Man With a Movie Camera (1929) - Review

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.

Final Verdict: 10/10 Masterpiece