Post by Boz on Jan 30, 2007 0:40:29 GMT
The Man With the Movie Camera 
Dziga Vertov 1929
I must admit, going in, I wasn't sure I'd be crazy about a 1929 Soviet Nationalist Avant-Garde Documentary, but Vertov comes through with a considerable amount of success here. Tomorrow in my film class we'll be looking into early Russian cinema as a whole, and this film explores many of the styles and themes that are characteristic to the period; a strong reciprocal connection between the Russian proliteriat and the country's centralized film industry, substantial emphasis placed on the machine-like industries and their importance to the prestige of the nation, as well as a relentless drive to push the boundaries of the filmmaking craft. Rapid-fire editing, experimentation with slow motion, multiple split screens, abstract camera placement, stop-motion animation; all techniques Vertov utilizes to create one strangely satisfying viewing experience. Some memorable images stand out; a large government building appears to collapse inward upon itself as Vertov splices together two half-frame images where the camera is tilting in opposite ways, a bourgeoisie audience files into a movie theater and watches a camera unpack itself from the box and walk around on it's tripod as if it were a three-legged mechanical monster while they laugh along the whole way, and later, as one camera films another, a rapidly blinking eye appears on the lens as it opens and shuts. Highly recommended for those that can get a DVD copy, I had to make do with what appeared to be a non-professional transfer from a badly outdated film reel to a VHS.
Dziga Vertov 1929
I must admit, going in, I wasn't sure I'd be crazy about a 1929 Soviet Nationalist Avant-Garde Documentary, but Vertov comes through with a considerable amount of success here. Tomorrow in my film class we'll be looking into early Russian cinema as a whole, and this film explores many of the styles and themes that are characteristic to the period; a strong reciprocal connection between the Russian proliteriat and the country's centralized film industry, substantial emphasis placed on the machine-like industries and their importance to the prestige of the nation, as well as a relentless drive to push the boundaries of the filmmaking craft. Rapid-fire editing, experimentation with slow motion, multiple split screens, abstract camera placement, stop-motion animation; all techniques Vertov utilizes to create one strangely satisfying viewing experience. Some memorable images stand out; a large government building appears to collapse inward upon itself as Vertov splices together two half-frame images where the camera is tilting in opposite ways, a bourgeoisie audience files into a movie theater and watches a camera unpack itself from the box and walk around on it's tripod as if it were a three-legged mechanical monster while they laugh along the whole way, and later, as one camera films another, a rapidly blinking eye appears on the lens as it opens and shuts. Highly recommended for those that can get a DVD copy, I had to make do with what appeared to be a non-professional transfer from a badly outdated film reel to a VHS.
