SMALL FILM FOR A BIG CITY

Year Published: 1935

Description:

This 1935 film directed by Walther Ruttmann looks at different facets of the city of Düsseldorf and seeks to rebrand the city as a city of cultural and urban reawakening, rather than an industrial city (for which it was much more known). The film begins with the celebration of the St. Sebastanius Schützenverein’s 500th anniversary and goes through symbolic points in the city including the Kaiserswerth ruins, the Rhine, Hofgarten Park, and the city steelworks. It also focuses on places that were distinct achievements of the fascist regime, such as the newly rebuilt central railway station and large grain silos. The film is eerily aesthetic and avoids any direct references to politics or the fascist German government. It was commissioned by the Propaganda Office of the city of Düsseldorf, which was then planning a large exhibition called Schaffendes Volk or Exhibition of Productive People. Filmmaker Walter Ruttmann (1887 – 1941) pioneered the city symphony form with his "Berlin: Symphony of a City" of 1927 (also viewable on our channel).

0:10 “Small Film of a Big City: Düsseldorf on the Rhine”, 0:26 people in costumes and on floats celebrating the 500th anniversary of the St. Sebastanius Schützenverein, 1:41 busts of famous people from Düsseldorf including Immermann, Schumann, Cornelius, Grabbe followed by their graves in a graveyard, 2:53 a field full of flowers, 3:05 guests inside a train enjoying the countryside passing by, 3:53 ships on the Rhine river, 4:26 grain ships being unloaded in Düsseldorf, 5:05 women swimming in the river, 5:30 people rowing and sailing on the river, 6:14 Kaiserswerth ruins and castle, 7:05 different houses in the center, 7:41 grain silos, 8:00 close ups of building facades, 8:21 trams on the Hammer Railway Bridge, 8:36 Düsseldorf Central Railway Station, 9:16 skyline of Düsseldorf, 9:30 Hofgarten Park, 10:06 people walking near ship windows, 10:31 people in cafés, 11:03 people enjoying themselves at the Schützenverein celebration, 12:06 people on a merry go round and shooting at targets at a fair, 12:35 sculptures at the Hofgarten, 13:45 sculptures being sculpted, 14:11 a painter painting an industrial scene, 14:24 barbed wire, nails, and other metal products being produced at the steel factory, 15:29 laborers feeding a furnace and pouring out steel, 16:01 signs for different companies in Düsseldorf including Rheinmetall, Kläckner-Werke, Rheinische Bahn-Gesellschaft, and Deutsche Röhrenwerke 16:22 neon signs of different bars in Düsseldorf, 16:41 a man riding a horse while children with lanterns follow him during a St. Martin’s Day Parade, 17:24 close ups of children singing during the parade, 18:10 The End