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!
Taking a look at the camera angles in the Union Station scene, from the moment we see the mother and the baby in the stroller there is an over head shot, likely from the view of Elliot. We get a wide shot of the door, and a wide shot of the janitors, almost scanning in a way. Then it's followed by a close up of the clock, forcing the audience to see the time, since it's important. In between these shots we get a medium close up of Elliot, to clarify that the shots are what Elliot is looking at. We are repeatedly cutting in between medium shots of Elliot and over head shots of the mother and child, however, each time we cut to the mother and the child, there is a slight tilt that slowly increases (at least that's what it looks like to me), to emphasize that something is gonna happen to them, and it helps to increase the anxiety whenever the two are in frame. After that there are a few more wide shots of Elliot helping the baby and the stroller up, medium close ups of the baby, and of the mafia members. Before doing close up on the man behind Elliot and then onto Elliot, the close ups increase until they're extreme close ups, putting more drama in the situation, and since close ups (especially extreme ones) can be uncomfortable, it's bring attention to how uncomfortable the situation may be for Elliot, since he's helping a mother and a baby then has to shoot some people from the mafia, can't say that that's a pleasant situation to be in for anyone.
ReplyDeleteAs the stroller is rolling down the stairs we see a lot of low shots, close to the wheels of the stroller, maybe to show the distance, and to call attention to how helpless the mother is to stop it and us as viewers. With one final medium shot of the baby, blissfully unaware of what is about to happen to them, the stroller rolls off the stairs. The next shots are a lot slower, to increase the drama of the situation, is Elliot gonna be able to make it in time to save the baby or is he not? In between the shots of the stroller (alternating from low, to medium to high), there are several medium shots of Elliot shooting the mafia members and them shooting back at him, with the exception of a low close up, that shows that Elliot realizing what happened to the baby.
As Elliot is hurrying to save the baby, while trying not to get shot, the film switches around from low, to high, to medium shots to emphasize how erratic and fast the situation is, building up anticipation and fear within the audience. Elliot's partner is able to just barely stop the stroller in time and the scene ends shortly after.
All of the camera angles in this scene were meant to draw focus and to raise tension and fear in the audience, and it does a great job of it.
For my shot I chose the shot at 6:25 in this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRJ539f5Ugc
ReplyDeleteThis shot is only about a second long but I feel that it best exemplifies how chaotic the scene unfolding is. The director chose a wide angle shot which allows for the most information to be conveyed all at once. We see the mother and her baby falling down to avoid the gunfire from the erupting gunfight, we see the remnants of smoke from previous gun fire, and we see the officer getting ready to fire another shot at the mobsters. The camera is at a low angle, making the officer seem higher in the shot, giving him the high ground in the gunfight, while also making him look more noble, as if he is on a pedestal. The camera doesnt move throughout the shot, mostly because this shot is in a set of shots of wild cuts, keeping the action high and exciting while also being dramatic.
The section from the Union Station sequence starts at 1:31:12 and ends at 1:35:58. This is where the action starts as Elliot starts to recognize some of the mafia members.
ReplyDeleteThe angle of the camera changes from the perspective of Elliot to his surroundings in the station and what he’s doing. The medium close-up style when looking at Elliot shows his whole face so the audience can see his facial expression and what he’s thinking. The montage later in the sequence gets to a faster pace and shows George throwing a gun then diving to save the baby. This faster pace makes the scene tenser. As Elliot is on the top of the stairs he is in a position of power due to the high angle shot. When George is about to take his shot at the man holding the bookkeeper, the camera zooms into the gun and cuts to the man’s sweaty face. When it shows George since he’s on the ground you can’t really get a high angle or low angle shot to show power but his intent gaze and line leading from his arm help lead the viewer into knowing that he will have success.
The camera seems to be hand-held during some of the quick changes in perspective but is also pretty smooth almost assisted by equipment.
As the guns are drawn the dialogue and sounds become slow and muffled while the music becomes more prominent and some of the action is in slow motion which adds to the tension.
One other allusion to the Odessa sequence could be when he shot the man with the broken nose, it mimicked the shot of the woman with the shot eye glasses in Battleship Potemkin by having the broken glass and blood.
Sorry for the late submission, took me longer than I expected to find time to write this.
ReplyDeleteI will be looking at the scenes from 1:32:57 - 1:33:06 where the baby's stroller is seen slowly backing away from the camera and approaching the edge of the steps.
Each of the shots only lasts a few seconds between scenes of the mother, meant to invoke the feelings of montage discussed within the blog. The shots are mainly wide-shots to maintain the distance between the stroller and the two sides of the stairs and exaggerate the stroller's size to be much smaller in comparison to the distance.
The shots also make use of a wide camera lens to exaggerate the distance between the stroller, the camera, and the stairs to make the scene feel more tense. The camera's angle is shot low so that the camera's focus is on the bottom of the stroller, making the motion of the wheels the main subject of note for the audience. The camera is also fixed, as to give the audience the feeling of watching the stroller with the mother, powerless to prevent its path.
The scene I've chosen mainly consists of the stroller rolling away from the camera, cut with close-up shots of the mother as well to give the impression that she is seeing what is in the shots as well. The scenes also contain a close-up of the child in the stroller, oblivious to what is going on around him at the time, as the stroller then falls down the stairs in the proceeding shot.