I had heard of Man with a Movie Camera ever since film class in college, so I know it's supposed to be a classic of experimental film. And it does work - to an extent.
MWAMC tries to capture the feel & rhythms of a modern city (Moscow), as well as the joy of living & working in the Workers' Paradise. Stylistically, the closest I'd compare it to would be Koyannisqqatsi & Powaqqatsi. And this movie suffers by comparison.
Now I know that this was made in 1929 and K & P were made in the 80's, but it's more a comparison of creativity & vision of the filmmakers than the technology they had at their disposal. The new score by the Alloy Orchestra (if that's the version of the film you see) is compelling - somewhat reminiscent in fact to Phillip Glass' scores for K & P - but if you ignore the score, then the visuals of the film itself aren't all that striking.
MWAMC tries to capture the feel & rhythms of a modern city (Moscow), as well as the joy of living & working in the Workers' Paradise. Stylistically, the closest I'd compare it to would be Koyannisqqatsi & Powaqqatsi. And this movie suffers by comparison.
Now I know that this was made in 1929 and K & P were made in the 80's, but it's more a comparison of creativity & vision of the filmmakers than the technology they had at their disposal. The new score by the Alloy Orchestra (if that's the version of the film you see) is compelling - somewhat reminiscent in fact to Phillip Glass' scores for K & P - but if you ignore the score, then the visuals of the film itself aren't all that striking.