A Classic Is Given Its Sonic Due

I have to imagine that Russian filmmaker Dziga Vertov would smirk if he saw his 1929 masterpiece, Man With A Movie Camera, played with a live musical score. It feels appropriate, somehow. After all, Vertov added every other imaginable trick into the silent work. It even opens with a scene...

By Jamie Laughlin

September 13, 2012

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I have to imagine that Russian filmmaker Dziga Vertov would smirk if he saw his 1929 masterpiece, Man With A Movie Camera, played with a live musical score. It feels appropriate, somehow. After all, Vertov added every other imaginable trick into the silent work. It even opens with a scene that feels ripped from a Dalí painting, wherein a miniature director stands on top of a movie camera that appears to be several stories tall. See, Vertov was tricky. Sneaky. Wildly talented. He used freeze frames, split screens, stop motion, fast motion and any other tool available in that era to make this plotless visual spectacle a fascinating piece of art. It worked. Man With A Movie Camera is still required watching for any cinema fan, which might be why Austin band Montopolis decided to score a soundtrack for it. The orchestral performance suits the film’s tone perfectly as synthesizers, violins and obscure percussion tools are milked to eke out every last sonic drip of imaginable accompaniment. You only get one chance to catch it Dallas, so pay Texas Theatre (231 W. Jefferson Blvd.) $12 at the door, or $10 in advance at thetexastheatre.com, Friday starting at 8 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 14, 2012

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