Berlin, Germany: Winter Open Air Cinema a Cool Idea
t's a great idea that worked out well once in Berlin last night but it willВ not likely be the start of a new trendВ open air cinema in the middle of the winter.
Metropolis is a magical film and well worth shivering along with 2,000 other hard-core fans of the 1927В 
classic in the middle of a snowstorm last night an unforgettable experience.
But it's hard to imagine open-air cinema in February becoming a winter-time rival to the drive-in.
The Berlin Film Festival came up with the splendid venue to give a very large public at large a chance to see the restored version of Metropolis , the mother of all sci-fi films that first flopped in 1927 before becoming one of the most famous movies ever made. The trade press has been gushing about the discovery in Argentina in 2008 of 30 minutes of the film that were cut and feared lost for good.
Organisers of the Berlinale gave the world premiere of the restored 83-year-old film the red carpet treatment with a special prime time screening at a sold-out 1,800-seat theatre. Because demand for the tickets greatly outstripped supply, Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick decided to beam a live streamВ of the screening of В Metropolis and the live orchestra accompanying it simultaneously to a giant 312-metre square outdoor screen set up at the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin.