Man With a Movie Camera

In 1929, Russian filmmaker Dziga Vertov made the groundbreaking Man With a Movie Camera documentary—a visual essay on life between the two world wars. Touching on poverty, sport and employment in Russia in the 1920s, Man With a Movie Camera was a masterpiece of silent filmmaking.

There have been numerous soundtracks over the years that have attempted to provide Vertov’s stunning images with the musical accompaniment they deserve, Michael Nyman minimalist take or Biosphere’s electronica reading to name two. The Cinematic Orchestra have been using footage from the film for their live visuals and wrote a piece of the same name for their last album Every Day. They debuted their full soundtrack on the opening night of the Barbican’s Only Connect season, augmenting their line up with a string section.

The Cinematic Orchestra, as their name would suggest, can work detail and development into their compositions that reflect the mood of the film. The addition of a string section compliments the bands music, moving away from the jazz funk of their live sets towards something more powerful. Often fusion between the music and images work so well, you forget that the film remained without this soundtrack for 70-odd years.