The City Symphony Phenomenon: Cinema, Art, and Urban Modernity Between the Wars (AFI Film Readers)

"The 1920s and 1930s saw the rise of the city symphony, an experimental film form that presented the city as protagonist instead of mere decor. Combining experimental, documentary, and narrative practices, these films were marked by a high level of abstraction reminiscent of high-modernist experiments in painting and photography. Moreover, interwar city symphonies presented a highly fragmented, oftentimes kaleidoscopic sense of modern life, and they organized their urban-industrial images through rhythmic and associative montage that evoke musical structures. In this comprehensive volume, contributors consider the full 80 film corpus, from 'Manhatta' and 'Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Grosstadt' to lesser-known cinematic explorations"-- Provided by publisher Introduction: the city symphony phenomenon 1920-40 -- László moholy-nagy and the city (symphony) -- Productive city: Ruttmann's Düsseldorf: Kleiner film einer großen stadt -- Minor Paris city symphonies -- Kaufman and Kopalin's Moscow -- A Parisian in Manhattan: Florey's skyscraper symphony -- D'Errico's Stramilano -- Belgian variations on the city symphony theme -- Koelinga's De Steeg: Palimpsest and parallax historiography -- Schuitema's de Maasbruggen: city and film as a process -- Von Barsy and Von Maydell's de stad die nooit rust: a port city symphony -- Hauser's Weltstadt in Flegelijahren: an Americanist city symphony -- One-way street: Conrad's Halsted street -- Leyda's a Bronx morning -- Kemeny and Lustig's São Paula: Sinfonia da Metrópole -- Sparling's Canadian city symphonies -- Steiner and Van Dyke's the city -- Survey of city symphonies 1920-40 -- About the contributors and editors -- About the American film institute -- Index. The 1920s and 1930s saw the rise of the city symphony, an experimental film form that presented the city as protagonist instead of mere decor. In this comprehensive volume, contributors consider the full 70 film corpus, from Manhatta and Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Grosstadt to lesser-known cinematic explorations.