A poet-friend and fellow South Jersey homeboy writes:

Not to bring everything back to Queen, but have you seen the 80s version of Metropolis that Giorgio Moroder (sp?) put together? I watched the restored 2 hours version the other night (one full hour of the original remains lost) and my friend commented that he always hears Radio Gaga (whatever that is) when he sees it. I assume this has something to do with Queen. Please to explain.



To which I replied:

I have indeed seen (and own on VHS) the Giorgio Moroder Metropolis, in which that disco-era composer collaborates with people like Bonnie "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Tyler, Jon Anderson of Yes, and the one and only Freddie Mercury of Queen to compose a new soundtrack for the film. Many of the prints going around are, in fact, those Moroder prints, with end titles and all. When I saw a version of Metropolis with a live piano at Film Forum some years ago, for instance, it was a Moroder print. And guess who clapped and whistled at the end when the words "Freddie Mercury" went onscreen?

There's a movement afoot to bring the version to DVD, but, oddly enough, many think the version is a crime against humanity.

I say: Let the work speak for itself! Let them decide for themselves if people can't handle their Fritz Lang with a Mike Reno or Adam Ant composition! Let not, in other words, the legend of the work precede its reception!

Queen the group, I think, had the rights to the movie on some level for a while there; this is why clips from the movie are used in the "Radio Ga Ga" video, and Freddie morphs into the Maria robot. The latter proves that, even in the world of early sci fi, Freddie was still a cross-dressing, mustached diva.

Labels: God Save My Queen, Queenspotting