Im Land der Kinoveteranen: Filmexpedition zu Dziga Vertov / In the Land of Cinema Veterans: A Film Expedition Around Dziga Vertov

Photo not from this film. V Ar 013. Agitzug "Oktjabr'skaja Revoljucija". Photo: Österreichisches Filmmuseum, Collection Dziga Vertov.

IM LAND DER KINOVETERANEN: FILMEXPEDITION ZU DZIGA VERTOV / IN THE LAND OF CINEMA VETERANS: A FILM EXPEDITION AROUND DZIGA VERTOV (Sturzbach-Film, Hamburg / NDR-Television, D 1996)
    Un film di / A film by Thomas Tode & Ale Muñoz; prod. sup. (NDR-Television): Klaus Wildenhahn: ph: Rasmus Gerlach; interviewees: Jakov Tolchan, Viktor Listov; narr. (versione inglese / English version): Stefan Canham, Matthew Partridge; consultant: Viktor Listov; 16 mm, 944 m, 86’ (25 fps), colore e bn / color & b/w, sonoro / sound; Thomas Tode, Hamburg.
    Versione inglese / English narration.
    In the presence of Thomas Tode and Rasmus Gerlach.
    Viewed at Cinema Ruffo, Sacile, Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (GCM), 10 Oct 2004.

1996 Rotterdam Film Festival catalogue: "Film about the great cineaste Dziga Vertov, the poetic-revolutionary filmmaker who, with his "Kino-Eye" theory and films such as Man with a Movie Camera (1929) and Enthusiasm (1931), made his mark on film history. Filmmakers Thomas Tode and Ale Muñoz approach Vertov from the present in their documentary portrait of this revolutionary Soviet filmmaker. They travelled by train to Moscow, not only because Vertov loved trains, but also so that they could mix his train shots with their own. And, of course, so they could tell the legendary story of the agit-prop trains, the mobile cinemas with which Bolshevik filmmakers travelled the Soviet Union in the 1920s to bring their political ideals to the people."

"In the spirit of Vertov, Tode and Muñoz look around present-day Moscow with "kino-eyes", focusing on phenomena illustrative of social change. Their travelogue is continually focused on getting to know more about Vertov, while also showing contemporary Russia. In this idiosyncratic combination, the film distinguishes itself from traditional portraits of great filmmakers and journalistic reports on the social situation of a land in crisis. For instance, the filmmakers talk to Vertov’s cameraman Jakov Tolchan and Russian Vertov researcher Viktor Listov. The film comprises many well-chosen film fragments from the oeuvre of Vertov, and there are plenty of quotes from the film manifestos Vertov wrote." — 1996 Rotterdam Film Festival catalogue

AA: A good documentary film in the spirit of Vertov with rare interviews and illuminating samples of Vertov's films. A good 16 mm film projection.