IV.6. The
Relevance of the Vertov Legacy to the Digital Revolution:
The
Vertov legacy in documentary has been extensive, and is still growing
today.
For
example, Vertov was the direct progenitor of the cinema verite movement in the 1960s that used new light-weight
cameras and equipment to show the world in ways it had never been shown before,
and the name cinema verite itself is
a direct translation of Kino Pravda. The
influential French New Wave director Jean-Luc
Godard was also a great admirer of Vertov for his ability to fuse political
statement with artistic creativity, and started La Groupe Dziga Vertov in 1968 with several collegaues to make
political films following the example set by Vertov with Kino Pravda almost half a century earlier.[1]
His
appeal is not limited to the French nouvelle
vague and practitioners of cinema
verite. Anyone seriously interested in the potential of cinema and
cinematic language found useful ideas and observations in Vertov’s works and
writings.
His
Futurist faith in technology also resonates today.
In addition to dynamic change, the Futurists
adored modern technology, and Vertov worshipped the film camera and explored
its potential in ways few have ever done. He took his Lumiere camera on trains,
boats, cars and trains, and even underneath trains. He showed intimate moments
of daily life in public places with hidden cameras, experimented with
pixilation and reverse motion, and frequently had reflexive shots of his camera
operator in action.
His
documentary feature, “The Man With The
Movie Camera” is still admired as a creative masterpiece, and, most
recently, was voted 8th best film of all time in the 2012 Sight
and Sound poll.[2]
This
poll included all film genres – fiction, as well as documentary. In the 21st
century, with an increased interest in documentary due to the rapid proliferation
of digital technology, cinema historians are once again rediscovering the works and writings of Vertov; after the collapse
of the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s
many of his films have become available to see on YouTube and elsewhere
in the Western world, and English translations of his writings are also now
available to the general public.
Now , fortunately, people can judge his
relevance for themselves, rather than relying on the interpretations of experts
like Ivor Montagu and John Grierson.
