Monday, August 22, 2005

Man with a Movie Camera

A 1929 silent film documentary made by Russian director Dziga Vertov. The story is about a man who carries the movie camera around and films scenes from many interesting places such as coal mines, factories, railway stations, salons, a lady's house and the city. I like the soundtrack that fit nicely to the story and the special effects!

The editing is very well done to acheive the special effects! We see the director standing on top of the camera in one scene and appearing within a cup in another. The use of freeze frame shows the facial expression of selected individuals, slow motion shows atheletes in action and fast motion shows the trams, horses and people rushing about in the town!

I especially like the scene where they show the operator frantically connecting the lines from one node to another node! I feel that the trams, horses and people move a bit too slow even though it is already in fast motion. Guess I am too used to the speed of automobiles racing on the highway to appreciate it.

Internet Movie Database Link

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