Film Persona

Sergei Eisenstein's "Alexander Nevsky" In 1938, the Soviet Union had a very strained relationship with Germany. Germany was ramping up its war preparation efforts and the Soviets had to be ready. Sergei Eisenstein, almost 10 years after making his last picture, was given a choice of several historical subjects to film by Soviet film tsar Boris Shumyatsky. Eisenstein chose the mostly unknown 13th century story of the Russian victory over German knights of the Teutonic order, led by warrior prince Alexander Nevsky. This historical event would serve as the first sound film that Eisenstein ever made. It's subject would also prove important. The victory over German invaders would become an important story to tell at a time when war was impending and the Russian country would need to come together to stand against those who would inevitably invade.  The film opens with a reminder that Russia has been at war plenty of times. The most recent of these wars in the film was the ...

Sergei Eisenstein’s Old and New Eisenstein’s Old and New shift away from his films about a collective mass of people making decision. Rather, it focuses on a peasant woman named Marfa who transforms the individualistic rural farmers into a collective communal farm community. At the beginning of the film, Marfa recognizes that the individual privatization of farmland is not working, as all the farmers and peasants are starving and cannot grow crops or bring up cattle. After facing a lot of resistance from the rural agrarian community, they are able to pull together to buy machine that converts milk into butter. Then, with the money they use to sell butter, they are able to buy a bull so that they can breed and raise more cattle. Soon they are able to purchase a tractor to more effectively gather crops. Eventually, this cooperative becomes and effective form of agriculture with the number of members growing.  However, there are those throughout the community that resist these changin...

Sergei Eisenstein’s “October (Ten Days That Shook the World)” In 1927, Sergei Eisenstein released October (Ten Days That Shook the World) in honor of the 10th anniversary of the 1917 October Revolution. The film depicts the events of the revolution from the perspective of the victorious Bolsheviks. With this film, Eisenstein is able to further develop his theories of montage while also trying to place the historical events of the birth of the Soviet Union on a pedestal. The success of October did not live up to the success of Eisenstein’s previous film, Battleship Potemkin. Many people criticized the film for being stilted and artificial, especially since the events were still in recent memory. Eisenstein focused more on ‘intellectual montage’ with this film, which does not strike as much of an emotional chord as the other forms of montage. Because of this more intellectual aspect of the film, many felt it was too formal – especially since the subject matter is a very emotional experie...

Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin In 1925, Sergei Eisenstein brought his theories of film montage to effect in his first feature length film, Strike. Later that year, he created what many consider to be one of the most important films ever made, Battleship Potemkin. The reason Battleship Potemkin is so widely considered important is due to the Odessa Steps sequence, in which Odessa citizens are brutally shot at by the state forces. The sequence is most notable for its harrowing depiction of violence as well as the montage theories Eisenstein enacted. The film takes place on the twentieth anniversary of the actual mutiny of the Battleship Potemkin vessel, a point in history that many consider the first step towards the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was created by Eisenstein and the political Communist party of the Soviet Union to create in the viewer an emotional response, in the hopes to keep citizens on the side of the party.  The film itself is a simple story. In the first...

 Sergei Eisenstein's "Strike" Sergei Eisenstein's 'Strike' takes place in 1903, at a time when class division was high in Russia. The Industrial Revolution had taken hold of the country. For the world, the Industrial Revolution brought the mass production of materials and technology. With this, capitalism really started to take hold as owners of capital and other means of production became richer and were able to exert more control over their workers. The industrial capitalists and nobles of Russia began to seize power over the working class. With the spread of capitalism, the notion of individualism also spread inherently. The infiltration of Western ideals into the Russian culture created the early 20th century tensions that would eventually lead to the Soviet Revolution of 1917.  This gave rise to Vladimir Lenin, who led the working class proletariat to overthrow the industrial capitalists and the aristocracy that propped it up.  It is with these ideas the ...

Buster Keaton & Edward Sedgwick's "The Cameraman" Buster Keaton's "The Cameraman" follows a similar pattern to the rest of his work. A man is completely inept at what he is trying to accomplish. He needs to complete what he is trying to accomplish in order to get the girl he is after to be with him. However, the point of the film, much like the point of all of his work, is that the man keeps trying - even though he is inept. At one point in the film, he brings MGM film of a street brawl, only to realize that there was no film in the camera. Dejected, he leaves. The girl tells him to keep trying - the only way is forward. This message speaks to Keaton's work as a whole. Regardless of the character he is playing, his characters keep trying, even through making mistakes. In the end, Keaton is able to accomplish the task and get the girl.  

