Who Is Sergei Eisenstein, and What Was Soviet Montage Theory?

In the early days of cinema, everything had to be invented. So much of what we know today was pioneered by people experimenting and doing what they can to create cinema. Out of this experimentation and search for meaning, cinematic language was created. 

Today, we want to look at one of those early movements that changed all of cinema as we know it. We'll get the definition of Soviet montage theory, montages, we'll learn about Sergei Eisenstein, and we'll see how we can continue the work they started and keep experimenting in the future. 

So without further ado, let's cut together some answers and explanations. 

Who Is Sergei Eisenstein and What Was Soviet Montage Theory? 

When filmmakers were first pioneering how to create movies and elicit emotions from the audience, they experimented with lots of different editing styles. Lev Kuleshov pioneered an idea that would be known as the Kuleshov Effect. It is a cognitive event in which viewers derive more meaning from the interaction of two sequential shots than from a single shot in isolation. 

But that was just the beginning. People wanted to build on that idea. 

As more and more people experimented with the Kuleshov effect, we delved into montage theory. 

What does the montage theory of editing propagate?

Soviet montage theory definition

Soviet montage theory is an approach to creating movies that rely heavily upon editing techniques. It holds that editing and the juxtaposition of images is the lifeblood of filmmaking. While many filmmakers just shot wide shots of the action, Soviet montage theory cut together shorter shots to build a story. 

This version of the montage theory is the principal contribution of Soviet film theorists to global cinema and brought about formalism into filmmaking.

At the forefront of this movement was Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein. 

Who was Sergei Eisenstein? 

Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein was a Soviet director and film theorist who was a pioneer in creating the cinematic language we use today. He was one of the first people to use montage and is known widely for his seminal silent film, Battleship Potemkin (1925). 

He's known as the father of montage theory. 

Eisenstein montage theory 

As we mentioned earlier, everyone in the early 1900s was trying to define what filmmaking could be. Soviet filmmakers disagreed about how exactly to view montage. What kind of a tool was it, and how did it build on Kuleshov's ideals? 

Enter Sergei Eisenstein. He wrote a note of accord in "A Dialectic Approach to Film Form." In it, he said that montage is "the nerve of cinema," and that "to determine the nature of montage is to solve the specific problem of cinema."

While he didn't invent montage, Eisenstein codified its use in Soviet and international filmmaking and theory. He adapted montage to the cinema and expanded his theories throughout his career.

Eisenstein's work is divided into two periods. The first is classified as "mass dramas." These focus on formalizing the Marxist political struggle of the proletariat. It is encompassed in his films Strike and Battleship Potemkin. 

The second period in his montage exploration focuses much more on the "individual." Here, he focused much more on how montage could tell a personal story. 

Sergei Eisenstein montage in Battleship Potemkin 

If you've been to film school or are just a cinephile, I can almost guarantee you've heard of Battleship Potemkin. It's a 1925 Soviet silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein that presents a dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against its officers.

This film was created by Eisenstein to foster revolutionary propaganda,  but also used it to test his theories of montage.

He did this by experimenting with the editing inside the movie to try to get the greatest emotional response to what was happening on screen. This way, the viewer would feel sympathy and maybe even empathy for the sailors of the Battleship Potemkin. 

Einstein did this by editing together montages within the film. Check out the famous Odessa steps scene below. 

Basic knowledge of Film Theory could be your ticket to making a compelling argument, a classic film, or winning at Jeopardy. So read on!