Beginners Guide To Cinema Volume 1 Directors Suite Dvd

Showcasing six of the most important and influential cinema movements of the 20th Century, from Russian constructivism, American slapstick and German Expressionism, to the Japanese Jidai-geki, or period film, Italian neo-realism and the French new wave, this box set will explain everything you wanted to know about cinema, but were afraid to ask.

Includes: Metropolis, Steamboat Bill Jr., Man with a Movie Camera, Umberto D., Seven Samurai, Vivre Sa Vie.

Metropolis (Germany, 1927)

Metropolis is an expressionist science-fiction film directed by Fritz Lang. The film was written by Lang and his wife Thea Von Harbou, and starred Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel and Rudolf Klein-Rogge.

Steamboat Bill Jr. (USA, 1928)

This feature-length comedy silent film features Buster Keaton and is the last product of Keaton's independent production team and set of gag writers. Over the years the film has become regarded as a masterpiece of its era.

Man with a Movie Camera (Soviet Union 1929)

This film is an experimental silent documentary, with no story and no actors, by Russian director Dziga Vertov, edited by his wife Elizaveta Svilova. From dawn to dusk Soviet citizens are shown at work and at play, and interacting with the machinery of modern life.

Umberto D. (Italy, 1952)

Ingmar Bergman once cited Umberto D. as his favorite film. It is an Italian neorealist film directed by Vittorio De Sica. Most of the actors were non-professional, including Carlo Battisti, who plays the title role of Umberto Domenico Ferrari, a poor old man in Rome desperately trying to keep his room.

Seven Samurai (Japan, 1954)

Seven Samurai is a Japanese adventure drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa and is one of a select few Japanese films to become widely known in the West for an extended period of time. It is among the first films to use the now-common plot element of the recruiting and gathering of heroes into a team to accomplish a specific goal.

Vivre Sa Vie (France, 1962)

This film reveals twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution and is directed by Jean-Luc Godard.The cinematographer was Raoul Coutard, a frequent collaborator of Godard.