Vertov's most famous film is a breathless statement of excitement
about documentary film-making. The photography itself, effects,
editing and people's reactions to being filmed become part of a whole
that is sometimes dizzying in its motion and inventiveness. Vertov cut
his teeth editing a film magazine (Kino Pravda - Film Truth) that
advanced Soviet film-making along Leninist-Constructivist lines;
he even changed his name to reflect the sound of a camera crank (Dziga)
plus the verb to turn (Vertov). This film makes some political points
(the "splitting" of the pre-revolutionary and therefore
"bourgeois" Bolshoi Theatre), but lightness of touch
means that the film is still watchable as fascinating documentary
rather than heavy-handed propaganda.
