Odessa Steps Sequence

The soviet montage style of film came around with the 1917 Russian Revolution. Before this time most films had been made copying the narrative films of other countries. Russians believed that cinema was a true art that could be used to aid their cause. The problem was that they lacked film and equipment because of war torn Europe (Mast and Kawin 120). This is where montage truly began because each shot had to have meaning and impact. The film makers could not waste what little film they did have. One Russian director during this time period was Sergei M. Eisenstein. One of his most famous films is Battleship Potemkin filmed in 1925. This film is about the uprising of the working class in the 1905 revolution, mainly the revolt on the Potemkin and the attack on the citizens of Odessa. One of the most powerful scenes in this film is the Odessa Steps Sequence. Eisenstein casted the people in this film based on their physical appearance, not their experience. He put out an advertisement looking for three types of people: Jewish Women, men who look good natured, and men who have squinty eyes and a rude facial expression (Taylor 6). These characteristics were important because they helped convey what he was trying to say with each quick shot. The Jewish women and good natured looking men represent the working class of Russia. The other men represent the government soldiers. The Odessa Steps Sequence shows a massacre of the working class carried out by these soldiers. The camera cuts quickly from the faces of the victims to the mass hysteria to the unchanging faces and movements of the soldiers. Eisenstein’s technique creates a feeling of helpless terror that runs through the entire scene. It allows the viewer to feel the despair and fear of the working class.
Eisenstein uses different camera angles during these cuts. Not only does he quickly change the picture on the screen he also changes the view point. Most of the cuts in this scene do not keep the same

Cited: Taylor, Richard. The Battleship Potemkin: The Film Companion. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2001. Print Mast, Gerald, and Bruce Kawin. A Short History of the Movies. Pearson,2012. Print