Odessa Step Sequence Analysis
Bobby Waldron
Mr. Clapham
Cinema IV College Prep Class
20 November 2014
Odessa Step Sequence Analysis The Odessa Step Sequence was one of the most violent, uncomfortable, and symbolic scenes I’ve watched. In most of the movies I’ve seen the fight is usually only between good and evil but this scene showed something you don’t normally see. It showed the murder of innocent people which will make any sane person cringe. But in relation to the movie, this scene was one of the most profound. It symbolically incorporated art, business, and technology which gave the scene a much deeper meaning. One of the aspects that made the scene what it is, was the symbolic use of art. By art I mean the symbolism behind the making of the scene. When it first …show more content…
started I saw the people as individuals. I examined each of their faces and saw them as dignified human beings. Everybody who came into the shot was smiling and waving happily to the sailors. Happy to be in each other’s presence. Then the short shot of the screaming boy and the woman’s white umbrella filling the frame dictate a differently tempered part of the scene. The unity expressed in the beginning was all but gone and once the shooting started and chaos erupted, the individual no longer mattered. Each persons “humanity” was stripped from them as they were shot down like fleeing animals. They no longer cared for anybody other than themselves. This was the most prevalent when the little boy got shot in the back and instead of helping him to his feet he was stepped on and kicked out of the way. In the midst of the chaos, the only thing that was organized was the soldiers that were causing it. Even the way they walked down the steps and fired their guns; each man in tune with the other next to him. They were like machines. At the beginning of the scene we are able to identify with the people because we see their faces and we can recognize them as human beings. But we only ever see the silhouette of the soldiers and thus cannot see them as human beings. When they kill the lady holding her dead son we truly begin to realize that the soldiers are only human in form. The end of the scene is the hardest to watch. We see a man, an old lady, and a baby that are all witnesses to the massacre. As the baby stroller rolls down the steps it truly shows the depth of the chaos. A baby left unattended and defenseless in its stroller; rolling down, what seems to be, never ending steps. We see the carriage fall over, the old lady shot in the head, and the man hacked to death. All of which seem to signify the arbitrary loss of life. A second thing that made the movie as successful as it was, was the business aspect of it all.
By business I mean how it’s influenced film makers of this day and age and the relevance it has today. The movie is made in a way that the audience can relate to it on an emotional level. We are like to see good fight evil because we think it’s an even fight but when the strong prey on the weak we sympathize and despise the aggressor. In the Odessa Steps Sequence, we see the soldiers bearing down on the defenseless civilians and immediately feel uncomfortable. We know the citizens are out gunned and outmatched and it makes us anticipate the arrival of a hero to avenge the innocent. Einstein wanted to reach out to the audience oppose to focusing on a specific individual. He believed in the Soviet idea that juxtaposition in movies had more of an impact. By placing the images side-by-side he can show relationships between characters without having to introduce them to the audience. This technique has proven to be useful in several different movies. My favorite of which being the “Godfather” (1972). The scene where the child is being baptized is coupled with violent murder scenes. This is used more to get emotional responses oppose to connection to the …show more content…
characters. The final aspect of the scene that was very powerful was the technology used.
By technology I mean the camera techniques and cinematography. Again we return to juxtaposition. In the Odessa Step Sequence, the switching back and forth of the shot elicits feelings of confusion and chaos. Something that Einstein very cleverly incorporated into the scene. His use of foreshadowing coupled with juxtaposition is an all-out emotional assault on the viewer. Three parts of the scene that stuck out to me the most was the screaming boy, the lady with the umbrella, and a lady wearing funeral attire. The screaming boy was extremely interesting to me for a few reasons. First of all it’s a silent movie so the scream couldn’t be heard meaning we have to examine the picture a little closer. The boy in the picture flails his head violently and raises his hand as if in alarm. Juxtaposition is used here again. The boy isn’t part of the scene and was added solely to foreshadow. The second thing I found to be interesting was the two ladies with the umbrellas. One is wearing all white and has a white umbrella. She is in the shot just prior to the shooting and she’s dressed nicely with a smile on her face. The other is wearing what looks to be funeral attire but she’s smiling and waving. Right before the pictures of the screaming boy, the two ladies are standing next to each other. But afterwards the two ladies seem to have switched umbrellas. Just before all hell breaks loose the lady in the black
runs toward the camera with the umbrella open and signals the start of the slaughter. I’m not sure if this has any real significance but it stood out to me. In conclusion I believe that this scene made the movie industry what it is today. It introduced a new kind of cinematography that still resonates today. The symbolism, foreshadowing, and juxtaposition all contributed to making the movie the success it was. Everything was tied together in a way that made the scene have a lasting impression on our world. Even to the point where the great film makers of this age used it as a blueprint and created some of the most memorable movie scenes to date.
