Down the Steps: An "Untouchable" Russian Montage Sequence that Revolutionized Film
In order to fully appreciate Brian De Palma's American crime drama, The Untouchables, every serious student of film must breakdown the very bloody, very pivotal "Union Station" scene shot by shot, noting every shot size, length, lens, and camera movement to explore how POV adds both depth and tension to an already by definition "intense" scene...
Something that deserves our attention and analysis here is "time." We see several "time" motifs here. The setting: train stations are all about keeping time; there is a clock on the wall and a child in a carriage (children as well as the elderly, often represent "time" or lack thereof in films). Furthermore, since time is playing such a huge role in this scene, it's a pretty safe bet that special attention was paid to the pacing of it, too. The editing, in other words, had to be very intentional to pace this scene in such a way as to capture the pressure and tension of Elliot Ness's waiting (pay special attention to the duration of each shot!)
Many times, when you are trying to analyze a movie, it's easy to get distracted and become completely engrossed in a story if you don't have a structure to your study...and, in this case, if you are dealing with a master storyteller director like De Palma. Going shot by shot through a scene, writing down everything from the shot size to the camera movement will help you understand films on a structural level.
In respect to the meaning and purpose of something being edited this way, it was Eisenstein's belief that two images juxtaposed together would create a mental image greater than the individual parts. By extension, this means that eighty shots put together will call for a uniquely strong response within the audience. This is the heart of Eisenstein's use of montage. To him, film is a language that communicates emotion, and having proper editing is the equivalent of having proper grammar!
1. Shot duration
2. Shot size (WS, MS, CU, etc)
3. Camera Angle (low, high, eye-line, Dutch, etc.)
4. Camera movement (pan, dolly, tracking, handheld, crane, fixed)
5. Camera lens (telephoto, wide-angle, anamorphic)
6. Action Description- What key things are happening in your chosen shot?
Looking forward to reading your breakdowns!
The shot I chose was the third close up in the entire scene. It is roughly 3 seconds long and is a close-up. It is a dutch-tilt that is from the eye-line level. The camera slowly pans on on the subject specifically to the man's eyes to magnify the intensity of the moment. The shot is captured on an anamorphic lens, this is a given because the background is slightly blurred, making the subject more intensified. In this shot, Ness recognizes Stone and the camera slowly zooms in on Ness as the moment becomes adrenaline filled. This occurs right before they open fire on one another.
ReplyDeleteThe shot I chose was of the mother and her baby. The shot lasted approximately 3 seconds and I believe it was a wide shot, though it is difficult to tell as the angle of the camera is at an aerial view of the mother and her baby, as though we were Ness looking down on the two from his position on the upper level. This reveals a power dynamic between the characters. Ness has the power over the the mother and her baby and they are vulnerable. This power dynamic comes into play later in the sequence when Ness ultimately helps the woman. There isn't much motion coming from the camera. Nothing of great importance. The type of lens used was most likely a telephoto as the shot was probably taken from the upper level, however the woman and the baby seem closer to the camera. In the shot, the woman is pushing her baby in a bassinet and trying to comfort him. She is also carrying a couple of suitcases.
ReplyDeleteIn my chosen shot, a man in a white coat is shot. Then, the camera zooms in to see George Stone aiming a gun from a window behind him. The shot is approximately 3 seconds long. It goes from a medium shot of the man in white, and becomes a medium close-up of George Stone. Given that the two subjects of the shot are very far apart, it makes sense that a telephoto lens was used to shoot this shot. The use of this lens help show that George is a very good shot (with a gun). During the transition between the two subjects, the shot becomes blurry. I think this shot was meant to show how George Stone was very skilled with a pistol.
ReplyDeleteThe shot I decided to choose was a wide show, near the middle of the Union Station scene (when the tension of the action started to rise). This shot was used with a telephoto lens at a low angle. This shot must have been handheld because of the lack of movement in this 2 second scene.
ReplyDeleteThe key aspects I noticed in this shot were the eye for detail. The audience sees so much in one scene which can make the viewer feel closed in or anxious, like we're in on the action. This specific scene, you can see the action being the main focus, but also, you can see the lady reaching for the baby's cart as she is terrified her baby is going to fall down the steps. This scene brings a lot of emotion to the rest of the overall scene that creates a sense of anxiousness to the audience.
My chosen shot lasts roughly around 2 seconds. It is a wide shot from an eye-line angle. I believe it to be a dolly shot because the camera is moving forward towards the character with no shaking. The whole shot is done with a telephoto lens. In this shot, the main character is pointing a shotgun at the camera while the mother screams in terror on the side of the frame. Keeping it at eye level allows for the audience to immerse themselves into the story. The whole scene up until this point was just suspense. This very moment is when that suspense is lifted, and the action begins. The telephoto lens makes the main character the central focus of the shot, allowing the audience to feel more connected with him. He looks directly into the camera almost as if to say "you can breathe now". The wide shot gives it an almost grand and climactic feel. Overall, the shot is meant to finally break the audience out of the tension they had felt up until then.
ReplyDeleteThese are all great! I hope that you all go back and read them; for me as your instructor, it indicates not only your excellence in analyzing the techniques of the cinematographer, but your confidence in your skills as filmmakers, too! :) Well done!
ReplyDeleteThe shot I chose was the close of the baby's stroller rolling down the stairs and in the background at the bottom of the stairs is a man holding a gun. The shot last's a little over a second, and is a waist level shot at the top of the stairs that gives the viewer multiple things to focus on. At this point this shot perfectly reveals to the audience the severity and suspense of the situation, and gives an idea of the choices that have to be made in order to save everyone. The gunman seems to be aiming directly at the stroller from the bottom of the stairs and on the left hand side you can see people piled on each other taking cover. This shot is sort of the beginning of the end of the shot, the suspense is getting lifted further and now the protagonist is presented with a difficult decision that he must over come.
ReplyDeleteThe shot I'm choosing to look at is the stroller scene with the baby and the stairs, specifically about a 3 second section of it. The shot appeared to be a wide angle shot with a fixed dramatic zoom in. The shot includes a the man being shot down just as he was in the process of lifting his gun to fire, thus the protagonists being shot down falls backward to the ground the shot dramatically zooms into another man firing a run before the shot changes. It is a surprise to the audience as you don't expect such a sudden zoom in and it barely gives the audience enough time to process what is happening. It adds to the dramatic tension of the scene in order to further the tension and create suspense.
ReplyDeleteThe shot I chose was the opening shot of George walking down the stairs and then out of frame then the camera slowly pans to Ness standing at the top of the balcony with his shotgun, I chose this shot because I really like continuous shots where multiple characters are shown in different positions without the use of cuts. The shot is approximately 33 seconds in length and is a wide shot. The camera angle is a high angle that transitions into an eye level shot, I want to say it's an wide angle lens because a lot of the scenery of the station is shown. The action in this scene would be George walking down the stairs while simultaneously a couple of sailors carrying large bags are walking up the stairs, George takes a quick look to his right before hastily walking out of frame. The camera then pans up to Ness who has changed positions from the top of the stairs to a look out point atop the balcony near the stairs with his shotgun.
ReplyDelete