Restored "Metropolis" shown outdoors in snowy Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) - More than 2,000 cult film fans braved snow for an outdoor screening of "Metropolis," Fritz Lang's chilling, monumental vision of mechanized society, in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Friday.

The 1927 dystopian classic, including 30 minutes from the original feared lost forever, was also shown at a gala performance for 1,800 accompanied by a live orchestra and beamed simultaneously to the outdoor crowd in the heart of Berlin.

"Metropolis," which now runs for more than 2-1/2 hours, forged a template for generations of science fiction cinema and its enduring influence has been cited on films from "Blade Runner" to "Fahrenheit 451" and "Star Wars."

"It's the mother of all science fiction and I could hardly wait to see the 30 minutes they found," said Stefan Kolb, 25, a graphic designer. "It's special to watch this outdoors. But if I could have got a ticket for inside, I'd be there instead."

"Metropolis" -- depicting a tumultuous class struggle in a vast, urban society -- was the first film to be entered into UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, which aims to preserve cultural achievements of outstanding significance.

First released in 1927, the film set a century later was a commercial flop at first and nearly ruined the studio behind it. Soon after its premiere, the movie was heavily cut to make it more accessible and several new versions emerged.

Efforts to restore the film were made over the years but roughly a quarter of it was feared lost for good. Three reels, found in Argentina in 2008, have been restored and all but six minutes of the original 153-minute version were screened.

"It was an incredible stroke of good fortune -- 'Metropolis' is a national cultural treasure," German Culture Minister Bernd Neumann told Reuters at the Brandenburg Gate. "It's a great event even if there's a bit of snow coming down."

Filmed at Babelsberg studio outside Berlin, "Metropolis" uses science-fiction to explore social tensions between workers and owners in capitalism.

The film is set in a massive, towering city of the future called "Metropolis" where a downtrodden working class slaves away on giant machines while the sons of the rich idle away their time in luxury and decadence.

"I thought on a cold snowy night like tonight there might be two people standing outside watching at the Brandenburg Gate," said Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick. "But there are more than 2,000 out there. It's incredible."

Monika Doerhoefer, a 38-year-old student watching with her boyfriend, travelled from Bavaria to see the new version.

"It's fascinating to see the vision of the future they had in the 20s," she said. "I've seen the shorter version before and couldn't wait to see the original length. It's a classic."

(Editing by Louise Ireland)