COM 320—History of the Moving Image

COM 320—History of the Moving Image Soviet Montage Movement 1917-1933

Defining Characteristics • “Montage. . . as a collision of elements. . . Imitated the Marxist concept of the dialectic. . . ‘intellectual cinema’ attempts not to tell a story but to convey abstract ideas, as a political tract might”

Form & Style: Editing Most Important • Narrative structure—social forces

Form & Style: Editing Most Important • Narrative structure—social forces • Large number of shots

Form & Style: Editing Most Important • Narrative structure—social forces • Large number of shots • “Kuleshov effect” of juxtaposed shots

Kuleshov Effect—Possible sequences

Form & Style: Editing Most Important • Narrative structure—social forces • Large number of shots • “Kuleshov effect” of juxtaposed shots • Maximization of dynamic tension through two opposing editing techniques • (1) overlapping editing

Overlapping Editing Angle A

Overlapping Editing Angle A Angle B

Overlapping Editing Angle A Angle B Angle C

Overlapping Editing Mission Impossible 2, John Woo, 2000:

Form & Style: Editing Most Important • Narrative structure—social forces • Large number of shots • “Kuleshov effect” of juxtaposed shots • Maximization of dynamic tension through two opposing editing techniques • (1) overlapping editing • (2) elliptical (i.e., jump cut) editing

Elliptical (Jump Cut) Editing Angle A

Form & Style: Editing Most Important • Narrative structure—social forces • Large number of shots • “Kuleshov effect” of juxtaposed shots • Maximization of dynamic tension through two opposing editing techniques • (1) overlapping editing • (2) elliptical (i.e., jump cut) editing • Non-diegetic inserts

Non-diegetic Inserts--Examples Strike (slaughtered cow) Fight Club (peaceful forest, flames) A Clockwork Orange (explosions, hanging, vampire fangs)

Non-diegetic Inserts--Examples • Naked Gun 2-1/2 • 12 inserts during sex scene: • A flower opening • Raising of a pillar in ancient Egypt • Rocket blasting off • Man putting a hot dog in a bun • Man being shot out of a cannon at a circus • Train going through a tunnel • Oil rigs moving up and down • A roller coaster going upside down • A submarine firing a torpedo • A levy breaking • Fireworks • A basketball being dunked

Background In a commercial film context Artistically, derived from Constructivism, viewing artwork as machine; montage; no elite art However, commercial success was secondary to serving the national interest; a national cinema The development of a national cinema—the State Film School in 1919, under the control of the Narkompros (People’s Commissariat of Education)

See Handout--Flowchart of Soviet Montage Influences

Other Film Types in that Nation at that Time • Very few domestic alternatives • Surprising importance of imports (e.g., Thief of Bagdad ran for years)

Importance of Movement • Although Battleship Potemkim was seen around the world, its main impact was later, and certainly limited to style/technique—the content was not widely imitated.

Important Practitioners • Lev Kuleshov (1899-1970) & his workshop

Important Practitioners • Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) (Battleship Potemkin, Strike)

Important Practitioners • Vsevolod Pudovkin (1893-1953) (Mother)

Important Practitioners • Dziga Vertov (1896-1954) (The Man with the Movie Camera)

Important Practitioners • Lev Kuleshov & his workshop • Sergei Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin, Strike) • Vsevolod Pudovkin (Mother) • Dziga Vertov (The Man with the Movie Camera) • Note that Kuleshov, Eisenstein, and Vertov were all film writers and teachers (i.e., scholars) as well as filmmakers.

The Death of the Movement • Soviet Montage called “formalism,” too complex for the mass (Stalin) • 1929 five-year plan called for centralization of film, control taken away from the Narkompros (Stalin again)

Current Influences and Applications? • Editing!! • See handout on Origins of Editing Styles and Techniques

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COM 320—History of the Moving Image