"October" is the third film work of by former Soviet director Sergey Eisenstein , filmed at 1927 , to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the famous "Russian October Revolution" for . Although Eisenstein has made his debut, he is already well-known on the film stage. His first two works of "Strike" and "Battleship Potemkin" are still regarded as the standard by the film academy. In particular, "Battleship Potemkin" was highly praised by filmmakers of later generations. Not only did Eisenstein become a unique master of the genre, but also the unique film style of the former Soviet Union, , influenced the film in the following decades. The history of development.
Eisenstein and "October"
The film "October" was originally Eisenstein was invited to shoot 's documentary style film , but Eisenstein incorporated a distinctive personal style into it. The original fate of this film may be a gift film , but unexpectedly it became a classic in film art. The story told by "October" is familiar to us. If we have read Ostrovsky’s famous work "How Steel is Made" , then we must have a deep understanding of that period of history and the Bolsheviks . The story of "October" revolves around the cause and effect of "Russian October Revolution" . It describes a picture of the Russian people under the leadership of Lenin, a mighty movement that carried out without fear of life and death without fear of power .
did not use the Hollywood’s customary personal heroism filming method, did not even have a complete story line , there is no character that focuses on description, completely broke the usual Hollywood narrative model . Eisenstein said about this: "Russian movies are different from other countries. The movie story is not centered on the male and female protagonists, but the environment changes." The special narrative form of also directly leads to the absence of Russian movies. The traditional "protagonist" in "October" also takes the group participating in the movement as the protagonist . In order to achieve the overall harmony of the film without highlighting an actor too much, directors such as Eisenstein even deliberately abandon the already famous actors, with the intention that reduces the personal characteristics . Most of the actors in "October" were participants in the movement of the year, and there were even leaders of (such as Nikolai Podvolsky).
"October"
"October" is a highlight in the history of film, not because of how wonderful the story it tells, but because of Eisenstein's genius editing techniques shown in the film. Before 1924, , the narration method of the film was based on the classic Hollywood style of , , with the script as the skeleton of the film, and the performance of the actor as the flesh and blood of the film, and the editing, sound effects, lighting, , etc. of were nothing more than the film. The decorations only play a decorative role. In particular, the editing techniques are all sequential forms like 1-2-3, , when switching screens, use dissolve, wipe and other techniques to hide the shadow of the editing. Eisenstein completely deviated from the Hollywood narrative and editing skills . He believes: "If you want the editing to produce the greatest effect, you must put two seemingly unrelated shots together."
Eisen Stan
juxtaposes two unconnected shots to stimulate a certain association in the audience's mind. This editing method is called conceptual editing . Eisenstein used conceptual editing in "October", disrupted the continuity of the film , creating a unique editing style. The continuity of the film includes three aspects of , , which are graphic continuous, time continuous, and spatial continuous . Eisenstein tries to completely subvert the three continuities. The final result is impressive, proving the importance of editing in the film, not justIt is the role of advancing the plot or to deepen the emotion in the continuous story, and the function of to reinterpret and construct the film.
Eisenstein
Discontinuous editing
Eisenstein is not editing for editing. He advocates the concept of . The original intention of editing is not to show off skills, but to let the audience better understand the connotation of movie . In his understanding, movies should be the art of the director, not the art of the screenwriter , and editing must not yield to the story. The director should control all the details including the pre- scene design, scene scheduling, and post-editing , only in this way can he truly express his intentions to the audience during the post-editing. Only through this kind of editing can the audience understand the profound meaning of director during the viewing process.
"October"
"Mechanical Ballet"
"October" tries to run through the graphic discontinuity , Eisenstein uses this way to create a clip with impact . For example, Eisenstein put together a blurry, static lens of refugees and a clear, dynamic lens of workers transporting shells. Through this strong contrast between and , it can highlight the poor living environment at that time, and is also a metaphor. Criticism of war . There is also an interesting editing detail, juxtaposing a cunning German army laughing with a fierce Falcon camera. In contrast, Eisenstein has made his intentions very clear.
"October"
"October"
Eisenstein's most important innovation in "October" innovation is the malleability of time has opened up , that is, the same picture appears repeatedly in the lens, while cross-editing the continuous development of other events, Used to show the extension of time in the screen. In addition, Eisenstein also completely disrupted the sequence of time . The shots that appeared one after another were not performed simultaneously or sequentially, just for the audience to see these images for understanding. Eisenstein's control over time sequence and length does not follow the timeline, but logical . Only when the audience understands the connection between the shots can understand Eisenstein.
"October"
Ozu Yasujiro
's editing of "October" pays no attention to the continuity of space. By editing many irrelevant short shots together, has completely shattered the sense of space of the lens. The movie presents
"October"
The former Soviet Union montage movement
The concept editing we mentioned earlier is the later term in film science: montage. The origin of montage is very early. In 1902, American director Bout
composed the film "The Life of an American Firefighter" by editing different clips together. arrived in 1915, the famous director Griffith used the montage technique to film "The Birth of a Nation" and "Party Familiarity" two classics left in history, but he did not realize the montage technique The essence is , just as a kind of "director's consciousness and talent" .Griffith
It wasn't until 1924 that the montage movement of the former Soviet Union kicked off, that really unlocked the essence of light and shadow . The former Soviet Union director Kurishov is the pioneer of this movement. His works "Mr. West’s Adventure in the Bolshevik Country" and "Dead Light" are classics shot using the principles of montage. The montage lens and the entertainment of the film complement each other, revealing the powerful narrative power and the huge application potential . After that, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Kurishov and Vertov became the pioneers of montage editing, creating the montage movement , which was extremely popular and influenced the development of film history.
Pudovkin
Eisenstein once highly summarized the function of montage: two lenses are not simply one plus one, but a new creation. The footage captured by the camera is meaningless and worthless. Only when combined according to the principle of montage can it convey meaningful visual images to the audience. What's interesting about
is that these flag bearers of the montage movement were not film practitioners before, and they had an indissoluble bond with film during the war. However, although they are all participants in the montage movement, they do not agree with each other. Pudovkin believes that it makes sense to connect the lenses together, while Eisenstein said that unrelated lenses must be put together to have the best effect, and Vertov focuses on the documentary experimental film . The montage movement lasted for nearly 10 years , 193In 3 years , Vertov’s "Enthusiasm" and Pudovkin's "Desert" put an end to this famous film movement.
Vertov
Historical influence
Although the montage movement has disappeared, the film editing technique of montage has been circulating and developed to this day, which also proves the powerful artistry and vitality of montage. Even today, the use of montage editing is still common.
Director Diao Yinan's 2019 new work "The Gathering at Southern Station" , is familiar with this technique. In the scene captured by the zoo, the director edited the close-up of the police's face with the close-ups of the faces of different animals, resulting in a strange viewing experience. Not only adds mystery and tension to the capture scene, but also compares the suspect to be arrested to an animal with nowhere to escape. The montage editing obviously brings greater artistic creativity to the film.
"Gathering at Southern Station"
montage has become a scientific and rich system theory after long-term development. It includes three categories: narrative montage, performance montage, and rational montage, , which enrich the movie content from two perspectives: narrative and expressing the author's intention. The montage is one of the techniques that can intuitively convey the director's intentions. It not only allows the audience to better understand the connotation of the film, but also provides unlimited possibilities for film creation.
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