Tuesday, 19 April 2016
On 19.4.16 by KieronMoore in Dziga Vertov, Film, Lenin, Man With A Movie Camera, Starburst No comments
Avant-garde Soviet documentary may not be the most enticing movie night idea, but anyone interested in film history should know the name Dziga Vertov. The key figure in the ‘cinema-eye’ collective of filmmakers, Vertov rejected ‘staged’ cinema – actors, scripts, all that rubbish – and developed a Marxist style inspired by newsreel footage, using the camera to capture real life then editing the footage into a coherent overview of society.
Man With A Movie Camera is about the people of Russia; the life of the city (it was filmed in Kiev, Kharkov, Moscow and Odessa) is shown in all its detail. People get up, go to work, and play sports. People get married, others get divorced. A child is born. Intricate editing places the factory machines and switchboard operators perfectly in time with the film’s music, turning the city into a symphony. Vertov’s use of film is very playful, showing us the eponymous cameraman as he sets up the shots we then see, and even making use of optical illusions, such as placing the cameraman inside a beer glass. It all comes together to create an innovative and remarkable piece of cinema that, even in 2016, is an engaging, energetic watch, as well as a fascinating historical document.
The other films on this new box set are similarly intriguing, if not as consistently watchable. Kino-Eye (1924) has a similar style, portraying the lives of children in a small village. Kino-Pravda #21 (1925) is a memorial to the recently deceased Lenin, incorporating newsreel footage of his life before showing us his funeral and reactions to his death. Enthusiasm: Symphony of the Donbass (1931) goes down into the mines of the Don coal basin, focusing on the miners as they work hard to fulfil the Five Year Plan. Finally, Three Songs About Lenin (1934) celebrates the achievements of the Soviet Union’s founder.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Search
Popular Posts
-
Well, this is exciting. My graphic novel, Buddha: An Enlightened Life , is now available internationally! It follows the story of the...
-
“It could have been a lot better. It could have been slightly better written ... it’s very routine running up and down corridors and s...
-
For the full version of this review, visit Starburst. Doctor Who may have celebrated its big five-oh in 2013, but March this year s...
-
Abe makes a deal to bring back the eyes of a lost relative… Shot during the brief period of this summer when it was safe to go outside, her...
-
Sorry everything's been quiet on the blog front recently, lads. Most of my spare time has been taken over by one project in particul...
Blog Archive
-
▼
2016
(78)
-
▼
April
(9)
- Doctor Who Adventures 14 - Out Now!
- DVD Review: Room
- Audio Review: Doctor Who - The Curse of the Fugue
- Comic Review: Death Sentence Vol. 2 - London
- Audio Review: Doctor Who - Legacy of Death
- Blu-Ray Review: Man With A Movie Camera and other ...
- Starburst 424 - Out Now!
- Film Review: Batman V Superman [SPOILERS!]
- UNION at Pilot Light TV Festival
-
▼
April
(9)
About Me

- KieronMoore
- Hi there. I'm Kieron. I write films, comics, and other assorted scribbles. I like Doctor Who, LGBTQ subjects, and chocolate digestives.
Powered by Blogger.
0 comments:
Post a Comment