The Man with a Movie Camera is an interesting black and white silent film made in the Soviet Union in 1929. The Director is Dziga Vertov. The film is shot with two cameras, one showing specific images, and the second camera showing the the first camera and operator, Mikhail Kaufman.
There is no specific story or plot, the movie just showcases images of life in Russia and the cameraman as he obtains the shots. The shots are cleverly edited together to create a loose theme or story starting with waking up, people sleeping, empty streets and then moving into the work day with busy streets and crowds, images of machinery spinning and working. And finally ending with showing what the people do after work is done, going to the beach, and watching movies.
Some amazing photography is achieved with natural lighting and no motorized film speeds. The camera operator is able to achieve some amazing slow motion and sped up shots by adjusting the speed he cranks the camera and the speed the film moves across the imaging plane. Some specific shots of note were images of sports that were slowed down, like a goalie blocking a soccer ball, some high jumpers, and a man doing the hammer throw.
One image that amazed me were shots film from underneath a moving train as it approached and passed over. A shot from the second camera shows a hole being dug in between the tracks for Mikhail to stand in so he is not hit by the train, but I can't imagine myself being under the train cranking the camera.
Some other images that stood out to me were shots inside steel factories and coal mines with the low level light settings and the contrasting light balances.
