Johann
07-17-2004, 01:50 PM
Oktyabr directed by Sergei Eisenstein & Grigori Alexandrov
For the workers of Petersburg 1928
October is one of the supreme achievements in cinema history. I was in awe of this film last night at the cinematheque.
It's now entered my top ten, unequivocally.
The editing. Great God what an achievement. This is as organic and fluid as it gets in the editing dept. Sheer brilliance- it's so acutely precise that I don't think I've seen better editing in my whole life. I'll give examples shortly.
1917. Revolution is brewing. Lenin, Bolsheviks, Cossacks, poverty in the dead of winter, women battalions, flags, arsenals of weapons: rifles, bayonets, cannons, bullets, speeches, betrayals, accusations of treason, traitorious acts, swarms of common workers, riots, military might, and most importantly:DRAMA.
Ten Days That Shook The World is Eisenstein's third feature, and I now fully understand why Peter Greenaway calls him the greatest director of all-time. I was absolutely blown away with this piece of work. I mentioned the editing- I cannot stress enough Sergei Eisenstein's genius in the art of editing.
A few examples:
- the Russian dance sequence. Sergei holds mainly on their feet, but the edits are so quick, so sharp and so precise that words alone cannot justify what that sequence entails. I'm ordering anybody reading this to watch this film and succumb to the majesty of Eisenstein's talent. This man was a MASTER. After last night's screening, I have to reconsider if Kubrick's Barry Lyndon is the greatest film ever made to me...
I was in ecstasy last night. What can I say?
The scenes of "awaiting word", "the calm before the storm"- you'll know what I'm talking about if you see it (it's the "we give you 20 minutes" scene) were some of the most sublime moments I've ever experienced at a movie. It was almost too overwhelming, actually. This film transcends the word masterpiece- it's alchemy, it's propaganda as high-art, it's riveting genius of unseen proportions.
I'm a changed person after seing it. A true priviledge. Thank God for Eisenstein.
More scenes that branded my cerebral cortex:
The acknowledgement of Napoleon Bonaparte's military genius. Eisenstein takes a moment to show the respect Russians have for the French Emperor- the figurines, the nod of the head, the "a Bonaparte is emperor?" sentiment, the tactical appreciation of the little corporal- all extremely impressive to me.
(I wonder if the Russians knew that Napoleon cried when he thought there were no more countries to conquer?)
The "raising of the bridge scene". Words cannot do this sequence justice. The horse-drawn carriage that is left at the apex with the dead horse dangling was like I was actually there, below the bridge, watching this political act of cowardice unfold. I was reminded of Titanic- the shot from the rear of the ship as it's sinking and the stern rises out of the Atlantic- the way Eisenstein shoots the bridges' mechanical movement is nothing short of epic poetry.
Bar none, this film is a monumental testament to the artist that was Sergei Eisenstein. He was commissioned to make this film and he used just about every resource he could exploit. He had carte blanche run of the Leningrad Winter Palace (no filmmaker had such priviledges) and he made maximum use of that freedom. I cannot stress enough how important this film is. And considering the situation the world is in right now, it seemed like the timeliest film I've seen all year, beating out even Fahrenheit 9/11!
The film was a restored 35mm print and despite the "new" score by Shostakovich, I much prefer to watch October silent. If you are reading this and are going to see the film for the first time, I highly recommend seeing it SILENT. The score is great and you should see it with score- both versions are recommended, but see it silent if you can- you will be moved beyond your wildest imagination. I'm still on cloud 9 after this epic, classic, genius piece of work. The lighting! The compositions! The rhythms and pacing! Truly all-encompassing. A manifest miracle, that's what this film is. It took the better part of a year to make, it's chock full of humanity and despite the critics of S.E., it's an affirmation of life.
For the workers of Petersburg 1928
October is one of the supreme achievements in cinema history. I was in awe of this film last night at the cinematheque.
It's now entered my top ten, unequivocally.
The editing. Great God what an achievement. This is as organic and fluid as it gets in the editing dept. Sheer brilliance- it's so acutely precise that I don't think I've seen better editing in my whole life. I'll give examples shortly.
1917. Revolution is brewing. Lenin, Bolsheviks, Cossacks, poverty in the dead of winter, women battalions, flags, arsenals of weapons: rifles, bayonets, cannons, bullets, speeches, betrayals, accusations of treason, traitorious acts, swarms of common workers, riots, military might, and most importantly:DRAMA.
Ten Days That Shook The World is Eisenstein's third feature, and I now fully understand why Peter Greenaway calls him the greatest director of all-time. I was absolutely blown away with this piece of work. I mentioned the editing- I cannot stress enough Sergei Eisenstein's genius in the art of editing.
A few examples:
- the Russian dance sequence. Sergei holds mainly on their feet, but the edits are so quick, so sharp and so precise that words alone cannot justify what that sequence entails. I'm ordering anybody reading this to watch this film and succumb to the majesty of Eisenstein's talent. This man was a MASTER. After last night's screening, I have to reconsider if Kubrick's Barry Lyndon is the greatest film ever made to me...
I was in ecstasy last night. What can I say?
The scenes of "awaiting word", "the calm before the storm"- you'll know what I'm talking about if you see it (it's the "we give you 20 minutes" scene) were some of the most sublime moments I've ever experienced at a movie. It was almost too overwhelming, actually. This film transcends the word masterpiece- it's alchemy, it's propaganda as high-art, it's riveting genius of unseen proportions.
I'm a changed person after seing it. A true priviledge. Thank God for Eisenstein.
More scenes that branded my cerebral cortex:
The acknowledgement of Napoleon Bonaparte's military genius. Eisenstein takes a moment to show the respect Russians have for the French Emperor- the figurines, the nod of the head, the "a Bonaparte is emperor?" sentiment, the tactical appreciation of the little corporal- all extremely impressive to me.
(I wonder if the Russians knew that Napoleon cried when he thought there were no more countries to conquer?)
The "raising of the bridge scene". Words cannot do this sequence justice. The horse-drawn carriage that is left at the apex with the dead horse dangling was like I was actually there, below the bridge, watching this political act of cowardice unfold. I was reminded of Titanic- the shot from the rear of the ship as it's sinking and the stern rises out of the Atlantic- the way Eisenstein shoots the bridges' mechanical movement is nothing short of epic poetry.
Bar none, this film is a monumental testament to the artist that was Sergei Eisenstein. He was commissioned to make this film and he used just about every resource he could exploit. He had carte blanche run of the Leningrad Winter Palace (no filmmaker had such priviledges) and he made maximum use of that freedom. I cannot stress enough how important this film is. And considering the situation the world is in right now, it seemed like the timeliest film I've seen all year, beating out even Fahrenheit 9/11!
The film was a restored 35mm print and despite the "new" score by Shostakovich, I much prefer to watch October silent. If you are reading this and are going to see the film for the first time, I highly recommend seeing it SILENT. The score is great and you should see it with score- both versions are recommended, but see it silent if you can- you will be moved beyond your wildest imagination. I'm still on cloud 9 after this epic, classic, genius piece of work. The lighting! The compositions! The rhythms and pacing! Truly all-encompassing. A manifest miracle, that's what this film is. It took the better part of a year to make, it's chock full of humanity and despite the critics of S.E., it's an affirmation of life.