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Berlin: Symphony of a Great City
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8.4
/10
1,812 Ratings

BERLIN: SYMPHONY OF A GREAT CITY

Berlin, die Sinfonie der Großstadt

Directed by Walter Ruttmann
Germany, 1927
Documentary, Silent
  • 6262 minutes

Synopsis

An emblematic ‘city symphony’ film structured to follow the life of Berlin and its inhabitants across the course of a single day, from dawn to dusk, to create “a symphonic film with the thousandfold energies that make up the life of a great city.”

Synopsis

An emblematic ‘city symphony’ film structured to follow the life of Berlin and its inhabitants across the course of a single day, from dawn to dusk, to create “a symphonic film with the thousandfold energies that make up the life of a great city.”

Our take

With a storytelling style influenced by Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov, Walter Ruttman’s ruminative film (a.k.a. “Symphony of a Metropolis”) provides a unique view of Berlin, capturing an erstwhile era and a specifically meaningful moment in time, just before the beginning of World War II.