The film Man with a Movie Camera represents
AN EXPERIMENTATION IN THE CINEMATIC COMMUNICATION
Of visual phenomena
WITHOUT THE USE OF INTERTITLES
(a film without intertitles)
WITHOUT THE HELP OF A SCENARIO
(a film without a scenario)
WITHOUT THE HELP OF THEATRE
(a film without actors, without sets, etc.)
This new experimentation work by Kino-Eye is directed towards the creation of an authentically international absolute language of cinema on the basis of its complete separation from the language of theatre and literature.
Sometimes voted the best documentary of all time, this film innovated in the speed of its shots and the self-reflexive nature with which it considered filmmaking. Techniques include fast and slow motion, reversed shots, multiple exposure, freeze frames, match and jump cuts, split screen, tracking shots, and the use of extreme close-ups.
This silent film was meant to be accompanied by live music in the theatre. Dozens, if not hundreds of artists have since stepped in to provide a soundtrack. This score by Michael Nyman premiered in 2002 and was released on DVD.
"Dziga Vertov" was born David Kaufman, but adopted a name that roughly means "spinning top" in Ukrainian.
