Dziga Vertov's 1929 film Man with a Movie Camera stands even today as one of the most powerful and breathtaking films of all time. Vertov's use of captivating lively scenes help to showcase a wide variety of emotions and likenesses describing what Russia and the City of Moscow were going through in their early communist era. Although silent this film speaks volumes as to what the capabilities and possibilities were at the time by bringing the reader into a broad range of fast cutting segments as well as close zooms that were revolutionary at the time they were first brought into modern film. I lost count on the instances where I found my eyes glued to the film in anticipation of what Vertov's crew would come up with.In instances of day to day life one may never consider drama to form in a way that conveys a message. This film captured this sense perfectly in its many on-screen sections that depicted the lives of the strangers in the film. Scenes of people going about their daily lives has never before been such an art form, let alone to those watching in the 1930s but even today. I am captivated by the meshing of multiple scenes together to create a work of art. One example of this are the trolley scenes where the film makers split the frame in half and give away the illusion that the area held within the combined frame is full of life and movement. Vertov also helped convey a sense of early Russian propaganda in an instance where the cameraman is shown standing high above the city peering into and recording the daily lives of the citizens below. The use of mise en scène is important in these two scenes because they always fill the screen with exactly what you are supposed to see, and there are no extras that could affect the vision of the film for the viewer.The film uses many different points-of-view to help captivate the viewer. I felt in many scenes that the director was trying to use every new trick that they had when it came to film making to make the film exciting. One example of a use of this was in the scene with the blinking girl transitioning to the rapid opening and closing of the window blinds. This scene was pivotal in drawing a viewer's eyes to the screen, the fast-changing scene caused the viewer to focus on what was happening in the film at that specific time. Another scene that helped bring the viewer into the film was when the camera appeared to be run over by the train early in the film. To someone watching the film in the 1930s one would question as to how the cameraman could have possibly survived such a stunt, causing much intrigue in the audience. Although the next scene shows how the crew simply dug a hole under the track and eventually escaped with their footage and unharmed. This captivating showing of originality was what set this film apart from films even today in my eyes. I never once felt for a moment that I was missing out on the lack of sound in the film as it was made up entirely visually.It has been shown, and through its very modernistic and knowledgeable approach in experimentalism that Man with a Movie Camera was a film decades beyond its time. The ability to capture an audience with things they may have never seen before is unparalleled in many films even today. The crew behind the film attempted to convey the message that there is more to film than just telling a story, it can move and shock the audience while captivating the feel of emotion within them. Fast moving scenes and witty editing come together perfectly to create an instant classic that I would recommend to anyone looking to truly understand what goes on behind the scenes of a film, and what goes into making a film that can draw an audience in effortlessly.

