Dziga Vertov’s Cinema as a Language of Temporal Reflection

Introduction. The article is devoted to the general theoretical analysis of Dziga Vertov’s cinema as a language of temporal reflection. According to essential hypothesis of this research Vertov’s work expresses the feature of the temporal regime of the culture of Soviet modernity.Methodology and sources. The author uses the terms “temporal reflection” and “time regime of culture” guided by the A. Assmann’s work “Is Time Out of Joint? On the Rise and Fall of the Modern Time Regime”. The article is rethinking these concepts and point out as a methodological ground for the analysis of non-fiction cinematography.Results and discussion. As a result of the analysis of both Vertov’s films and texts and theoretical works devoted to the study of his work, it is argued that Vertov’s non-fiction films could be considered as a symbolic language of temporal reflection. Particular attention is paid to Vertov’s both theoretical works and manifestos, and at the technical level – to the cinematographic techniques and means of expression of time. The temporal regime of modernity according to the Assmann includes features such as the turning point of time, the fiction of a new beginning, creative destruction, the emergence of the concept of “historical” and the acceleration of time. The analysis of the film “Man with a Movie Camera” (1929) given in the article demonstrates that Vertov’s work expresses these features. This conclusion is also confirmed by a number of theoretical positions in Vertov’s works, some of which are presented in the article.Conclusion. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that Vertov’s cinematic experiments are inventing a new language for comprehending time of history and culture. This language functions on account of the mechanical reduction of reality and the synthesis of the resulting images-perceptions based on the principle of ideological and poetic advisability.

Painting-report as visual document of an event (based on graphic sketches of F. Reshetnikov’s polar expeditions)

The exploration of the Russian north at the end of 19th – the beginning of the 20th centuries went along with the emergence of the topic “the conquest of the Arctic” in visual arts. The artists would travel as part of research polar expeditions to the North again and again. Picturesque images of Arkhangelsk, Karelia, Northern Dvina, Novaya Zemlya, the northern sea passage would appear in mass media in front of the viewer in artistically perfect images. Fyodor Reshetnikov took part in an expedition to the North in the 1930s. The artist was young; the desire to perform a feat for his country propelled him to take part in polar expeditions led by O. Yu. Schmidt. It was the time when the materials would be documented by means of photo- and movie camera. During the expedition the artist presented his own way of depicting the work of the expedition and its everyday life. Polar expeditions, the feat of “Chelyuskin,” northern landscapes would become an essential part of artistic exhibitions in the 1930s (such as “20 anniversary of Red Army” and “Socialism Industry”). Viewers’ interest in the topic and a general popularity of the topic made the exploration of the North one of the most prominent, sincere and significant moments in the national art of the 20th century before the war.

Selected Film Criticism, 1923–1931

Ten film reviews by Siegfried Kracauer from the 1920s and early 1930s are translated here for the first time, with a brief introduction by the translator. Leaving aside reviews that have already been translated elsewhere, and focusing almost exclusively on the silent period, the present selection was guided by two considerations. First, it includes reviews of several films that have entered the canon of world cinema (The Last Laugh, The Blue Angel, The Man with the Movie Camera, Girls in Uniform). Second, it reflects Kracauer’s attraction, particularly during the early 1920s, to American slapstick.

Montage Reloaded: From Russian Avant-Garde to the Audiovisual Essay

In this chapter, I explore the relevance of early Russian montage theory and practice to new issues raised by the shift from the essay film to the audiovisual essay. I investigate how, specifically, Sergei Eisenstein’s vision of the new type of cinema of ideas formulated in his project for filming Marx’s Das Kapital, Dziga Vertov’s foregrounding of subjectivity and reflexivity in The Man with a Movie Camera, and Esphir Shub’s practice of ‘compilation film’ contributed to the emergence of the essay film and continue to stimulate the theory and practice of the audiovisual essayism.

Man with a Movie Camera: Economy of Movement and ASMR Videos on Youtube

The article examines the ASMR phenomena through the perspective of early USSR philosophy of technic, especially, of the constructivist movement (Gan, Ginzburg) and of works of film director Dziga Vertov. Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a tingling sensation that typically begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. The aim of research is to reconstruct the notion of «movement», «machine» and «technique» in constructivist writings and to transfer this notion on contemporary media culture. For the analysis authors use ASMR videos on Youtube in order to discover new possible connotations of the term «movement» in a constructivist perspective. The ASMR phenomena could be considered as a merge of Haraway’s cyborg metaphor and the constructivist conception of domestic life, movement and technique.

Dziga Vertov — Boris Kaufman — Jean Vigo

The article is an attempt to discuss Dziga Vertov’s influence on French filmmakers, in particular on Jean Vigo. This influence may have resulted from Vertov’s younger brother, Boris Kaufman, who worked in France in the 1920s — 1930s and was the cinematographer for all of Vigo’s films. This brother-brother relationship contributed to an important circulation of avant-garde ideas, cutting-edge cinematic techniques, and material objects across Europe. The brothers were in touch primarily by correspondence. According to Boris Kaufman, during his early career in France, he received instructions from his more experienced brothers, Dziga Vertov and Mikhail Kaufman, who remained in the Soviet Union. In addition, Vertov intended to make his younger brother become a French kinok. Also, À propos de Nice, Vigo’s and Kaufman’s first and most “vertovian” film, was shot with the movable hand camera Kinamo sent by Vertov to his brother. As a result, this French “symphony of a Metropolis” as well as other films by Vigo may contain references to Dziga Vertov’s and Mikhail Kaufman’s The Man with a Movie Camera based on framing and editing. In this perspective, the research deals with transnational film circulations appealing to the example of the impact of Russian avant-garde cinema on Jean Vigo’s films.