 Posted: Tue 7:01, 12 Apr 2011 Post subject: Jordan Flights 45 Battleship Potemkin A Revolution |
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European Epic Films of the Early 1920s Montage: Eisenstein vs. Vertov Battleship Potemkin on DVD A Lasting InfluenceBattleship Potemkin is remembered largely for its technical innovations, it is useful to note that the use of these technical elements to supply emotional gravity and to play to the sympathies of its audience was a very important factor in the film's original success as well as its enduring legacy. A master of film technique, Eisenstein's true brilliance lay in his ability to manipulate these technical elements in such a way that they would elicit profound (and remarkably clear) responses from his audience. Undoubtedly, Eisenstein's most notorious use of montage is the powerful Odessa Steps sequence in Battleship Potemkin, which utilized over 150 individual shots to show the citizens of Odessa – men air jordans 11, women and children, alike – showing support and solidarity for the Potemkin sailors, before being brutally massacred by Tsarist troops. Introduced as a scene of celebration with the civilians cheering the Potemkin, the insert title of ‘Suddenly’ changes the whole tone and pace of the film as the steps quickly become a scene of chaos (reflected, of course, in the rapid-fire editing) with the only visual order provided by the troops as they advance upon the crowd and begin shooting. A Master of Film Technique A revolutionary tale of mutiny and popular uprising, Battleship Potemkin was commissioned in 1925 by the Central Soviet Committee to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Potemkin uprising, when a group of sailors, refusing to eat maggot-infested meat, clashed with senior officers before taking control of the ship. The event itself came at the end of much wider civil unrest that had spread throughout Russia since the 1880s, and culminated in the partial Revolution of 1905. Although not a complete victory for the Marxists and democrats at its core, the 1905 Revolution was considered by Lenin to be a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the real revolution of October 1917. A partly fictionalized re-creation of the events on board the Potemkin and on shore at Odessa, Battleship Potemkin is not just a film about revolution; in filmic terms, it is a revolution in itself. Often referred to alongside Citizen Kane as one of the greatest films of all time, Battleship Potemkin is certainly one of the most influential. It’s director – Sergei Eisenstein – was at the forefront of montage theory (and practice) Jordan Flights 45, and demonstrated an early commitment to both Marxist doctrine and the ability of film, as a mass media format, to appeal to and educate millions of illiterate Russian peasants. This ability to convey emotion in clear and simple terms meant that Eisenstein would realise his desire to appeal to, and educate, the Russian peasantry. From another perspective, of course, the ease of this emotional elicitation meant that Eisenstein (and those who commissioned him to make films) had developed the ability to manipulate these very same audiences. After all jordan 11 grey, Battleship Potemkin is nothing if not a piece of artful propaganda. The Odessa Steps |
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