Today was another fine day of boredom. I won’t give you the details, but instead will get right to the juicy stuff.

——Man With A Movie Camera——

I finally got my Man with a Movie Camera DVD in the mail today. I think I ordered it June 2nd or some bullshit like that. It was, however, worth the wait.

The 1929 Soviet silent film was recently given a new soundtrack by the Cinematic Orchestra, a pretty recent band that incorporates live jazz music with DJ beats. Think DJ Shadow, only with jazz instead of hip-hop. It’s amazingly good, and their music has been hailed by all of the critics as the next big thing. I recommend that anyone who even kind of likes jazz pick up their latest album, Everyday. It’s so good.

Anyway, Man with a Movie Camera is probably one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever made, and Vertov was way ahead of his time in making it. For those of you who don’t know the film, it is pretty much about everything, meaning that it is about life, death, everything in between, and about the act of making and viewing a film. Documentary-type footage of Soviets going about their daily lives, waking up, going to work, playing sports, etc, is intercut with footage of Vertov filming all of these other things, and the audience can actually see him making the film while they watch the film. The film is set up with bookends of an audience coming to see a film, but little do they know that actually they ARE the film. It is an amazing silent film, and all of you should go see it.

But if you do see it, you should really check out the Cinematic Orchestra version, because, simply put, it makes an excellent film even better. The soundtrack is not only beautiful in its own right, but it fits the film so perfectly that you’re surprised it isn’t actually the original score. The careful arrangements and the jazz beats only help to enhance and draw out Vertov’s excellent editing and help tie together the several themes that make up the work. It’s awesome. Pump the music up loud and just relax, and you’ll witness the greatest 66 minute long music video ever made. Vertov and the Cinematic Orchestra were made for each other.

I give this version of the movie my highest recommendation, and give it a grade of A+. You’ve got to check this out.

(Also, the DVD packaging is also probably the nicest I’ve ever seen. Beautiful design, sturdy high-quality packaging. It makes an already sweet DVD even sweeter. As I said, a must own DVD, very much worth the wait.)