Russian Constructivism in Film

The use of constructivist principles in film is quite fascinating from an artistic standpoint. The constructivists and the communist culture in general wanted to capture their new society on this new medium. Given the seeming obsession of Russian movements with novelty, this is no surprise. The use of a new medium, that has not yet expanded to even incorporate sound, would prove most efficient in explaining the novelty of their society. Expectations of the stereotypical older movie are not to be found here. Older movies in the United States seem to have amazing plots and seem to shy away from some of the production tricks. The Russian movies avoided the entire concept of a plot and characters. The entire movie was nothing but a combination of footage designed to illustrate a specific point. These montages are perhaps the clearest art pieces of the time period. The message behind the juxtaposed images was clear without written explanation. The images were selected with great intention and pieced together meticulously. The message of communism, daily life, and comparisons between seemingly dissimilar or opposite phenomena were all present and understandable.

One of the most surprising elements of these movies is the techniques of editing them. It did not seem like a particularly out of date movie based on the measures taken to create optical illusions. Many of the tricks used in these movies can be seen in TV shows and movies today. The idea of running a scene in reverse has been used by many producers to get a particular effect. The idea of the montage of images is how most movies are put together. The green screen shot are the best example of this technique in modern film. It is interesting that many of these techniques were so commonly used in Russia at such an early date, especially given the economic conditions of the country and the technological equipment available.

From an observer’s standpoint, it was fascinating to read an article about the seeming futuristic nature of many of their accomplishments. It is often difficult to remember how novel many of these ideas were at the time, which can lead to skepticism. The idea of the Monument to the Third International must have seemed extraordinary to the people at the time, whereas today most have seen revolving buildings and every building in Times Square is covered in giant screens. Ideologically, many of the principles of the time are deplorable, but the artistic ventures are interesting because of their clear ramifications in the modern world.