The name of this film does not need to be repeated, and its position in film history is well known. As a silent film about the proletarian uprising in the 1920s, in the groping and experimental era when the film was just starting, and in the era when the need for political propaganda penetrated into various fields, the theme of this film is undoubtedly in line with the mainstream. Now it seems that this is a particularly "red" movie, like the red flag raised in the movie, it is the only color in black and white, the color of revolution, and the point is quite powerful. And the montage technique that made the film's name endure for eternity, the experimental and foundational expression technique of using montage to make time, space, and the inner logic of the lens completely "movie-like", is undoubtedly awe-inspiring. Such stories and themes, coupled with the montage technique that makes the film art, reminds me of "I Am Cuba" by another Soviet director, Kalatozov. The two films share the same ideology and themes as well as the function of political propaganda, but in form they are two completely opposite directions. As a montage theorist and enthusiast, Eisenstein will undoubtedly carry out montage as the origin of film art to the end. And Kalatozov's "I Am Cuba" takes the long-shot aesthetic to a new level. "I Am Cuba" is a work that "Bazin will cry when he sees it, but he is not a manual person". As for the origin of film art, I am afraid there will never be an answer to which of the two great film theorists, Eisenstein and Bazin, has a more advanced concept, but this does not prevent fans of their respective theories from creating great films. Another unique piece of art.
As a 70-minute silent film, the story is unmistakably straightforward. The film is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is "Man and Insect". This chapter mainly describes the harsh, dirty, oppressed and inhumane living and working environment of the sailors on the Potemkin battleship. Carrion full of maggots and stale borscht are their food, but the ship doctor says the meat is fine... The class conflict on the ship is revealed through the food. The second chapter is "Deck Situation", all the crew members are gathered on the deck, and the commander threatens to hang the sailors who are dissatisfied with the food as a threat. In the end he ordered some of the sailors to be covered with white cloths and then executed with guns. But the executioners who received the order put down their rifles out of conscience, which eventually led to a rebellion and a great melee on the deck. The first of these sailors to lead the rebellion was shot dead by the commander. Sailors carried the bodies of dead sailors to the port of Odessa. The third chapter is "The Cry of the Dead". In this chapter, Eisenstein used a lot of empty shots to express the sad and lonely atmosphere. Ships moored in the harbor, the dim sunlight under the fog, the slightly rippling sea, a dead silence after the war. And the masses also gathered to lay flowers for the dead sailors, which inspired the revolutionary enthusiasm of the masses to overthrow the autocracy. Eisenstein did not shy away from the big scene. The spectacle of thousands of people gathering on the Odessa pier was huge, and such a big scene was first seen in "Strike". The red flag of the proletarian revolution was also raised on the Potemkin. The fourth chapter is "The Odessa Stairs", which is also the most famous chapter. In the face of the bloody repression of the tsarist army, thousands of people poured down the Odessa steps. In just seven minutes, Eisenstein used hundreds of short shots to show the scene of the repression. The picture of the army walking down the steps while shooting and the picture of the crowd fleeing in panic are constantly switching. This montage method is very good to create tension. The crowd was shot, the child hit by the bullet was trampled by the crowd, the close-up of the mother's face collapsed in horror, the mother was holding the seriously injured child and asked for help in front of the soldiers but was killed, another mother who was shot, walked from the stairs The rolling baby carriage, the screaming old lady with glasses, the crowd hiding everywhere, the bullets constantly fired by the soldiers, Eisenstein edited each close-up in the same event, and let each individual scene be edited. Underneath arises the meanings which act on the film's story, mood, event. And the same space and time are decomposed into new times and spaces, creating a time and space that is exclusive to each person, greatly expanding the space and time inside the film, so-called more "movie-like". The fifth chapter is "Victory Master", Eisenstein uses music, the artillery on the battleship features Writing, close-up of sea driving, close-up of machine operation, close-up of crew driving, etc. A series of quick edits of independent shots fully mobilized the tense and critical atmosphere before firing. The picture of the artillery battle was not shown, replaced by sudden cheers and flying red flags. The combination of two pictures with opposite emotions, after omitting the most convincing core event, still shows the appearance and meaning of the event. Eisenstein used this film to interpret the meaning and value of montage, and let future generations continue to absorb nutrients from it, laying the foundation for the development of film art.
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