NOTES/SUMMARY: SOVIET MONTAGE

Following the Russian revolution in October 1917, the New Soviet government faced the difficult tas of controlling all sectors of life. During the World War I, there were a number of private production companies operating in Moscow and St. Petersburg with most imports cut off, these companies did quite well making films for the domestic market.Most distinctive Russian films made during the mid-1910s were slow paced melodramas.

"Of all the arts, for us the cinema is the most important." -Lenin, 1922

Some of the Russian directors tried to make films that would start a national cinema movement. Some of these directors were Lev Kuleshov and Dziga Vertov. Lev Kuleshov founded the State School of Cinema Art, the first school in the world. Dizga Vertov began working on documentary footage of the war, at age 20, he was place in charge of all news reels.

Lev Kuleshov

In Lev Kuleshov's school, they taught and tried experimenting "by editing footages form different sources into a whole that creates an impression of continuity." This was what they called Montage Editing. Montage editing is from the combination of shots just like in Hollywood that is known as continuity editing. Sergei Eisenstein was the first to make a major film of the montage movement in his 1925 film Strike.

The fall of the Soviet Montage was mainly due to the Soviet government. They did not allow complicated films and Russian directors went out of Russia. Then the government introduced a new type of movement in film called Soviet Realism in 1934.

The Kuleshov effect