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Man with the
Movie Camera

(1929)

 
Flicker Alley
2015 Blu-ray Disc edition

Dziga Vertov: The Man with the Movie Camera and Other Newly-Restored Works (1924-1934), black & white, 279 minutes total, not rated, including Man with the Movie Camera (1929), black & white, 68 minutes, not rated.

Flicker Alley, FA0041,
UPC 6-17311-67929-2, ISBN 1-893967-92-1.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in pillarboxed 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) progressive scan AVC (MPEG-4) format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, Russian language intertitles, optional English and French language subtitles, chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $39.95.
Release date: 2 June 2015.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 9 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from the 2014 2K digital restoration of the film which utilized an original nitrate 35mm restoration print held by EYE that is touted as the only surviving complete 35mm print. The print, struck from the original negative, was brought to Amsterdam in 1931 by Vertov himself. Another objective of the 2014 restoration was to include the entire picture as shot with its original 1.33:1 framing. Many commonly-available prints of the film were copied from sound-reissue prints that masked-off a portion of the left part of the picture for the placement of a synchronized optical soundtrack in release prints — the state that many of us have seen the film for years.

The film is presented with a music score composed and performed by The Alloy Orchestra.

This is our recommended home video edition of the film.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Kino Classics
2021 Blu-ray Disc edition

Man with a Movie Camera (1929), black & white, 67 minutes, not rated.

Kino Lorber, K25278, UPC 7-38329-25278-6.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region A Blu-ray Disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) progressive scan AVC (MPEG-4) format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 stereo sound, Russian language intertitles, optional English language subtitles, chapter stops; standard BD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 16 February 2021.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 9 / audio: 8 / additional content: 8 / overall: 8.

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from 35mm print materials held by the British Film Institute. As with other commonly-available prints of the film, this print was copied from sound-reissue prints that masked-off a portion of the left part of the picture for the placement of a synchronized optical soundtrack in release prints.

The film is presented with a lively orchestral music score by Michael Nyman and performed by the Michael Nyman Orchestra. Nyman has also scored the Vertov films A Sixth Part of the World and The Eleventh Year.

The supplementary material includes audio commentary by historian Adrian Martin; an interview on Dziga Vertov with Ian Christie (46 minutes); and a video essay on Vertov by David Cairns (20 minutes).

Alternatively, this is an optional recommended home video edition of the film.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region A Blu-ray Disc edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Kino on Video
2003 DVD edition

Man with a Movie Camera (1929), black & white, 68 minutes, not rated.

Kino International, K297, UPC 0-38329-02972-2.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 6.0 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; Russian language intertitles, optional English language subtitles; 9 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $24.99.
Release date: 13 May 2003.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 8 / audio: 8 / additional content: 4 / overall: 8.

This DVD edition has been licensed from the British Film Institute. The image quality is similar to the Kino Lorber Blu-ray Disc noted above.

The film is accompanied by a lively orchestral music score by Michael and performed by the Michael Nyman Orchestra. Nyman has also scored the Vertov films A Sixth Part of the World and The Eleventh Year.

The supplementary material includes information on Dziga Vertov, composer Michael Nyman, and cinematographers Mikhail and Boris Kaufman.

This is our recommended DVD edition of the film for North American collectors.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Film Preservation Associates
1998 DVD edition

Man with the Movie Camera (1929), black & white, 68 minutes, not rated.

Film Preservation Associates, distributed by Image Entertainment, ID4589DSDVD, UPC 0-14381-45892-3.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc; 1.20:1 aspect ratio picture in windowboxed 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at 7.8 Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to 60 fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at 192 Kbps audio bit rate; Russian language intertitles, permanent English language subtitles; 12 chapter stops; snapper DVD case (reissued in standard DVD keepcase); $24.99.
Release date: 28 October 1998 (rereleased 26 February 2002).
Country of origin: USA •

Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 7 / additional content: 7 / overall: 6.

This early DVD edition, originally prepared by David Shepard for release on laserdisc and VHS videotape in 1996, appears to have been transferred from a very-good-to-excellent 35mm early synchronized-sound print of the film from the 1930s.

Framing evidence on this disc suggests that the surviving source material had an optical soundtrack running along the left side of the filmprint, leaving only approximately 1.20:1 of the original camera negative aperture on the rerelease print, or — to state it another way — approximately 10-percent of the left side of the original image had been sacrificed to accommodate the rerelease print soundtrack.

For an older analog video transfer, a very-good job has been done of capturing the fine details and broad greyscale range of the source material. Only some occasional RGB artifacts are seen in tight horizontal picture details and some trellised fringing of the yellow English-language subtitles bespeak of the older video transfer technology that was utlized. The transfer is good enough to create a nearly filmlike picture on high-definition equipment capable of upconverting a standard-definition NTSC signal to a 1080p HD signal.

The presentation features an original music score by The Alloy Orchestra, following the written music directions of Dziga Vertov, originally produced for the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in 1995 and recorded in 1996, and an audio commentary by researcher Yuri Tsivian.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
 
Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Triad Productions
2008 DVD edition

Man with the Movie Camera (1929), black & white, 68 minutes, not rated.

Triad Productions Corporation,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 mono sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; Russian? language intertitles, optional English? language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $21.99.
Release date: 14 July 2008.
Country of origin: USA
It is unknown what grade or gauge of materials were used for this DVD edition.

Not recommended sight unseen, and why would you? See above.

 
USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.
Other silent era DZIGA VERTOV films available on home video.

Other RUSSIAN and SOVIET FILMS of the silent era available on home video.

Other DOCUMENTARY FILMS of the silent era available on home video.

Other silent film music scores by THE ALLOY ORCHESTRA available on home video.
 
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