Friday, 14 December 2012
"Metropolis" Poster Sells For $1.2 Million At Auction
A film memorabilia collector
paid $1.2 million for nine rare and early film posters,
including the world's highest-valued poster of the 1927 film
"Metropolis," in a bankruptcy auction in Los Angeles on
Thursday, the trustee in the bankruptcy case said. Ralph DeLuca, who owns New Jersey-based film memorabilia
company Movie Archives Inc, won the bidding against three others
in the court auction, said trustee John J. Menchaca. Bidding for the lot of posters started at $700,000. DeLuca
beat out memorabilia powerhouse Heritage Auctions. The "Metropolis" poster, the crown jewel of the collection,
was purchased by California collector Kenneth Schachter for a
record $690,000 in a 2005 private sale. But he was forced to
sell the poster along with eight others after declaring
bankruptcy. "I honestly feel that the 'Metropolis' poster is worth more
than the whole lot," DeLuca told Reuters after the auction.
Other notable items in the lot included an original "King Kong"
poster and an "Invisible Man" poster, both from 1933. Directed by Austrian Fritz Lang, "Metropolis" was the most
expensive silent film ever made at the time of its release. The
German-produced film, with its special effects and futuristic
plot, is considered a hallmark in early cinema. The poster, one of only four known surviving copies, was
illustrated by German Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, who depicted the
film's dystopian future with towering, faceless skyscrapers and
jagged script. One copy is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in
New York, which confers the poster's value as art, DeLuca said. "It's 'The Scream,' the 'Guernica' of film posters," DeLuca
said of the modernist masterpieces painted by Edvard Munch and
Pablo Picasso, respectively. "It's literally the 'Mona Lisa.'" DeLuca, however, has no plans to flip the poster in another
sale. "I think I'll keep the poster unless I get overwhelmed with
a 'Guinness Book of Records' offer," he said. "I believe it will
be the first to go past $1 million and even hit $2 million." Schachter, a resident of Valencia about 30 miles northwest
of Los Angeles, filed for bankruptcy last year after he was
unable to repay loans he received to buy film memorabilia. The sale will go to pay off Schachter's debts, which he
listed at no more than $1 million when filing for bankruptcy. (reuters)
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Movies
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