Methods of Montage

      In Methods of Montage, Sergei Eisenstein, the eminent Russian film pioneer, describes the montage techniques which he invented in Russia during and after the revolution of the 1917. In the text, Eisenstein investigates the way in which these techniques create both the rhythmic quality, and the intellectual transitions within his films.
      He begins by explaining how the Metric Montage is used in his films, and how it differs from conventional editing. Metric Montage, instead of being solely concerned with editing footage in a chronological fashion, is instead used to impose a rhythm onto the edited materials through "mechanical acceleration by shortening," thereby lending a certain "tension" to the piece.
     Next Eisenstein explains how Rhythmic Montage is used. In rhythmic montage, the visual contents of the scene, as well as the length of the piece, become the primary considerations in determining how to arrange the material. The length of the scenes is decided upon based on the action which unfolds during the scene, and the scenes which have been edited in this way are then arranged together based upon how well the unfolding action meshes in an aesthetic and rhythmic way.
      In Tonal Montage, the emotional content of the pieces of film dictate their arrangement within the montage. The movement within the montage scene is determined by the "characteristic emotional sound of the piece," instead of by purely aesthetic considerations. If a "gloomier" mood within the film is required, Tonal Montage would be used to transition from scenes with brighter light and colors, to darker and more muted scenes.
     Finally, Eisenstein goes on to explain what he means by Intellectual Montage. In this form of montage, the aesthetic and chronological considerations of the other forms of montage are replaced by ideas concerning the transition from one intellectual stance to another in the mind of the viewer. Intellectual Montage, as described here by Eisenstein, can be more clearly linked to the propagandistic goals of the early Soviet Union than the other forms of montage, something which is exemplified in the second-to-last paragraph of his essay, where he writes: "Building a completely new form of cinematography–the realization of revolution in the general history of culture; building a synthesis of science, art, and class militancy."
      While I enjoyed reading about techniques of montage as they were described by their de facto inventor, I was less intrigued by the ideological undercurrents added to the text by Eisenstein. While his belief in the superiority of communism over capitalist "democracy" is not a problem for me as such, his support of the Soviet Union after 1922, in what can be described as a public relations position, does not seem particularly conscionable to me.