2026, distant future

As part of Veneto Jazz’s Candiani Groove series, a special quartet – Karim Qqru (The Zen Circus), Roberta Sammarelli (ex Verdena), Xabier Iriondo (Afterhours) and Corrado Nuccini (Giardini di Mirò) – performs a new live soundtrack for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. Their sound blends kraut rock, ambient textures and psychedelic flashes, offering a contemporary reimagining of the film. This artistic operation recalls Giorgio Moroder’s bold 1980s reinterpretation, in which he reshaped Lang’s masterpiece with contributions from stars like Bonnie Tyler and Freddie Mercury. Unlike Moroder, who cut slower scenes to emphasize spectacle, this quartet approaches Metropolis with full respect for its structure.

Lang’s 1927 film, a milestone of world cinema, envisioned a dystopian 2026 and has influenced countless later works, from Blade Runner to Tim Burton’s Batman and the design of C 3PO. Its long history includes drastic cuts by UFA and Paramount, which reduced the original 4189 meter version to a fragmented release. The discovery in 2008 of a nearly complete 16mm duplicate negative in Buenos Aires sparked a major restoration effort led by the Murnau Foundation. Reconstructed footage returned Metropolis to its initial form, celebrated at the 2010 Berlinale with live performance of Gottfried Huppertz’s original score. The Candiani project continues this tradition of reinterpretation, connecting contemporary experimental music with one of cinema’s most enduring and visionary works.

Featured image: Metropolis, by Fritz Lang (1927)