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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 664

Man with a Movie Camera

192968 minSoviet Union

Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: Russian.
This copy runs: 66:59
Subtitles: English

Languages and subtitles

Subtitles requested

Wikimedia Commons · Dziga Vertov · Public domain

Subtitles: Wikimedia Commons · Open Classic Cinema

Synopsis

A cameraman follows a city's changing rhythms from the quiet of early morning to work, travel and recreation. Factories, streets and leisure spaces become material for a film that also reveals its own filming and editing. Instead of a conventional plot, it builds connections between everyday activity, machinery and the possibilities of the camera.

Cast

Mikhail Kaufman

DirectorsDziga Vertov

Historical context

Vertov proposed a cinema built from observation and editing rather than a scripted drama with professional actors. The film also makes the camera operator and editor visible within that experiment.

Behind the scenes

Mikhail Kaufman filmed the material and Yelizaveta Svilova edited it. Images gathered in several Soviet cities are brought together through split screens, changes of speed, superimpositions and other techniques.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Mikhail Kaufman — Eleazar Langman; http://www.photographer.ru/events/afisha/4941.htm#9 http://moviecitynews.com/2011/09/wilmington-on-dvds-the-rest-captain-america-the-first-avenger-dziga-and-his-brothers-the-killer-is-loose-the-song-of-songs-this-is-the-night/ · Public domain

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