Saturday, May 27, 2006

battleship potemkin


since i don’t really understand the finer nuances of film editing and the theory of ‘montage’ that seems to be on every review that i read of battleship potemkin, i shall instead say that in spite of the fact that i kept unfortunately trying to ‘analyse’ the film frame by frame (as it seems roger ebert did) i still could not help being carried away by the kinetic pace of the action sequences and the stunning images that flash in quick succession- the disjointed frames, the close ups, a sudden detail.. the narrative it seems is based on a real life mutiny in 1905 but seems simplified for propaganda purposes. all the characters are types and play their part in this mythological drama. i believed in this story. this is after all not a movie aiming for truth but for maximum emotional impact. the odessa steps sequence that everyone seems to talk about is actually as great as it is made out to be. so are many others. to be honest i could not escape thinking about the silly semiotic 'readings' of the film that seem to be all over any postmodern analysis of the film. reading homoeroticism and other such psychobabble about repression and signs in the cannons rising slowly, the boys in the hammocks, the maggots.. its a curse.


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