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Man with a Movie Camera Director: Dziga Vertov Number of Items: 1 Format: Black & White Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 68 minutes Studio: Kino International Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-05-13 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 "Not just a portrait of a city -- a reflection on cinema" This film has been aptly compared to Berlin: Symphony of a City, but what has interested me most about it is its portrayal of cinema as a universally accessible art form. While there are propagandistic moments -- celebrating the efficiency and lifestyle of the Soviet working class -- it easily transcends whatever purpose the authorities (or Vertov himself) may have had in allowing Vertov to film it. You have to remember that this film was composed for an audience that may have seen films but were certainly not film literate -- not many of us are now -- which is to say they had not likely been aware of the process of making films, or reflected much on the nature of film. What is so exciting about this film is that it presents both a portrait of a city, and of the life of its inhabitants, as well as a documentary (and self-reflexive) study of the art of filmmaking. There is much to learn from this film about the different ways of thinking about film, and I often show it in my film classes for this purpose. There is the idea of film as a recorder of objective fact, that is potentially present anywhere though always located somewhere, suggested by the images of the filmmaker as a kind of eye towering over the city, seeing both the whole and the parts. There is also the idea of film as highly subjective, suggested in images that show the personal reaction of the filmmaker, and in images that show the personal dangers faced by the "man with a movie camera" in his effort to capture difficult shots. We see, in these shots, that film is not simply a passive recorder of events that unfold independently of the filmmaker but is also involved in the creation of these events. We see the editor, editing the very footage that we had just seen the filmmaker recording. We see that the filmmaker can be a kind of poet, making use of visual metaphors to suggest ideas: a train relay that suggests the intercutting of various scenes by the editor, a window and an eye that suggest the camera. We also see the capacity of the filmmaker to manipulate and create a new reality, when we observe animation (of the camera itself, seemingly taking on a life of its own without the cameraman), but we also see how this animation is achieved. We are even shown the audience itself, and by implication are included in the very picture we are watching. Some of these metaphors and ideas may seem heavy handed today, but that is only in my description of them. When you actually watch them they fascinate. The editing also is superb in this film -- always appropriate to the scene it is sometimes slow, and sometimes more rapid and kinetic than anything MTV produces. All in all, I consider this an essential piece of cinema, well worth purchasing on DVD while it is still available. I hope it remains in print forever, but have a hard time believing it will, which is why I just recently purchased a personal copy -- when it was already owned by my campus library. (The picture on the DVD is quite fine, better than the VHS copy I have seen; the music that was re-created from notes left behind by Vertov is superb and fits the film quite nicely.) "The Beginning of all cinematic art" This is where it's at, editing, cinematography and originality, everything a film maker could ever ask for, it's a text book in moving pictures, this is the film that changed film making as we know it, I love this film for all it's worth. "Everyday, in effect, is a movie in one's life." "This film presents a experiment in the cinematic communication of visible event, without the aid of inter-titles, without the aid of a scenario." Such explannatory opening titles are the only ones you will see in this 1929 Soviet-made silent film. Thence begins the visual tour we are taken through by "The Man with a Movie Camera" as he literally takes us along for the ride as he chronciles the better part of a day's usual goings-on in an agglomeration of Soviet cities. Hence the scene index on this DVD segments up this film with the aid of such chapters labeled: "The beginning," "Workday begins," "Open for business," "Still life in motion," Emergency," "Coal, steel, silk & water," "Workday ends," Exercise," "Special effects," "The pace increases," concluding with "End credits." I've included the above to give you an idea how this film achieves what other reviewers herein have characterized it doing. Images are literally thrown at you at various speeds by Vertov, the director. "Workday begins," for instance, is a montage of images---alternatively moving and stilled---of folks waking up, streets coming alive, trams embarking out of their depots; with shots of cash registers, typewriters, parked cars, phones & such all waiting to be put in motion. Then the movie camera lens that just showed us a woman washing her face, itself occupies the screen. Then we see this woman's eyes. Then a window shutter. Then a window. Then the camera again. Then window blinds. Then the woman's eyes yet again. Then the blinds again, followed by the lens, etc. We don't watch this film from afar, in short. Rather, we become "The Man with the Movie Camera" ourselves, as if we were the one running across a threshold, between street trams, or up a bridge---as we see the actual camerman do in this film---before we ourselves get to take in the view of the camera lens from such vantage points. In this manner the director is hoping to wake us up to life as it is; to see life as if our eyes are but camera lenses. It's makes for an interesting viewpoint---pardon the pun---to say the least; and accounts for the fact that "The Man with a Movie Camera" merits inclusion among the best silent films ever made, if not of all films made, as well. Sure, "the factory of dreams" as Hollywood was known in Soviet Russia, is an art form in of itself. Less known is "the factory of facts" which this film purports to represent. You wouldn't think that a 68 minute storyless silent film (albeit it with a captivating score) would be actually entertaining, but it is; even with multiple viewings! I, for one, have watched it 3 times and---most likely, will do so some months hence again. I hope I have been of some help herein & that I have piqued your interest in seeing this film. (If so, do listen to the audio commentary on this DVD after your first viewing.) (05Jan) Cheers! "Obviously inspired Reggio and Fricke" If you're a fan of Godfrey Reggio and Ron Fricke's the Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, Naqoyatsi trio or the even more narrative-driven Baraka (Fricke), this hugely innovative, groundbreaking film is a MUST-SEE. You'll be amazed at the sort of filming and editing techniques these guys (and girl) employ during that period of time-- especially in comparison to what American cinema was like at the time. "Great movie dedicated to the moving image" Unlike many other movies focused on linear narratives Man with a Movie Camera is a movie truly dedicated to its medium. This movie focuses on visuals. Made in Russia in the 1920s Man with a movie camera foreshadows future visual epics like Koyannisqatsi and Hukkle.