{"product_id":"berlin-symphony-of-a-great-city-aka-berlin-die-sinfonie-der-grobstadt-mod-dvd-movie","title":"Berlin, Symphony of a Great City AKA Berlin, die Sinfonie der Grobstadt (MOD) (DVD Movie)","description":"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","brand":"Flicker Alley and the Blackhawk Films Collection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53479157629228,"sku":"889290092014","price":26.53,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0772\/6327\/4284\/files\/Berlin-Symphony-of-a-Great-City-AKA-Berlin-die-Sinfonie-der-Grobstadt-MOD-DVD-Movie.jpg?v=1785385777","url":"https:\/\/www.margaritasvideostore.com\/products\/berlin-symphony-of-a-great-city-aka-berlin-die-sinfonie-der-grobstadt-mod-dvd-movie","provider":"Margarita's Video Store LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}