Welcome to Dziga Vertov’s 1931 masterpiece (and headache), Enthusiasm: Symphony of the Donbas .
So he went to the Donbas coal and steel region. He didn't record orchestras. He recorded drills, hammers, locomotives, and the chaotic prayers of drunken priests. He then took those sounds—the screech of metal, the hiss of steam, the rumble of conveyor belts—and edited them like musical notes.
The result is a 67-minute fever dream of Socialist Realism on acid. Here is the irony that makes this film fascinating today: The Soviet authorities hated it. enthusiasm movie
If you search for “enthusiasm movie” today, you might expect a forgotten 80s comedy or a feel-good indie. Instead, you find one of the most radical, abrasive, and brilliant films ever made. This is not a movie about enthusiasm. It is a movie that is enthusiasm—the violent, industrial, revolutionary kind. By 1931, Vertov was already famous for Man with a Movie Camera (1929), a silent film so energetic it seemed to vibrate off the screen. But Enthusiasm was his first talkie. And he hated how other talkies worked.
It took a telegram from a fan—the great filmmaker Charlie Chaplin—to save it. Chaplin called it "the greatest sound film ever made." Welcome to Dziga Vertov’s 1931 masterpiece (and headache),
Early sound films were static. People stood next to potted plants and spoke. Vertov saw sound not as a tool for dialogue, but as a raw material. He believed the microphone could capture the "unheard music of the factory."
It is the sound of the 20th century learning to scream. And honestly? It’s still screaming. Have you seen Man with a Movie Camera or Enthusiasm ? Drop your thoughts in the comments—just please, keep the enthusiasm to a dull roar. He recorded drills, hammers, locomotives, and the chaotic
But if you have ever found yourself staring at a construction site, hypnotized by the repetitive fall of a pile driver... if you have ever turned up the volume on a washing machine because the spin cycle had a good beat... if you suspect that true passion is often ugly and loud rather than pretty and quiet—then you owe it to yourself to watch Dziga Vertov’s Enthusiasm .