(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

The Strike by Sergei Eisenstein

Though not much has happened yet, Eisenstein has already branded the images of the powerful and the powerless into the minds of the viewers by using the uniforms of the police, the man-trampling ferocity of the horses, and the slow and suffocating snaring of the seemingly helpless rebels, which is shown through Eisenstein's use of the constant changes in the direction in which the workers flee. The repeated transition between the running workers and the leaping horse further emphasizes this difference in power, and the humongous trees through which the workers run also help in making the human-sized workers seem the size of mice.
             In a sharp transition from countryside to European-styled mansion, the viewer's attention is redirected sharply to the huge contrast between the two environments and the colossal difference between the frantic filled first scene and the calm and composed atmosphere of the white-columned house built for the rich. By doing so, Eisenstein visually introduces the distance between the workers and manipulators and then further emphasizes this distance with the wealthy and spoiled appearances of the old and imposing bosses. After a brief introduction to the riches of the mansion, one of the old men is shown with an orange juicer juicing an orange on a desk cluttered with unnecessary displays of fortune, and the old man then begins to talk about the orange juicer as if it's an unimportant toy made for temporary fascination. The scene then repeatedly shifts back and forth between the maliciously trampling horses and the toy of the rich and powerful bosses, the orange-squeezer, as the juice of the orange slowly trickles out from the machine. This short but effective blending of scenes creates a powerful visual effect that leads the viewers to believe that the bosses are wringing the life out of the peasants as if they were squeezing the juice out of the oranges.


Essays Related to The Strike by Sergei Eisenstein

1. Events that have helped shape the techniques of contemporary

... as form in art. During the 1920's, the period immediately following the Russian Revolution, the Soviet cinema was among the most exciting in the world, not only practically but also theoretically. Soviet filmmaker-theorists not only wanted to capture reality but also to change it - and found the powerful tool of montage, close ups and editing techniques to multiply visual impact. Films by Sergei Eisenstein (Strike, 1924; Potemkin, 1925; October, 1927 ... ), V.I. Pudovkin (Mother, 1926; The End of St.Petersburg, 1927), and Alexander Dovzhenko (Arsenal, 1929; Earth, 1930) remain major land...

  • Word Count: 2143
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question