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... One of the first things every film student notices about this scene is that it pays a very obvious homage to the "Odessa Steps" scene from Russian filmmaking legend Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. Although this may present as an example of "indirect intertextuality," make no mistake: De Palma is most certainly purposeful in his reference here. Even the political and moral themes from Battleship Potemkin - the strain between the "bourgeoisie and the proletariat, innocence and oppression" are likewise factored into the narrative of The Untouchables. Eisenstein's