommend the site above. They list the releases of many silent films. Hope some of this helps...