Man with a Movie Camera

1929 "The Greatest Documentary Ever Made"
8.3| 1h8m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 12 May 1929 Released
Producted By: VUFKU
Country: Soviet Union
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://mk2films.com/en/film/the-man-with-a-camera-aka-living-russia
Synopsis

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

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Reviews

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film
Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
rzajac All you really need to "know" (as it were) is that after watching Man with a Movie Camera, you can't escape the impression that Koyaanisqatsi had to have essentially been a remake.The following things come so close as to drive home such a conclusion: It's a frenetic, gushing, pouring-forth hash of largely fleeting images. The images are mostly of urban artifacts. And the music seems to have been written by a guy under the auspices of, really, the exact same muse as Philip Glass.And the funny part is... there's almost nothing else to say! If you, um, "enjoyed" Koyaanisqatsi--OK: maybe "respected" is a better word--you should try out this flick to see if it rustles up the same degree of respect. It did for me! I could have turned if off at any time, and I was riveted by the artful barrage of urban existence imagery.
Brian Berta No "greatest movies ever made" list would be complete without this masterpiece which revolutionized and pioneered many cinematography and editing techniques. This is a great example of a perfect movie.This experimental documentary does not follow the typical plot structure and it is even different than most other documentaries as well. It contains no plot, no named characters, and no resolution. Its purpose is to show us what an ordinary day in a Soviet Town would feel like. It was filmed in the cities of Kiev, Kharkov, Moscow, and Odessa.What this film is most famous for is its cinematic techniques director Dziga Vertov invented which helped to pioneer different film techniques. It uses techniques such as double exposure, fast motion, slow motion, freeze frames, jump cuts, split screens, Dutch angles, extreme close ups, tracking shots, footage played backwards, a sequence of stop motion, and self-reflexive visuals. These techniques were popularized and they have been used in many movies ever since it was released. All of these dazzling techniques can be traced back to this film.Also, these different film techniques made many of the scenes feel very interesting. I can understand why someone might get bored during the film but I definitely do not have that problem. The techniques which I mentioned above kept me from getting bored and they made me love this film as much as I do. Because of the fabulous cinematography, this film's ending is one of my favorite endings of all time. It basically gave us a recap of all the techniques this film offered and it showed them to us very expeditiously. Also, this was the point in the film when it was playing its most upbeat and jazzy soundtrack. Considering that the film had an overall slow pacing throughout it, this sudden change in tone made me snap my attention back immediately almost as if somebody had just shot me and in turn, I couldn't look away from the screen. That feeling I felt is kind of like how you react to a jumpscare in a horror movie. Because of this, I finished the movie in a very positive way and it left me in awe.If you look at this film's Wikipedia page, you will see that a ton of soundtracks have been written for this film. Currently, there are 19 soundtracks written for it (or 20 if you count the original one written for it in 1929). This is actually pretty impressive because most movies I've seen only contain 1 soundtrack. I'm sure that some are more popular than others but I know that I'll never be able to find and listen to all of them. I don't know what the one I listened to is called, but I sure loved it. It contained many slow and relaxing songs to it and it also contained many upbeat and jazzy moments in certain sequences. I loved the classical music used in it and I think that it perfectly fit the movie's scenes of normal city life. It was neither too quiet and unnoticeable nor too loud and distracting.Another big reason I loved this film so much is that it simply provided me with a feeling of relaxation. Relaxation is a trait that many movies don't have nowadays. It is not a bad thing for a movie to have action sequences or fast-paced moments as they are often necessary depending on what a film is about, but it is always refreshing to watch a tame and entertaining movie. This is a film which you can watch if you're feeling stressed out and want to be calmed down. I don't recall many other movies which contain this. The only other ones I've seen which feel relaxing are "Russian Ark" and "Samsara" (both of these are some of my favorites ever made).I have seen many people ask the question "If you could go back in time to see one movie, which one would you see?" I could always pick one of my favorite films ever made such as "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Saving Private Ryan", and "12 Angry Men". Also, I could definitely say "Citizen Kane", "The Godfather", or many other famous movies considered to be some of the best films ever made, but I'm going to have to say this one by far. Most if not all of the film techniques in this film weren't found in earlier movies (even when they were, they weren't used too much in them) and I can only imagine how impressed movie goers were when they watched this film for the first time. I would probably be very impressed with this one as well and it would've probably given me one of the best movie experiences I would ever see in my life. That is why I'm going to have to pick this one.In conclusion, this movie is definitely a masterpiece. It has definitely received a ton of praise over the years and it is showing no sign of slowing down. In 2012, the "Sight and Sound" poll recognized it as the 8th best movie ever made. Also, in 2014, it was ranked as the best documentary ever made. All of the praise that this movie received is justified. It pioneered different film techniques, it has beautiful and fitting music in the background, and it provides a feeling of relaxation not found in many movies. I can understand why someone might get bored while watching this film but I don't have that problem. Even if I did, I can understand why it's a masterpiece. Now that I've watched this movie, I'm interested in checking out some other silent films and I will be probably watching them sometime in the future. For all I know, they might impress me a lot too.
ozangunel Dziga Vertov once said 'to understand a new world we need new mediums'. For humanity 20th century is the century of immerse change and cinema can be easily described as its medium. In "The Man with a Movie Camera" (Chelovek s Kino-Apparatom) Vertov puts cameraman in front of its camera by all means makes him the hero/main character of this movie. Vertov's this decisions drives by its desire to split cinema from all other art forms. That's why we do not see any acting in front of camera but just image and editing. This movie is an historic part of both Soviet and experimental cinema. Also it's shocking to see even today Vertov's vision is still fresh and modern. A must see for all cinema lovers.
DoctorSmocter I saw this film for the first and second time last night.The first time I saw this film it was with the soundtrack by the Alloy Orchestra, apparently composed around the director's notes. This happened to be my favourite part. The actual images on-screen, while well-shot, were boring and I had to strain my interest to keep watching until the end. I could at least appreciate the intentions of the filmmakers, which was to make an "experimentation in the cinematic communication," or a film without intertitles, without actors and without a story.This intention, as well as the appreciation for the film by many people, was enough for me to decide to watch it again, this time without the soundtrack by the Alloy Orchestra. I'm really glad that I did.The second time I saw this film the seemingly random assortment of images on-screen, I realized, for in place for a reason. There is not a story in the conventional sense, as advertised, but I felt that the film captured a story of life itself - compare the contrasts of marriage and divorce, life and death. I was interested enough to sit through the film again as a whole, despite the absence of the soundtrack (which I felt may have been a distraction for me).I don't really know how an audience would have reacted to this film in 1929, when it was first released, but it ought to have been a rewarding experience for some, and it was certainly an influence for many.