Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
"Chelovek s kino-apparatom" (original title)

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

Director:

Dziga Vertov

Writer:

Dziga Vertov (scenario)

Stars:

Mikhail Kaufman

Cast

Credited cast:
Mikhail Kaufman	...	The cameraman

Storyline

This playful film is at once a documentary of a day in the life of the Soviet Union, a documentary of the filming of said documentary, and a depiction of an audience watching the film. Even the editing of the film is documented. We often see the cameraman who is purportedly making the film, but we rarely, if ever, see any of the footage he seems to be in the act of shooting!

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Plot Keywords:

urban life | exercise bike | public showers | hurdles | goalie | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Release Date:

12 May 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Living Russia, or The Man with a Camera

Filming Locations:

Kiev, Ukraine

Company Credits

Production Co:

VUFKU

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', edited by Steven Jay Schneider.

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Crazy Credits

At the beginning there is a long explanation of what this film is about and that it is of experimental origin.

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Connections

Referenced in Porky's (1982)

User Reviews

All hail Lord Vertov....

Although I had obviously heard of this before watching it, and had been told enthusiastically by all that it was incredibly interesting, I found it hard to believe that a film with a) no storyline, and b) no dialogue or intertitles could be so exciting. I am now more than willing to eat my hat.

This is quite simply the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Probably best described as a documentary about itself (although by no means only this), this film and it's creator were way before their time.

An interesting point to note: I've watched this twice, once with a traditional musical score, and once with a much more dynamic modern score, and it does have to be said that music can make the movie. I'm not a purist, so found the modern score much more interesting.

One of the most essential movies of all time.