My complaint wasn't that it was old, but that it covers a lot of the same basic ground as They Live in less interesting fashion.

Jay Seaver wrote on Apr 13^th, 2016 at 8:50pm:


To me it really showed a sens of humor by the organizers.
I mean showing a film where the most dangerous thing is to fall asleep to a crowd that's been awake (sort of) for 24 hours plus?
GENIUS!

Woman In The Moon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_in_the_Moon
"Fritz Lang’s final silent film tried to recapture the magic and spectacle of his 1927 sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis. It chronicles an intrigue-laden expedition to the moon to look for lunar gold. The film’s rocket science proved so revealing that the movie was suppressed by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945."

The above is a Cleveland Museum of Art Film Series blurb. Notable is that the film was made after the classic Metropolis - that everyone has seen - by the same director.
The CMA announcement says that it will be shown from a "New 2K digital restoration!" (Yes David, I know)
Probably a Blue Ray.

L.A. Connection wrote on May 30^th, 2016 at 12:01pm:

Thank you David and LA for comments on Women based on actual experience.
I've fought my way through Metropolis. twice and am musty & antiquarian enough that even a severely dated (as I am sure David accurately states) film would be interesting. The CleveMuseum version is described as having a  "Recorded piano score by Javier Pérez de Azpeitia" so a skilled accompanist while hugely enhancing would not be absolutely necessary.
I do agree that a 169 min. movie it would be a damper on the energy level - and exclude too many other choice options.
Anyone visits Cleveland, I'll put them up & take them to the CMA show on either 6/26 or 6/29.
Don't worry. That's three weeks before the Republicans get here.

Is there any possibility that Woman on the Moon. Will be considered for SF 42?

This is from Jeff Rapsis, the silent film accompanist who's been helping out with the Marathon in recent years. As David K. pointed out earlier in this thread, I'm a big advocate of WOMAN IN THE MOON. I've accompanied it at many screenings, and for very different audiences, and it ALWAYS kills in live performance. And I would LOVE a chance to do music for it at a future Marathon.

A couple of points in favor of WOMAN IN THE MOON:

- As with all silent films, it was designed to be seen by an audience, not in solitude. Lang knew how to structure this kind of film to keep an audience glued to the screen, and it still works, especially with the right kind of music. Keep that in mind if you've only seen it on home video or, worse, on a computer screen.

- Of course the film is "dated," but that's a big part of its interest, I think. To me, it's utterly amazing what Lang put on the screen in 1929: a rocket launch to the moon using the same basic ideas that would underpin the successful Apollo program 40 years later. (Most of these concepts originated with scientists in pre-Hitler Germany, and after World War II were resurrected by von Braun and his colleagues for NASA.) The fact that the characters wear mountaineering gear instead of space suits is all part of the mind-blowing fun, I think. Same thing with how they got so much else dead wrong as well: seen in retrospect it has huge entertainment value to a certain kind of mindset, which I think is the one that prevails at the annual Marathon.

- Yes, the fully restored version is just under 3 hours. But in a theater with the right kind of music and with an audience, I've found WOMAN IN THE MOON roars right by. People (even non-sci-fi fans) are stunned by this movie. Again, Lang knew how to build a structure that supports this kind of length. He weaves tech geek with melodrama with industrial conspiracy in a way that I find still holds the screen very well. (Remember, METROPOLIS is the same length.)

- In general, this is a mind-blowing picture with creative photography, compelling characters (the "villain" looks like Hitler, whom Lang despised), pioneering vintage special effects, and so much to look at and wonder about even before the moon launch, which occurs just after the half-way point. From then on, there's no turning back, either for the characters or the audience. Heck, it's the film that originated the idea of a "countdown" to launch, which later was adopted in launching real rockets. That fact alone makes the film worthy of consideration.

If WOMAN IN THE MOON isn't suitable for an event such as the annual Sci-Fi marathon, then I'm not sure what is. So if not right away, then I hope it can be considered for some future year. Maybe in 2019 for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing?