Dziga Vertov (1896–1954)

Images of the Soviet Union, shot by an anonymous but ever-present camera man.

It does something. I don't know what it does, but simply recognizing that something's happening is pretty interesting. I'm not convinced that Vertov succeeded in what he set out to do - but if his ideas had caught on with other filmmakers, I might feel differently about that. It's hard to judge after only watching it once. I'm really in no hurry to watch it again, though.

Most shots only last a couple seconds, which show more would be normal. But in this case, where the lack of narrative context means you don't know what you're going to be looking at until after you've seen it, that speed means you never have a chance to blink without missing something. It's actually a physical challenge to watch this movie.

Concept: A
Story: F
Characters: n/a
Dialog: n/a
Pacing: C
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: n/a
Music: C

Enjoyment: C

GPA: 2.3/4 show less

Films like this are the Marxixt equivalent of the Nazi works such as "Triumph of the Will." I only see them with an open mind and a historical perspective. See them as film Collages in the style of "Kino-Glaz" ( Cinema Eye ) wherein the use of editing is fundamental in order to put in images artistic theories about capturing reality. However, this is a severe contradiction because editing is in most ways the manipulation of reality! This is mere Soviet self-congratulatory propaganda, it's an show more obscure silent classic documentary and a paean to the "wonders" of socialism and Russian life. "Shestaya Chast Mira" ( One-Sixth Of The World (1926) was commissioned by Gostorg, an agency of the Russian Government. Not surprisingly, the cult film exhalts the powerful possibilities of the U.S.R.R. enormous diversity of people, races and nationalities, masters of the sixth part of the world who will put their efforts in the service of their country to make it a world power. Vertov shows many industrial sequences, the exporting of Soviet goods and a detailed ethnographical study of the many peoples that make up the Soviet Union. The use of editing is obviously fundamental for this kind of picture wherein different shots and sequences melt together to convey a political message and an artistic study, including fascinating camera angles and film techniques like split screens, animation and the travelling camera. Much of the edited imagery deals with factory production and machines and machines that make machines. From European Russia to the wilds of Siberia, it all finds a part here, and the call is to the presumably deprived workers of other nations of the world who need to take this Utopian dream as a model for their own futures. Papito Stalin is there too in a few images to provide his incentive. show less

Si tratta del quarto rullo dell’Anniversario della rivoluzione, ma veniva anche presentato come un film a sé stante che mostra i membri del primo governo sovietico (dieci dei quali sarebbero stati fatti assassinare, o comunque fatti segno a colpi d’arma da fuoco, dal governo seguente) ed il loro nuovo quartier generale, il Cremlino di Mosca, dove si erano trasferiti da San Pietroburgo (allora Pietrogrado) nel 1918. Il cervello della Russia Sovietica uscì coem film a se stante il 1° show more maggio 1919. Lenin (che qui appare in una pellicola per la prima volta dopo che un sicario gli aveva sparato) ordinò che venisse inviato anche all’estero, in modo che il mondo potesse imparare il “Chi è” del Cremlino. – YURI TSIVIAN (fonte: Mymovies) show less

Film documentario che parla della neonata Unione Sovietica. Si presenta come una raccolta di brevi episodi sulla vita in Unione Sovietica, unite nella serie La vita di sorpresa. Viene dato molto spazio ai bambini e ai Pionieri, un'organizzazione giovanile sovietica. Vengono inoltre mostrate le cooperative dell'epoca, un elefante, la lotta alla tubercolosi, il servizio di pronto soccorso, un manicomio e una lezione di fisica per gli operai. Le riprese sono girate a Mosca e nei suoi dintorni. show more (fonte: Wikipedia) show less