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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Skyscraper Symphony remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
I think most people would find this incredibly boring, but I actually liked it. It is only nine minutes long, so even if you hate it, you haven't really lost much of your life. If you like old photography or just staring at big buildings, you'll dig this.
If you need a story or people talking, avoid it. There is literally nobody in this movie until the very end, and even then, they are just tiny dots on the street.
Robert Florey, the guy who made this, clearly just wanted to play with his camera in Manhattan. The whole thing starts with these very still, very quiet shots of the tops of buildings. It feels like the city is sleeping or maybe it's just dead.
I noticed that the film quality is pretty grainy, which actually makes the stone look more like mountain peaks than offices. It is 1929, so these were the biggest things in the world at the time. You can almost feel the movie trying to make you feel small.
After a few minutes of these still shots, the camera starts to move. It gets weirdly fast. Florey starts tilting the camera and panning up and down the sides of the buildings like he's looking for an exit.
One shot lingers on a corner of a building so long it starts to look like a geometric shape rather than a place where people work. I wonder if the people inside knew someone was filming them from the street. Probably not.
It is way different from something like The Strong Man which is all about the person on screen. Here, the person doesn't matter at all. The steel is the main character.
There is a sequence in the middle where the camera just spins or tilts until the buildings look like they are falling over. It made me feel a little bit nauseous if I'm being honest. It’s that high-speed editing they loved back then.
I kept thinking about The Doll while watching this, mostly because of how artificial everything looks. Even though these are real buildings in NYC, the way Florey shoots them makes them look like a toy set or a dream.
I noticed a small detail where some smoke is coming out of a chimney on the left side of the screen. It's the only thing moving in a shot that lasts way too long. I found myself staring at the smoke more than the building.
It’s funny how a movie with no words can feel so loud. You can almost hear the wind whistling between the skyscrapers even though the film is silent.
I watched this right after A Virgin Paradise and the contrast is just funny. One is trying to be this big adventure and this one is just... looking at rocks stacked on top of each other.
By the time the movie starts showing the streets and the cars, it feels a bit disappointing. I liked it better when it was just the tops of the buildings touching the clouds. The real world is less interesting than the abstract one.
One shot of a gothic-looking spire is repeated or at least looks very similar to an earlier one. I can't tell if it's the same building or if 1929 architecture was just very repetitive. I guess it doesn't matter.
The ending is very abrupt. It just stops. No credits, no "The End" in big letters, just a cut to black. It felt like the camera ran out of film or Florey got tired of looking up.
I think this is worth a watch if you want to see what NYC looked like before the Great Depression really hit. It feels optimistic in a strange, cold way. Just don't expect a masterpiece.
It's better than Mister Antonio if you're just looking for something visual. At least this doesn't try to force a bad joke on you.
Anyway, it's nine minutes. Just watch it on your phone while you're waiting for the bus. 🏙️
IMDb 5.3
1927
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