Under the guidance of Vertov's own recently unearthed notes, the astonishing "junk metal musicians" of the Alloy Orchestra have devised sounds from their synthesizers, bottles, and handmade drums and instruments that release the film's soaring Machine Age gallantry and humor. The main motif has a spacious imminence reminiscent of Jerome Moross' opening theme to William Wyler's The Big Country -- you sense momentous things are about to happen. But the rippling clangs and sly interpolations of jazz and wedding music give their work a cosmopolitan cheekiness. Seeing The Man With the Movie Camera at the Castro with the Alloy Orchestra is a genuine eureka experience.
-- Michael Sragow
The Man With the Movie Camera screens Friday, Feb. 7, at 9:30 p.m. at the Castro, Castro & Market. The Alloy Orchestra also accompanies Paul Fejos' Lonesome at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 per film, $25 for both. The S.F. Film Society is presenting the show; there are discounts for members. Call 621-6120 or 931-3456.
