" Berlin: Symphony of a Great City " Walter Ruttman City Symphony Genre Film Part 2 12754 (1927)

Synopsis

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Grosstadt) is a short 1927 silent film directed by Walter Ruttmann and gives viewers a look at an average day of Germany’s capital city during the interwar years. The second half of the film (Reel 2) opens with footage of people going in and out of the train station. A man sells flowers on a street (00:37). People walk down a busy street, and horse-drawn wagons haul goods. A man puts a feeder on his horse (01:23); viewers see horses and wagons lined up on a city street. There are shots of various elevators in buildings (02:01), people opening writing desks, readying typewriters, answering phones and operating switchboards. A crane excavator moves earth at a construction site (03:42). Footage shows city streets with pedestrians, cars, and double-decker buses. A man (possibly a political activist) speaks on a street corner, surrounded by more than a dozen men (04:23). Viewers see men making tonics, a magician performing on a street, and two men get into an argument and shoving match (05:23)—a policeman arrives to sort it out and calm the parties down. A woman walks down a street (06:47). A taxi cab pulls up to a sidewalk, and an older man and a bride—presumably his daughter—climb out of the car (07:44). A policeman directs traffic. An elderly woman walks up the steps to a church (08:34). A man tends to a horse lying on the ground (08:45). Someone of significance leaves what appears to be a government building (09:05),…

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

24 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage