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From: Flicker Alley, LLC

Berlin, Symphony of a Great City AKA Berlin, die Sinfonie der Grobstadt (DVD)

DVD (UPC: 889290092014)

Available Formats:
Rating:
Starring:
N/A
  • Documentary
  • 72:00 min
Price: $19.95
In Stock

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Synopsis

At once an invaluable photographic record of life in Weimer Berlin and a timeless demonstration of the cinema's ability to enthrall on a purely visceral level, Berlin, Symphony of a Great City (Berlin, die Symphonie der Grosstadt) offers a kaleidoscopic view of a single day in the life of a bustling metropolis. Carl Mayer ( The Last Laugh ), influenced by the naturalistic Kammerspiel movement, envisioned "a melody of pictures" sprung from daily reality instead of the stylized artificiality of the studio-bound expressionist film. Following Mayer's rough outline, photographer Karl Freund deployed a team of cameramen to explore the avenues, alleyways and factories of Berlin and secure hidden-camera glimpses of the people and machinery that provide the city with its constant motion. The many hours of footage were then edited into a series of five acts, like movements of a symphony, by Walther Ruttmann as a continuation of his experiments with abstract motion (see Opus I ). Berlin defined the formula of the "city symphony" film and according to John Grierson - the filmmaker/critic who coined the term "documentary" - "No film has been more influential, more imitated." Opus I A rare example of the German avant-garde cinema known as absoluter Film , Walther Ruttmann's hand-colored Opus I is an exploration of the geometry of movement within the frame and the sensory effect these abstract shapes evoke as they swell, streak and swim across the screen. Viewed alongside Berlin , Opus I seems a thumbnail sketch for the sweeping slice-of-life documentary, revealing the degree to which Ruttmann's 1923 film was more a spectacle of raw motion than a documentary portrait of Berlin's daily routines. Opus I is accompanied by Max Butting's 1922 score, adapted and conducted by Timothy Brock. Berlin, Symphony of a Great City Year: 1927 Length: 62 minutes Director: Walther Ruttman Music: Composed and conducted by Timothy Brock Format: NTSC Opus I Year: 1922 Length: 10 minutes Director: Walther Ruttman Music: Composed by Max Butting, adapted and conducted by Timothy Brock Produced for DVD by David Shepard From the Blackhawk Films Collection Presented by Flicker Alley

Specifications

  • UPC: 889290092014
  • Release: 2017-03-14
  • Content Provider: Flicker Alley, LLC
  • Runtime: 72:00
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Language: English
  • Format: DVD-NTSC
  • Screen: 0.16875
  • Aspect: 1.33:1
  • Rating: NR
  • Audio: Stereo
  • Color/BW: BW
  • Special Features: Opus I: A rare example of the German avant-garde cinema known as absoluter Film, Walther Ruttmann's hand-colored Opus I is an exploration of the geometry of movement within the frame and the sensory effect these abstract shapes evoke as they swell, streak and swim across the screen. Viewed alongside Berlin, Opus I seems a thumbnail sketch for the sweeping slice-of-life documentary, revealing the degree to which Ruttmann's 1923 film was more a spectacle of raw motion than a documentary portrait of Berlin's daily routines. Opus I is accompanied by Max Butting's 1922 score, adapted and conducted by Timothy Brock.
  • Copyright: Special Contents of This Edition (c)1999 by Film Preservation Associates, Inc. / Blu-ray Publication and Design (c)2016 Flicker Alley, LLC
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Disc Format: DVD

Cast and Crew

Starring:

N/A

Written by:

Scenario by Karl Freund and Walther Ruttmann
from an idea by Carl Mayer.

Directed by:

Walther Ruttman

Produced by:

Karl Freund