What a jump from yesterday's films. Today we had action and adventure. I totally agree and now deeply appreciate the introduction of the montage technique in this film. It is very apparent that Sergei Eisenstein was quite revolutionary with the way he made his films. In comparison to the films yesterday it clearly showed. The management of his characters was perfect. everyone helped to create the scene while yesterday we had our main characters and then it was just like some extras were thrown in there to fill the background.
As we watched further into the film i realized this is the famous scene of Odessa Staircase Sequence. Last year, my senior, I was in a film studies class and we studied this scene. Its impressive in the fact that it shows, on the verge of a revolution, the laborers trying to work their way up, up the stairs yet the military opressing them from the top.
Also I could be totally wrong but i believe my teacher said last year this was the first time that a camera was placed on a track to film a scene. Like i said i could be totally wrong and please tell me if I am.
Nonetheless I can see and totally agree that this movie wasa quite inovative for its time and really paved the way movies as we know it.
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That's really interesting and cool that you have had previous experiences with this movie, and also a very informative tidbit of information as far as the camera on a track. You're also correct in saying that the characters all did work together very well, much more so than in Bauer's films.
ReplyDeleteThere had been dolly shots before (for example, think of the way in which the camera moves backward as Gizelle starts to dream in The Dying Swan), but as for a camera pulled in a downwards direction along a track, I believe that is indeed correct that Eisenstein was the first to make use of this technique. In any case, aside from the question of whether he was technically first or not to do this--he was certainly the first to make use of it in such an effective and suspenseful fashion.
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