Buster Keaton & Charles Reisner’s “Steamboat Bill Jr.” Buster Keaton” “Steamboat Bill Jr.” tells the story of a college graduate named William Canfeild Jr. who reunited with his long lost father, a Mississippi Riverboat Captain. The theme of the film seems to be parental rejection. In the film, Bill Jr. is a let-down to his father, who sees him as a wimp, unable to stand up for himself and do the hard work needed to be an adult. He also disapproves of his invested interest in the daughter of his riverboat rival – who he sees a rich snob who is taking over his riverboat industry. Both father try to control their children, as Bill Sr.’s rival, JJ King tells his daughter, Kitty, “I’ll pick the young man for you – and it won’t be the son of a river tramp.” Bill Sr. similarly tells Bill Jr., “I’ll pick the young lady for you – and it won’t be a girl with a father like that.” Both parents are disappointed in their children’s choices and try to control them. Bill Sr. even takes Bill Jr. t...

Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman's “The General” Buster Keaton’s “The General” is a film with a simple premise. Keaton’s character, Johnnie Gray, is the engineer of the locomotive train, ‘The General’ during the Civil War. After his train gets stolen by enemy forces, he must not only track down the train, but his love interest as well. The premise is very simple. But what Keaton is able to do with that simple premise is where the real magic comes in. Johnnie Gray chases after his stolen train while conducting another train in pursuit. He chases after it, sneaks into the enemy’s camp to get his love and the train back, and is chased back the other way. And the trains themselves can only move along the tracks they are on. However, Keaton makes the most out of this simple concept. The creative problems that his character must overcome throughout the chases is the most exciting element of the film. (This also mirrors the create challenges that Keaton himself had to overcome with the ...

Buster Keaton’s “Go West” Buster Keaton’s “Go West” is a film about a man who travels west for work. He is completely inept at being a ranch hand but befriends a cow and does his best to save the cow from the slaughterhouse.  Camerawork: Superimposition & Recall: When the film opens, we see a statue of Horace Greeley with a quote under the statue saying “Go west, young man. Go West.” Later in the film, when Keaton’s character doesn’t know what to do with himself for work any longer, Keaton superimposes the statue of Greeley from the beginning over his character. This superimposition lets the viewer recall not only the statue itself from the beginning, but also the quote, “Go west.” So, this superimposition is used to efficiently let the viewer understand the character’s state of mind internally, that he has decided to go west.  Transitional Shot: To convey the passing of time in one scene, Keaton uses a transitional shot. We see his characters holding a foot long sandwich....

Buster Keaton’s “Seven Chances” Buster Keaton’s “Seven Chances” tells the story of James, a man who is trying to get married by seven o’clock to earn his $7 million inheritance from his grandfather. The first half of the film is James trying to get someone, anyone, to marry him. He starts at the country club and every girl he asks turns him down. The first act is essentially presented as a humorous and thrilling sequence in which the audience is rooting for the protagonist. The second half of the film turns into an all-out action film. After running a story in the paper about finding a wife by the end of the day, hundreds of would-be brides show up to the church. However, after the priest tells them it must have been an obvious prank, the brides begin to chase James throughout town as he tries to get to Mary, the one person he truly loves who has agreed to marry him. The chase sequences are extremely entertaining. Keaton’s direction infuses adrenaline into the story, as the audience ro...

Buster Keaton & Donald Crisp’s “The Navigator” Buster Keaton’s “The Navigator” tells the story of a wealthy man named Rollo who decides to propose to his socialite neighbor Betsy, only to be turned down. However, after hijinks ensue, the two of them find themselves stuck alone on an abandoned cruise liner out at sea. Keaton crafts the story to focus on the physical comedy that takes place on and around the ship. Keaton’s protagonist is a spoiled wealthy man who turns out to be completely inept when left alone on the shop to survive for himself. Perhaps ‘The Navigator’ is poking fun at the lack of real-world abilities of an upper-class society. Keaton uses this ineptitude to create the spark for the comedy throughout the film, as the viewer continues to laugh at the protagonist’s inability to do things like cook or take care of himself or Betsy. The film ends with them being saved by a submarine just in time for them to evade capture by hostile cannibals.  Bets Shot: The best sh...

Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. Thematic Elements: Buster Keaton’s “Sherlock Jr.” tells the story of a projectionist who is wrongly accused of theft. The projectionist is in love with the girl, only for the girl’s other pursuer to thieve her father’s watch and blame it on the projectionist. The projectionist tries to use his detective skills to track down the thief and catch him red-handed. However, his plans fail. Dejected, he goes back to projecting films at the cinema. There, he falls asleep and dreams of solving the case and winning back the heart of the girl. He awakens, only to realize that it was just a dream. However, the girl returns and tells him they wrongly accused him.  The story does an excellent job of blending fantasy and reality. The projectionist leaves reality and enters the world of both dream and cinema, two places where anything is possible and he can become anyone. His dreams of becoming a detective are fulfilled in these places. In reality, he gets yelled at by...

Buster Keaton & John G. Blystone's “Our Hospitality” Buster Keaton’s “Our Hospitality” is Keaton’s first feature length motion picture. It is Keaton’s first attempt at what he considers a ‘comedy epic’ in which he uses his vaudeville background to perform physical comedy, but on a grander scale. The epic nature of the film is due to the extensive setting the film contains. Keaton utilizes a train travelling across country, a large country mansion to run through, and even a dangerous river with a waterfall at the end.  The premise of the story is taken straight out of history, specifically the legendary feud between the Hatfields and the McCoy’s. The title of the film is used to crown the piece with an arching irony. The hostility between the two families in the film directly contradicts the notion of ‘Southern Hospitality.’ It directly pokes fun at the hypocrisy of this notion as the two families are ruthless in their violence towards the other, even as they have a framed quote...

Charlie Chaplin’s “Limelight” Thematic Elements:  Charlie Chaplin’s “Limelight” seems to be his most personal work in his filmography. The film stars an aging vaudeville clown named Calvero whose time seems to be up. Most people see the name ‘Calvero’ as box office poison and now he must go under a different alias just to find work. However, when he does find work, the crowds walk out. Chaplin was at a point in his career when he had fallen out of favor with the pubic, as they were far more invested in his personal affairs than in his art.  The film seems very melancholic, as Calvero must deal with his own irrelevance. The film is filled with dialogue to pair to this theme, as Calvero tries to convince Thereza not to kill herself. Thereza is a dancer who is letting life get the best of her and is paralyzed with fear to the point of being physically paralyzed as well. Calvero tells her that life is the most important thing, that consciousness is special. He convinces her to liv...

Charlie Chaplin’s “Monsieur Verdoux” Thematic Elements:  After the second World War ended in 1945, many films questioned the very nature of morality. It was a time of reflection for the whole world, and film would offer some philosophical quandaries about what it means to be moral and what it means to get by in a dark and sinister landscape. Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux would explore morality and crime through its central protagonist, a serial killer named Henry Verdoux. The reason for Henry’s killings is to take care of his son and paraplegic wife. After being a bank teller for thirty years, Henry had to resort to killing wealthy widows in order to steal their money to give to his family. Chaplin does not present Henry as a vile and vicious man, but rather a dapper dandy who is just doing what he feels he needs to do. As you watch the film, you cannot help but root for Henry, as he is both an intelligent and respectable gentleman as well as offering the viewer a reason for h...

Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” In 1940, Adolf Hitler commenced a push for supremacy across Europe. He had already invaded Poland, which ignited World War II. He also had attacked Denmark and Norway in the summer months of 1940 with Italy joining the German forces. However, well before the war started, Hitler had already begun seizing the assets of people deemed ‘enemy of the state,’ including Jews. Jews were being harassed and bullied by their fellow German citizens as well as the German police force. This subject provided the fuel for Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator, in which he both displays the unwelcomed harassment of the Jewish community as well as ridiculing Hitler himself.  The film beings in 1918, in which a Jewish Private is fighting for the Tomanians in World War I. Tomanian is the country that is used as a stand in for Germany in this film. Chaplin opens with a tracking shot over the German trenches as soldier are engaged in warfare. Chaplin uses this c...