{"product_id":"berlin-symphony-of-a-great-city-dvd","title":"Berlin, Symphony of a Great City [DVD]","description":"\u003cp\u003eAt once an invaluable photographic record of life in Weimar Berlin and a timeless demonstration of the cinema's ability to enthrall on a purely visceral level, Berlin, Symphony of a Great City offers a kaleidoscopic view of a single day in the life of a bustling metropolis.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCarl 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.\u003cbr\u003eBerlin 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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOpus I\u003cbr\u003eA 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eBerlin, Symphony of a Great City\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDirected by Walther Ruttman\u003cbr\u003eGermany 1927\u003cbr\u003e62 Minutes\u003cbr\u003eBlack and White\u003cbr\u003eSilent\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eOpus I\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDirected by Walther Ruttmann\u003cbr\u003eGermany 1922\u003cbr\u003e10 Minutes\u003cbr\u003eColor\u003cbr\u003eSilent\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFlicker Alley\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNTSC Format\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN 889290092014\u003cbr\u003eDocumentary, DVD \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"vendor-unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":6850910789,"sku":"889290092014","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0175\/8594\/products\/Berlin-Symphony-of-a-Great-City_Carl-Mayer_Walther-Ruttman.jpg?v=1591305575","url":"https:\/\/neue-galerie-design-shop.myshopify.com\/products\/berlin-symphony-of-a-great-city-dvd","provider":"Neue Galerie Design Shop \u0026 Book Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}