Battleship Potemkin is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein. It presents a dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers of the Tsarist regime.
The most celebrated scene in the film is the massacre of civilians on the Odessa Steps. This scene has been described as one of the most influential in the history of cinema, because it introduced concepts of film editing and montage to cinema.
In this scene, the audience experiences emotional intensity through movement and editing. Once can notice the close-ups of the people rushing chaotically down the steps as they see the soldiers marching down towards them. The implication of rushing movement is also shown through the long shots of the same scene. The chaotic movement is superseded by the soldiers rhythmically marching down the steps. The effect is also enhanced by the increase in tempo and the accelerated rhythm of the music. There is a reversal of the downward movement and this is seen by the slow and solemn movement of the woman as she carries her dead child up the stairs towards the soldiers. Once the woman is shot, the focus goes back on the crowd rushing downwards. The scene ends with a slight increase in rhythm and tempo as the focus becomes the baby's carriage rolling down the steps amidst the fleeing crowd.
 |
| A wide shot of the massacre on the 'Odessa Steps' |
 |
| The boots of the soldiers shown marching down the 'Odessa Steps' |
 |
| A baby in a carriage falling down the 'Odessa Steps' |
References:
Micheal McVey, 2010. Montage and Juxtaposition in “Battleship Potemkin” – Odessa Steps Sequence [online] Available at <http://skiffleboom.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/montage-and-juxtaposition-in-%E2%80%9Cbattleship-potemkin%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-odessa-steps%C2%A0sequence%C2%A0from%C2%A0michael%C2%A0mcvey-skiffleboom-com/> [Accessed 28th October, 2013]
Image sources:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Potemkinmarch.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Odessastepsboots.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Odessastepsbaby.jpg
Video source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps-v-kZzfec
