Overview
An extraordinary montage of urban Ukrainian and Russian life in 1929, showing the people of the city at work and at play, and the machines that keep the city going. It was Dziga Vertov's first full-length film, and he used all the techniques - dissolves, split screen, slow motion and freeze-frames - to produce an exhilarating and intellectually brilliant feature. With new score by Michael Nyman.
Ranked 9th in the 2022 Sight and Sound Great Films of All Time poll
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