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From Amazon.co.uk
"An experiment in the creative communication of visible events without the aid of inter-titles, a scenario or theatre "aiming at creating a truly international absolute language of cinema," is how the inter-titles describe what is about to be seen. Bold claims indeed, but in its awesome sophistication The Man with a Movie Camera does live up to them, making it one of the most contemporary of silent movies. The subject, the life of a city from dawn to dusk, was not original even for 1928, but its treatment was--the cameraman as voyeur, social commentator and prankster, exploiting every trick permissible with the technology of the day (slow motion, dissolves, split screens, freeze frames, stop motion animation, etc). A young woman stirs in her bed, apparently fighting a nightmare in which a cameraman is about to be crushed by an oncoming train. She wakes up, and the sequence is revealed to be a simple trick shot. As she blinks her weary eyes, the shutters of her window mimic her viewpoint, and the iris of the camera spins open. Self-reflexive wit like this abounds here--there's even a delicious counterpoint made between the splicing of film and the painting of a woman's nails.
The film was the brainchild of the Moscow-based film-maker Dziga Vertov (real name Denis Arkadyevich Kaufman), a furiously inventive poet of the cinema who made innumerable shorts about daily life (such as the much-quoted "Kino-Pravda"), and played at candid camerawork and cinema vérité long before they became the clichés of the television age. The editing has a fantastic abandon that makes most pop videos look sluggish. --David Thompson
Product Description
Two versions of Dziga Vertov's fascinating montage of life in Moscow are included on this tape. The first is the original silent version, with music by the Alloy Orchestra. The second version includes a commentary by Yuri Tsivian, Russian silent cinema historian. Vertov makes innovative early use of dissolves, split screen, slow motion and freeze frames in this fascinating document of life in Twenties Russia. The DVD also includes the option of watching the film with a new soundtrack, composed by the In the Nursery orchestra.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
I first saw this on the big-screen and it stands up as one of the few films I could have watched again immediately. For an experimental film from 1920's Russia (an experimental and exciting time for the arts all round in the early years of the Soviet state) it's stood the test of time remarkably well. Yes it's 'arty', yes, it could be accused of self-indulgence, but it works! It has trick shots, odd camera-angles, multiple images and serves as a fascinating insight into a day in the life of a Soviet city. The the man with the movie camera himself makes regular intrusions into frame.
And the new soundtrack by In the Nursery works well too - it's not exactly cutting-edge, but its pleasant, electronic soundwashes sit well with the film and never try to overpower it. It's been criticised somewhat unfairly, but after all,Dziga was using the most up-to-the-minute technology he could get, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:DVD
This has got to be the definitive DVD version of Vertov's Man With a Movie Camera.
The choice of two scores plus a separate commentary track makes this package even more appealing. Most notable score is by In The Nursery who manage to produce a musical blendof the symphonic with the modern, the ambient with the danceable and the acoustic with the synthetic.
The choice of two scores plus a separate commentary track makes this package even more appealing. Most notable score is by In The Nursery who manage to produce a musical blendof the symphonic with the modern, the ambient with the danceable and the acoustic with the synthetic.
Watching Vertov's masterpiece with In The Nursery's specially commissioned score makes each and every viewing a new voyage of discovery. A highly recommended purchase indeed.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Dziga Vertov, 1929, definitely not the kind of movie to watch on a saturday night with friends.
But a must see for those interested in the history of film. As this "movie" was produced - 77 years ago -, the concept of film was completely different to what it is now. This shows how a man, without the filmic knowledge of a present-day director, manages to make breath-taking scenes never shot before.
Dziga Vertov, can probably be seen as one of the inventors of the first long running movies.
A must see, and an historical masterpiece!
But a must see for those interested in the history of film. As this "movie" was produced - 77 years ago -, the concept of film was completely different to what it is now. This shows how a man, without the filmic knowledge of a present-day director, manages to make breath-taking scenes never shot before.
Dziga Vertov, can probably be seen as one of the inventors of the first long running movies.
A must see, and an historical masterpiece!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
bad picture qualitye
Great film, very bad transfer. Described elsewhere on the interwebs as having the "ugly look of a VHS copy". I have it on VHS and it looks better than this. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Zarg
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sound Track doubtful
This is one of those many old films that film buffs tend to read about. It had a sort of uninspiring title but it is well worth watching. Vertov ( not his real name. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Graham Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enthusiastic industrialism
A short but great film from the Soviet Union in the late 20s of last century at the time of the new silent film technology. Read more
Published on 17 May 2011 by Jacques COULARDEAU
5.0 out of 5 stars
Man with a movie camera
Fascinating - shows live street scenes which are now a historical record plus the ingenuity of the camera work and editing
Published on 17 Sep 2010 by Mrs. R. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Living Russia," or "The Man with a Camera"
A well designed film by Dziga Vertov's that looks like a documentary than show the man and the city. Read more
Published on 26 April 2010 by bernie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hidden gem
I first heard this piece live in Bristol when Michael Nyman and band were performing there. It was a unique combination of old silent docu-movie with Nyman's genius superimposed... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by David Fairweather
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hidden gem
I first heard this piece live in Bristol at a Michael Nyman concert, and was blown away with it. I bought the DVD expecting it to be a poor relation to the live performance. Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2010 by David Fairweather
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mad Russian with a Movie Camera
This is a hoot of early silent invention raised to the point of genius. It does go on past the patience of some of us, as does Nyman's score, but it's worth it. Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2010 by Alan Tucker
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Living Russia," or "The Man with a Camera"
A well designed film by Dziga Vertov's that looks like a documentary than show the man and the city. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2009 by bernie
3.0 out of 5 stars
Experimental...And That's the Problem
Simply Vertov's "silent masterpiece"on russian life is not all it's cracked up to be.Certainly there are some startling(a birth) and beautiful(the expansive streets in the quiet of... Read more
Published on 29 Jan 2009 by Mark Pearce
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