Dziga Vertov

Dziga Vertov was an early master of experimental and documentary film making active from 1917 through to his death in 1954. Born in Ukraine in 1896 he rose to promise ( and fell from grace) in post-post-revolution Russiathe Stalin era of the Soviet Union. He pioneered many of cinemas most familiar effects and tropes and is an eternal influence on the art of film. 

Approach to Cinema

There is no doubting Vertov’s incredible importance to contemporary cinema and in particular non-fiction movie making. Movie Camera ( as i will call it ) is what Vertov calls “unplayed film” and “life caught unaware”. Its an important distinction from documentary film making as his approach is not to simply present events but to use events as the raw material to expose the meaning behind them. He also used his source material to explore cinema itself. To look at Movie Camera as simply a document of early Soviet society is virtually impossible, it contains the politics of the day - both hopeful and foreboding but goes much further and is literally art for arts sake. Vertov saw the techniques of modern cinema and ‘life caught unaware’ as both working towards a common goal - the presentation of a glorious new future; one where all were equal, where the State cared for its citizens and its citizens happily gave all for the State. 

Early Inspiration - Futurism and Sound

Vertov came from a Futurist background, he was born Denis Kaufman and in what he describes as a gesture to Futurism chose a new name for himself because the words both sounded like film running through a movie projector and they both translated to spinning or spinning toy in local dialects. He was a man focused on new technology and the beauty of the modern. His first real experiments in art were based on field recordings of the city and its people. There is an obvious connection here to Futurism and in particular Luigi Russolo, but where as Russolo cried out for revolution in Italy Vertov found himself entrenched in the already happening Russian Revolution and this political landscape became the background for all his future work.

I think its important to keep in mind Vertov’s early work; he didn’t really see any difference between sound and vision, they were both experiences to be enjoyed, captured and explored. He has described Movie Camera in terms of visual music and wrote extensive notes on how he thought the movie’s soundtrack should proceed. I have spent a fair amount of time with these notes, which are not readily available in English. The translations are insightful and speak in terms of poetry - a scene from the movie has his preferred sound track described visually, its like a double layer of imagery. Whats really clear from looking at the notes and also his early sound pieces is his focus and preference for the ‘found and real’ as source material. I can easily imagine Vertov with his hands on modern audio equipment (he consistently complained how he could never realize his sound pieces due to lack of technology, and this was one of the reasons he gravitated towards film) and how he would be grabbing field recordings and manipulating them in an attempt to reveal something more - again its the difference between documentation and ‘life caught unaware”.

The Political Climate

Vertov tried desperately to work for the good of the new regime but continually fell out of favour as the transition from Leninism ( and the idea of permanent revolution ) to Stalinism ( focusing on Socialism in one country) cemented. He was unwilling to debate his interpretation of current politics with anyone and would proceed with his visions regardless of advice and substantial pressure from authorities. He was supremely confident that all his work reflected the line of the party and was in constant dismay at how his work was often received. Movie Camera is an outstanding example of this dilemma. The film took 5 years to make, during which he was fired/re-assigned and re-hired in virtually every Soviet cinema department. 

The basic thread of Soviet policy during this time was the industrialization of the countryside, which really meant the collective take over of agricultural life and forced urbanization. The state was quickly taking over all parts of the citizens life and in exchange for submission to the greater good the people were given not only a sense of purpose beyond individual need but a structure that provided the perfect environment to enjoy life to its fullest. It was pre-totalitarianism presented as idealism. 

All these themes are easily recognizable in Movie Camera. Vertov is a Believer and champions the factory worker, the miner, the city as well as celebrating the rewards of this new society - ample and secure rest and healthy leisure. There are many digs at Communism’s enemies, namely fascism and religion as well as the evils of alcohol and vice. He saw his avant-garde approach to film- making as an essential part of broadcasting the message where the camera could see what the human eye could not, and provide a layer of understanding and politics that reinforced the ideals of Soviet society.

To his dismay after the film’s Russian premiere it was quickly shelved as it failed to follow the state decree of “ artistic cinema that is understandable to the masses”. The party line in 1929 was that film makers should have moved beyond experimentation towards mature political observation. The cool response of the authorities can also be blamed on Vertov himself who for years had been highly critical of all his contemporaries, exceeded every budget and deadline he was ever commissioned and who refused to work with any other cinema and broadcast teams other than his crew of three - himself, his brother and his wife. Vertov further alienated the state a few year later when he produced “ 3 songs of Lenin”. This work failed to even mention Stalin, and whilst Vertov had managed a career of  upsetting his contemporaries he couldn’t anger the Soviet leader without consequence. Opportunities after this point (1933) were few and far between and his name was all but disappeared in the Soviet Union until the 1960s. 

The only real fortune Vertov had after the release of Movie Camera was that various members of the party realised that although his film was unsuitable for the masses it was a perfect vision to export to the rest of the world to showcase how successful Soviet society was (or appeared to be), and also to display the depth and imagination of Russian Cinema. The film showed across Europe and the United States where it received high praise for its originality and groundbreaking techniques. The irony of the Soviet rejection of Vertov as a patriot but retaining his employment as a useful propaganda tool, and the West’s embrace of him as a revolutionary cinematic artist made Vertov an extremely bitter man. He enjoyed international respect and spent more time abroad, he was occasionally employed by the Soviet making films that were only for International release but he never again invested as much personal ambition and time into cinema as he had done in the previous decades.