Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will present the world televison premiere of the newly reconstructed directorís vision of Erich von Stroheimís 1924 silent masterpiece GREED. The reconstruction, by acclaimed filmmaker and editor Rick Schmidlin, who won critical acclaim for his work on the Directorís Cut of Orson Wellesí classic Touch of Evil, released last year, will finally give audiences the opportunity to see a more representative version of one of the most famous and influential silent films ever made. TCM will present the world premiere of the new version of GREED Sunday, December 5, 1999, at 8 p.m., to coincide with the filmís 75th anniversary.

GREED is one of the most famous missing pieces of film history. Until now, audiences have seen only 135 minutes of Von Stroheimís epic, which, in its earliest form, was nine and ‡ hours long. Von Stroheim intended for the GREED to be released as a four and ‡ hour, two-part film, but MGM studio head Irving Thalberg insisted that it be cut to its current two-hour version. The cut footage, which was shot on silver nitrate film, was later burned to recover its silver content.

Using existing footage, an original shooting script, 633 recently discovered still photos and digital animation techniques pioneered by filmmaker Ken Burns for The Civil War, Schmidlin and film historian Richard Koszarski have added 145 minutes to this epic film. The reconstructed GREED will also feature a new score by renowned composer Robert Israel.

The plot of GREED centers on a couple, McTeague (Gibson Gowan) and Trina Sieppe (ZaSu Pitts). McTeague meets Trina through a close personal friend, Marcus Schoulder (Jean Hersholt). Trina is Marcusís intended wife, but when McTeague develops a romantic interest in Trina, Marcus steps aside. When Trina wins $5,000 in a lottery, Marcus accuses McTeague of stealing Trina for her money. Eventually, McTeague loses his dental practice because of Marcus and vows revenge. Even as they descend into a poverty that eventually drives McTeague to murder her, Trina refuses to use her lottery winnings to help them survive. Schmidlinís reconstructed version restores several subplots to the film, including a story centered on the difficulties of the immigrant experience and a brief foray into the life of an abusive junk dealer and his gypsy wife.

GREEDís re-edit offered Schmidlin different challenges than those he faced with Touch of Evil. GREED required reconstructing missing footage using still photographs, Von Stroheimís notes on color-tinting and other resources. Schmidlin calls his work on the legendary 1924 MGM classic "the most important in my career."