As the opening scene demonstrates, with the progressive shift from reflections on water to graphic patterns to filmed train tracks, Walter Ruttmann conceived of Berlin, Symphony of a City as a fusion of abstract visual music and carefully choreographed observation. The definitive early "city film" opened up new possibilities for montage and the nascent documentary form. This restoration is presented courtesy of the Deutsche Kinemathek, the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv (Berlin), and ZDF/ARTE. It includes a new recording of the original score by Edmund Meisel.