Berlin, Symphony of a Metropolis

The above, I feel, is a much more appropriate translation of the original German title Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großtadt. This is because the film seems no to be about celebrating a ‘great city’, but rather, it portrays the mechanics of a working metropolis; a day in the life of an organic entity. The film is an exploration of a new age of industry, business and society via a relatively new form of representation that the cinematic moving image.

This idea of new goals and new horizons is evident from the very first in Berlin, where, after the initial opening shot of water the viewer’s eyes are met with a non-descript pattern of static white and black horizontal lines. Imposed behind this is a light circular object, rising up over and over, as if presenting the rising of the sun through blinds day after day. This abstract, mechanical symbol of a certain, natural event anticipates the manner in which the rest of the film is to follow. The film shows juxtaposed images of like terms in sequence, as seen in Act I with the progression of shots of men’s feet in movement, to the feet of cattle being herded, to the feet of soldiers marching, all on the same street, and all within approximately 5 seconds.

Even considering these elements of the film alone, it seems obvious that Ruttmann was very much influenced in his direction by the ideas of organic montage developed by the Soviet school of thought. Unmistakable marks of this style of film-making include dialectical material opposition, such as can be seen in the converging of horse-drawn carriages and automobiles onto a shared space, the use of clocks, highlighting the temporality of the movement-image, and the focus upon horizontality.

The previously mentioned horizontal lines are somewhat of a motif in the film, tying the city together through the representation of a flat space – an equal, social space. The links flow through train tracks, arrows, power lines, grates, buildings, windows, blinds, etc.

Another motif of Soviet organic montage is the absence of camera movement, which is evident in Berlin. Through this form of shot, utilizing to their greatest the simplicity and sophistication of basic camera angles, the city of Berlin is allowed to speak for itself. On a final related note, in watching the film, also, I found great similarity between the film and the photographic works of Edward Steichen. Steichen, however, dates the photographs in question to the early 30s, meaning that there is little doubt he took great influence from Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großtadt, or films of a similar strain. So, here, for your viewing pleasure, is Steichen’s George Washington Bridge (1931), and The Maypole (1932):