Works Cited
https://cinemaconfessions.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/the-odessa-steps-and-the-use-of-montage-battleship-potemkin/ http://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/01/features.features http://www.ebertfest.com/one/battleship_rev.htm http://www.mvrop.org/cms/lib03/CA01922720/Centricity/Domain/60/FEIST-Kuleshov.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laJ_1P-Py2k
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Potemkin
Mr. Clapham
Cinema IV College Prep Class
20 November 2014
Odessa Step Sequence Analysis The Odessa Step Sequence was one of the most violent, uncomfortable, and symbolic scenes I’ve watched. In most of the movies I’ve seen the fight is usually only between good and evil but this scene showed something you don’t normally see. It showed the murder of innocent people which will make any sane person cringe. But in relation to the movie, this scene was one of the most profound. It symbolically incorporated art, business, and technology which gave the scene a much deeper meaning. One of the aspects that made the scene what it is, was the symbolic use of art. By art I mean the symbolism behind the making of the scene. When it first …show more content…
started I saw the people as individuals. I examined each of their faces and saw them as dignified human beings. Everybody who came into the shot was smiling and waving happily to the sailors. Happy to be in each other’s presence. Then the short shot of the screaming boy and the woman’s white umbrella filling the frame dictate a differently tempered part of the scene. The unity expressed in the beginning was all but gone and once the shooting started and chaos erupted, the individual no longer mattered. Each persons “humanity” was stripped from them as they were shot down like fleeing animals. They no longer cared for anybody other than themselves. This was the most prevalent when the little boy got shot in the back and instead of helping him to his feet he was stepped on and kicked out of the way. In the midst of the chaos, the only thing that was organized was the soldiers that were causing it. Even the way they walked down the steps and fired their guns; each man in tune with the other next to him. They were like machines. At the beginning of the scene we are able to identify with the people because we see their faces and we can recognize them as human beings. But we only ever see the silhouette of the soldiers and thus cannot see them as human beings. When they kill the lady holding her dead son we truly begin to realize that the soldiers are only human in form. The end of the scene is the hardest to watch. We see a man, an old lady, and a baby that are all witnesses to the massacre. As the baby stroller rolls down the steps it truly shows the depth of the chaos. A baby left unattended and defenseless in its stroller; rolling down, what seems to be, never ending steps. We see the carriage fall over, the old lady shot in the head, and the man hacked to death. All of which seem to signify the arbitrary loss of life. A second thing that made the movie as successful as it was, was the business aspect of it all.
By business I mean how it’s influenced film makers of this day and age and the relevance it has today. The movie is made in a way that the audience can relate to it on an emotional level. We are like to see good fight evil because we think it’s an even fight but when the strong prey on the weak we sympathize and despise the aggressor. In the Odessa Steps Sequence, we see the soldiers bearing down on the defenseless civilians and immediately feel uncomfortable. We know the citizens are out gunned and outmatched and it makes us anticipate the arrival of a hero to avenge the innocent. Einstein wanted to reach out to the audience oppose to focusing on a specific individual. He believed in the Soviet idea that juxtaposition in movies had more of an impact. By placing the images side-by-side he can show relationships between characters without having to introduce them to the audience. This technique has proven to be useful in several different movies. My favorite of which being the “Godfather” (1972). The scene where the child is being baptized is coupled with violent murder scenes. This is used more to get emotional responses oppose to connection to the …show more content…
characters. The final aspect of the scene that was very powerful was the technology used.
By technology I mean the camera techniques and cinematography. Again we return to juxtaposition. In the Odessa Step Sequence, the switching back and forth of the shot elicits feelings of confusion and chaos. Something that Einstein very cleverly incorporated into the scene. His use of foreshadowing coupled with juxtaposition is an all-out emotional assault on the viewer. Three parts of the scene that stuck out to me the most was the screaming boy, the lady with the umbrella, and a lady wearing funeral attire. The screaming boy was extremely interesting to me for a few reasons. First of all it’s a silent movie so the scream couldn’t be heard meaning we have to examine the picture a little closer. The boy in the picture flails his head violently and raises his hand as if in alarm. Juxtaposition is used here again. The boy isn’t part of the scene and was added solely to foreshadow. The second thing I found to be interesting was the two ladies with the umbrellas. One is wearing all white and has a white umbrella. She is in the shot just prior to the shooting and she’s dressed nicely with a smile on her face. The other is wearing what looks to be funeral attire but she’s smiling and waving. Right before the pictures of the screaming boy, the two ladies are standing next to each other. But afterwards the two ladies seem to have switched umbrellas. Just before all hell breaks loose the lady in the black
runs toward the camera with the umbrella open and signals the start of the slaughter. I’m not sure if this has any real significance but it stood out to me. In conclusion I believe that this scene made the movie industry what it is today. It introduced a new kind of cinematography that still resonates today. The symbolism, foreshadowing, and juxtaposition all contributed to making the movie the success it was. Everything was tied together in a way that made the scene have a lasting impression on our world. Even to the point where the great film makers of this age used it as a blueprint and created some of the most memorable movie scenes to date.
Works Cited
https://cinemaconfessions.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/the-odessa-steps-and-the-use-of-montage-battleship-potemkin/ http://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/01/features.features http://www.ebertfest.com/one/battleship_rev.htm http://www.mvrop.org/cms/lib03/CA01922720/Centricity/Domain/60/FEIST-Kuleshov.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laJ_1P-Py2k
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Potemkin