U.S.S.R.
Length: 80 minutes
Director: Dziga Vertov
Eric's Impressions: Just the title implies that this is a movie for people who love to get behind the camera and tell a story. Vertov uses almost every filmmaker trick throughout the picture. The movie makes you feel like you're watching unrehearsed footage as the camera catches everything in its path to drive home the central point - there is no limit to what one can do with the camera. Of course like all Soviet films of the time, there is plenty of propaganda underneath the surface, but if you're able to dismiss it for what it is, you're left with an interesting piece of visual art.
Natalie's Impressions: While the Soviet propaganda of this film is impossible to escape, it was still an interesting film to watch, simply because of the scope of the project. It is a film and cinematography study in its own right. Vertov shows the range of techniques a cinematographer has it his/her disposal through an exposition of such tricks like reverse zooms, slow motion, animation and split screens. Not bad for 1929 Soviet Russia. It is a treatise on documentary film making or what Vertov called "life caught unawares." The film chronicles a day in the life of a city. The editing is as brilliant as the filming itself. Through the editing, the viewer is presented with a non-linear narrative. Although the film only depicts one day, the camera captures all stages of life so that it feels like you are watching a lifetime squeezed into 80 minutes.
COUNTDOWN: Just 966 movies to go!
No comments:
Post a Comment