City Symphonies: 1939-1993

While most popular in the silent era, City Symphonies still exist today. These six films show how new filmmaking abilities, such as color (Abstract in Concrete) and sound (The City) demonstrate new ways to capture the qualities and possibilities of a city, while the films of Peter Hutton throw back to the earliest days of such films.

Abstract in Concrete

(John Arvonio, US 1952, 10 min., 16mm)

Lodz Symphony

(Peter B. Hutton, US 1993, 20 min., 16mm)

The City

(Ralph Steiner, Willard Van Dyke, US 1939, 43 min., 35mm)

New York Portrait, Chapter I

(Peter B. Hutton, US 1979, 16 min., 16mm)

New York Portrait, Chapter II

(Peter B. Hutton, US 1981, 16 min., 16mm)

New York Portrait, Chapter III

(Peter B. Hutton, US 1990, 15 min., 16mm)