City symphony films

Berlin. Symphony of a Great City (1927)

• directed by Walter Ruttmann, and co-written by Carl Mayer and Karl Freund. musical score to accompany the film was written by Edmund Meisel. [1]

Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

• by Dziga Vertov [2]

Aimless Walk (1930)

• by Alexander Hammid. first true Czech avant-garde film turns away from a purely celebratory approach to the city. The camera follows a detached protagonist on his wanderings, as his highly subjective journey becomes a fragmented visualization of urban landscapes. (35mm, silent, 20 mins.) [3] [4]

Nothing But Time (1926)

• by Alberto Cavalcanti. life of Paris through one day in 45 minutes [5]

Manhatta (1921)

• collaboration between painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand. The interspersed title cards include excerpts from Walt Whitman [6]

Regen (1929)

• by Joris Ivens [7]

Geschichte der Nacht (1979)

by Clemens Klopfenstein (b. 1944), a black-and-white record of European cities in the dark (2-5am), from Basle to Belfast.[8]