Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Grosstadt) is a short 1927 silent film directed by Walter Ruttmann and gives viewers a look at an average day of Germany’s capital city during the interwar years. The second half of the film (Reel 2) opens with footage of people going in and out of the train station. A man sells flowers on a street (00:37). People walk down a busy street, and horse-drawn wagons haul goods. A man puts a feeder on his horse (01:23); viewers see horses and wagons lined up on a city street. There are shots of various elevators in buildings (02:01), people opening writing desks, readying typewriters, answering phones and operating switchboards. A crane excavator moves earth at a construction site (03:42). Footage shows city streets with pedestrians, cars, and double-decker buses. A man (possibly a political activist) speaks on a street corner, surrounded by more than a dozen men (04:23). Viewers see men making tonics, a magician performing on a street, and two men get into an argument and shoving match (05:23)—a policeman arrives to sort it out and calm the parties down. A woman walks down a street (06:47). A taxi cab pulls up to a sidewalk, and an older man and a bride—presumably his daughter—climb out of the car (07:44). Storefronts advertise goods for sale. A policeman directs traffic. An elderly woman walks up the steps to a church (08:34). A man tends to a horse lying on the ground (08:45). Someone of significance leaves what appears to be a government building (09:05), as policemen or soldiers stand at attention. Viewers see a military parade. A man speaks to a group of people on the street (09:32). A horse pulls an ornate funeral wagon with a coffin (10:07). There is a good shot of a square where people are wearing costumes of some sort with signs hanging from their shoulders. Trains drive on tracks through the city passing buildings adorned with what appears to be advertising posters. There is a montage of shots of train platforms for various destinations (11:17), people hauling luggage, and a man punching train tickets. The film shows an airfield in Berlin (12:17), a “Luft Hansa” passenger plane, and footage of planes flying through the sky (as well as an aerial view of the city). People walk into a high-end hotel (12:28). There are more shots of streets with cars, horses, pedestrians, people on bike carts, trolley cars, and buses. A policeman stops traffic (14:25). A person in somewhat tattered clothes picks up a discarded cigarette butt. A policeman escorts a young boy across a street. Pedestrians cross a busy street dodging cars, horses, and bikes (15:45). Trains pass over bridges. The film shows newspapers, street sings, and a clock (16:56). Men stop working on train tracks; other men stop working on a construction job and have lunch. Horses eat from their food bags (17:39), and a baby elephant eats items off the ground. People dine at an upscale restaurant (18:00). A caged lion eats its meal at what appears to be a zoo (18:29). Viewers also see a camel with its baby. Inside a kitchen, a chef directs line cooks (19:10). People eat at food carts on a street. Women wash dishes by hand; viewers see dishes moving through an automatic dish washer (20:15). People rest on a street bench. The film returns to the zoo and viewers see bears. There is a shot of a canal with a bridge at what appears to be a park (21:10). Men push barges along the canal using large poles. The film shows three young kids playing at a park (22:55). A young girl pulls on the tail of what appears to be a baby lion in an enclosure with several other baby lions. A little girl pushes her baby carriage and doll into a building (23:23). The film shows several more shots of kids with their doll carriages, concluding the film.

Walter Ruttmann (28 December 1887 – 15 July 1941) was a German film director and along with Hans Richter, Viking Eggeling and Oskar Fischinger was an early German practitioner of experimental film. He also worked with sound alone (Wochenende, 1930).

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