Chelovek s kino-apparatom (1929)

Director:

Dziga Vertov

Writer:

Dziga Vertov (writer)

Release Date:

12 May 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A cameraman travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling inventiveness.

Plot Keywords:

Public Showers | Stationary Bike | Double Exposure Effects | Multiple Exposure | Traffic

Also Known As:

Living Russia, or The Man with a Camera (USA)
The Man with a Movie Camera
The Man with the Movie Camera

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Australia:G | Brazil:18 | Finland:S (1965)

Filming Locations:

Kiev, Ukraine

Company:

VUFKU

Trivia:

In 1996 Norwegian composer Geir Jenssen ("aka Biosphere") was commissioned by the Tromsø International Film Festival to write a new soundtrack for the movie, using the director's written instructions for the original accompanying piano player. Jenssen wrote half of the soundtrack, turning the other half to Per Martinsen (aka Mental Overdrive). It was used for the Norwegian version, "Mannen med filmkameraet", at the 1996 TIFF. The scored movie was not available after the festival. Soundtrack released in 2001 on CD.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

All hail Lord Vertov....

Although I had obviously heard of this before watching it, and had been told enthusiastically by all that it was incredibly interesting, I found it hard to believe that a film with a) no storyline, and b) no dialogue or intertitles could be so exciting. I am now more than willing to eat my hat.

This is quite simply the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Probably best described as a documentary about itself (although by no means only this), this film and it's creator were way before their time.

An interesting point to note: I've watched this twice, once with a traditional musical score, and once with a much more dynamic modern score, and it does have to be said that music can make the movie. I'm not a purist, so found the modern score much more interesting.

One of the most essential movies of all time.