No "greatest movies ever made" list would be complete without this masterpiece which revolutionized and pioneered many cinematography and editing techniques. This is a great example of a perfect movie.This experimental documentary does not follow the typical plot structure and it is even different than most other documentaries as well. It contains no plot, no named characters, and no resolution. Its purpose is to show us what an ordinary day in a Soviet Town would feel like. It was filmed in the cities of Kiev, Kharkov, Moscow, and Odessa.What this film is most famous for is its cinematic techniques director Dziga Vertov invented which helped to pioneer different film techniques. It uses techniques such as double exposure, fast motion, slow motion, freeze frames, jump cuts, split screens, Dutch angles, extreme close ups, tracking shots, footage played backwards, a sequence of stop motion, and self-reflexive visuals. These techniques were popularized and they have been used in many movies ever since it was released. All of these dazzling techniques can be traced back to this film.Also, these different film techniques made many of the scenes feel very interesting. I can understand why someone might get bored during the film but I definitely do not have that problem. The techniques which I mentioned above kept me from getting bored and they made me love this film as much as I do. Because of the fabulous cinematography, this film's ending is one of my favorite endings of all time. It basically gave us a recap of all the techniques this film offered and it showed them to us very expeditiously. Also, this was the point in the film when it was playing its most upbeat and jazzy soundtrack. Considering that the film had an overall slow pacing throughout it, this sudden change in tone made me snap my attention back immediately almost as if somebody had just shot me and in turn, I couldn't look away from the screen. That feeling I felt is kind of like how you react to a jumpscare in a horror movie. Because of this, I finished the movie in a very positive way and it left me in awe.If you look at this film's Wikipedia page, you will see that a ton of soundtracks have been written for this film. Currently, there are 19 soundtracks written for it (or 20 if you count the original one written for it in 1929). This is actually pretty impressive because most movies I've seen only contain 1 soundtrack. I'm sure that some are more popular than others but I know that I'll never be able to find and listen to all of them. I don't know what the one I listened to is called, but I sure loved it. It contained many slow and relaxing songs to it and it also contained many upbeat and jazzy moments in certain sequences. I loved the classical music used in it and I think that it perfectly fit the movie's scenes of normal city life. It was neither too quiet and unnoticeable nor too loud and distracting.Another big reason I loved this film so much is that it simply provided me with a feeling of relaxation. Relaxation is a trait that many movies don't have nowadays. It is not a bad thing for a movie to have action sequences or fast-paced moments as they are often necessary depending on what a film is about, but it is always refreshing to watch a tame and entertaining movie. This is a film which you can watch if you're feeling stressed out and want to be calmed down. I don't recall many other movies which contain this. The only other ones I've seen which feel relaxing are "Russian Ark" and "Samsara" (both of these are some of my favorites ever made).I have seen many people ask the question "If you could go back in time to see one movie, which one would you see?" I could always pick one of my favorite films ever made such as "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Saving Private Ryan", and "12 Angry Men". Also, I could definitely say "Citizen Kane", "The Godfather", or many other famous movies considered to be some of the best films ever made, but I'm going to have to say this one by far. Most if not all of the film techniques in this film weren't found in earlier movies (even when they were, they weren't used too much in them) and I can only imagine how impressed movie goers were when they watched this film for the first time. I would probably be very impressed with this one as well and it would've probably given me one of the best movie experiences I would ever see in my life. That is why I'm going to have to pick this one.In conclusion, this movie is definitely a masterpiece. It has definitely received a ton of praise over the years and it is showing no sign of slowing down. In 2012, the "Sight and Sound" poll recognized it as the 8th best movie ever made. Also, in 2014, it was ranked as the best documentary ever made. All of the praise that this movie received is justified. It pioneered different film techniques, it has beautiful and fitting music in the background, and it provides a feeling of relaxation not found in many movies. I can understand why someone might get bored while watching this film but I don't have that problem. Even if I did, I can understand why it's a masterpiece. Now that I've watched this movie, I'm interested in checking out some other silent films and I will be probably watching them sometime in the future. For all I know, they might impress me a lot too.

I saw this film for the first and second time last night.The first time I saw this film it was with the soundtrack by the Alloy Orchestra, apparently composed around the director's notes. This happened to be my favourite part. The actual images on-screen, while well-shot, were boring and I had to strain my interest to keep watching until the end. I could at least appreciate the intentions of the filmmakers, which was to make an "experimentation in the cinematic communication," or a film without intertitles, without actors and without a story.This intention, as well as the appreciation for the film by many people, was enough for me to decide to watch it again, this time without the soundtrack by the Alloy Orchestra. I'm really glad that I did.The second time I saw this film the seemingly random assortment of images on-screen, I realized, for in place for a reason. There is not a story in the conventional sense, as advertised, but I felt that the film captured a story of life itself - compare the contrasts of marriage and divorce, life and death. I was interested enough to sit through the film again as a whole, despite the absence of the soundtrack (which I felt may have been a distraction for me).I don't really know how an audience would have reacted to this film in 1929, when it was first released, but it ought to have been a rewarding experience for some, and it was certainly an influence for many.

I had picked this up due to academic interest and expected that this would be a bit boring and that I need to explicitly consider the fact that this movie was made way back in 1929.Well, the movie was very engaging. Far from boring, it challenged me to keep up with the multitude of content that the movie presents. It is excellent in everyday-life content , presenting so much of real life. True real content.The extent of passion and effort that has gone into the making of the movie is also striking.Amazing number of techniques used making the movie engaging even today.