1. Montage Theories of Soviet Cinema
Presentation by
Chris Schloemp
Sources:

2. Soviet Cinema in the 1920s
Vibrant film culture in the period following the Russian Revolution
Influential developments in film theory
Several films stand as landmarks in the history of world cinema

3. Development of Formalism
Dominant film theory of the silent era
Applied to a range of arts, including literature and painting
Holds that a work’s meaning exists primarily in its form or language, rather than its content or subject

4. The Pioneer: Lev Kuleshov
Re-edited existing film stock to develop ideas of film grammar
Formed workshops in 1920 at the State Film School
Central belief: the viewer’s response in cinema depends less on the individual shot and more on the editing or montage

5. The Kuleshov Effect Famous experiment with shot juxtapositions
First shot: c/u of actor with neutral expression, then joined this shot to:
c/u of a bowl of soup
c/u of a coffin with a corpse
c/u of a little girl playing
Test audiences praised the actor’s versatility in showing hunger, sorrow, and pride, even though the shot of the actor remained the same each time

6. Dziga Vertov
Enthusiastic about film’s potential as educational and propagandistic tool
Since Russian society was composed of illiterate workers and peasants, they needed a different medium of instruction
Believed that ideal medium was the documentary film

7. “Art is not a mirror which reflects the historical struggle, but a weapon of that struggle”
--Dziga Vertov

8. Kino-Pravda Vertov’s primary theory: “film-truth”
Fiction films, acted films as opiates, that prevented a necessary confrontation with reality
Filmmaker sees beneath the surface chaos to reveal the underlying connections to the institutions of power
Filmmaker as poet, as fuser of images

9. Sergei Eisenstein Strike (1924) Battleship Potemkin (1925)
October (1927)
The General Line (1928)

10. Theory of Intellectual Montage
Film constructed as a series of colliding shocks or “attractions”
Montage as a dialectical process (from Hegel: thesis vs. antithesis = synthesis)
Meaning created by juxtaposition of shots, not the content of individual images
Shocks created for ideological purpose

12. Example of Montage Strike (1924)
Nature of the slaughter perpetrated by the Cossack army is conveyed by juxtaposing:
scenes of advancing soldiers
a bull being slaughtered
ink being spilled over a street-map of the city being attacked

13. Sound and the Rhythm of Editing
Sound and vision could be treated independently or used in concert
Shots in film and phrases of music could be timed together to increase the impact of a key shot
Rhythm of music can accent the rhythm of editing, of montage

14. Acting as Typage
Eisenstein, like other Soviet filmmakers of his time, was not interested in using professional actors
Asked amateurs to draw on their experiences of their own lives
Typage: when people in films represent archetypes due to their resemblance to universal groups in society

15. V.I. Pudovkin
Mother (1926)
The End of St. Petersburg (1927)

16. Relational Editing Different style of montage
Seamless, without drawing attention to itself
Used solely to support the film’s narrative
Also known as linkage editing
Similar to the editing style developed by D.W. Griffith in the US

18. Dovzhenko and the Use of Tableaux
Arsenal (1929) & Earth (1930)
Series of tableaux: a linkage of still photographs
Slow pace and solemn atmosphere
Long shots of archetypal figures, often in silhouette

19. Film as Propaganda
All Soviet filmmakers worked under a unique set of social conditions after the Revolution of 1917
Cinema regarded as educational tool to promote the ideals of communism
Overtly political films: images used to illustrate history in textbooks
Limited to one basic storyline: triumph of the people over bourgeois oppression

20. Influences from Pavlov and Freud
Sought fusion of art and science
Pavlov’s theories about conditioned reflexes to stimuli (the famous salivating dogs) very influential on montage theory
Controlled series of shocks could produce predictable response
Freud’s theories of the unconscious also helped influence the use of symbols in Soviet films

21. Lasting Impact Soviet cinema continues to inspire filmmakers today
Emphasis on the process of film rather than the content of narratives seen in the work of 1960s film-makers
Some contemporary filmmakers see the opportunities of using non-diegetic elements in montage sequences