THE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR (Dziga-Vertov, USSR, 1921, 4)
Ken Burns shooda made this in my opinion. Though there’s obviously historical value in the footage, it’s only even really a movie in the most formal of senses. It’s more like a slide show or a power-point presentation in which the slides happen to be moving. It’s practically all explanatory/expository title card, followed by footage that wouldn’t otherwise stand on its own. Without sound, the speeches and (show) trials can’t build as drama.
In addition, the film just does a terrible job of explaining the ebb and flow of the historical events — you cannot watch THE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR without already knowing the history of the (Russian) civil war. What was the Kronstadt rebellion all about? Why were the Czechoslovaks...