Tag Archives: documentary

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927)

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aka Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Grosstadt / Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis

2007 #108
Walther Ruttmann | 65 mins | download

Berlin: Symphony of a Great CityGerman silent movie depicting a day in the ‘life’ of Berlin, part of the ‘city symphony’ genre that was popular around the 1920s. This makes it one of those films that is in some way Important, but sadly it’s still a bit, well, boring.

Essentially it’s a documentary showing many facets of city life and industry, though with no kind of narration and often edited in an artistic fashion (fast cutting and crazy angles to represent the chaos of a busy junction, for example). It has its moments (the opening train journey being the highlight for me), and I’m sure some would find the footage of ’20s life fascinating, but it’s the sort of thing that’s just too dull for my tastes.

For something similar which I enjoyed a bit more, try the Russian Man With a Movie Camera.

2 out of 5

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

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2007 #86
Davis Guggenheim | 93 mins | DVD | U / PG

An Inconvenient TruthFamous/infamous documentary centred on Al Gore’s presentation about global warming.

Many were surprised by the numerous high-scoring reviews this film received, considering it’s a bloke talking in front of some pictures for an hour and a half. Watching it, though, it’s easy to see why. For one thing there’s more to it than that — the show (made on Apple’s Keynote, not PowerPoint as many reviews incorrectly state) is full of clear diagrams and video footage.

Gore is a captivating speaker, explaining the issues in understandable terms without being patronising, and with humour when appropriate. The little interruptions following Gore on his ‘campaign trail’ are a mixture of illuminating and pointless, but ultimately don’t detract from the point.

4 out of 5

Ringers: Lord of the Fans (2005)

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2007 #64
Carlene Cordova | 98 mins | DVD | 12 / PG-13

Ringers: Lord of the FansMade by the people behind the large Lord of the Rings fansite TheOneRing.net, you’d expect this documentary to focus itself on Lord of the Rings fandom. To a degree it does, but it also encompasses a history of the books and their popularity, as well as various thematic issues contained within them, and also takes in the various adaptations (though, criminally, doesn’t even mention the BBC radio version).

It’s a bit unfocussed, sometimes coming across as a selection of featurettes strung together with occasionally random linking interviews. There’s stuff of interest in here, but certainly not to everyone — only fans need apply.

3 out of 5

March of the Penguins (2005)

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aka La marche de l’empereur

2007 #49
Luc Jacquet | 77 mins | DVD | U / G

March of the PenguinsOne of the most surprising hits at the box office in 2005, as you’re probably aware this is a documentary about penguins. Specifically, it’s about their mating cycle — there’s little information outside of that. It does manage to touch on the sex, death and violence inherent in most nature things though, albeit in a family-friendly U-rated kind of way.

In fact, it’s a film very much about the story of the mating cycle, rather than about information-giving. Along with beautiful shots of Antarctica and cute shots of baby penguins, I suspect this is why it was more of a hit than a straight-up informative documentary would have been.

4 out of 5