When analyzing Battleship Potemkin, it is important to remember its intended function as a work of propaganda. “Propaganda” has an extremely negative connotation among most people today, and rightly so, but it doesn’t necessarily diminish a film’s artistic worth. In the case of Battleship Potemkin, the framework of propaganda is important to understanding Eisenstein’s intentions and his methods. Eisenstein was commissioned by the government to make the film to honor the legacy of the Revolution of 1905, and to promote communist values. In doing so, Eisenstein hoped to consciously subvert the thematic and stylistic norms of popular film across the world. In casting the film, Eisenstein chose mostly non-professional actors, hoping to emulate the looks and behaviors of ordinary working-class people. In particular, he wanted to avoid recognizable stars so the focus of the film could remain on the collective action he wanted to valorize. This approach has been copied by numerous leftist filmmakers over the years, most notably in the post-WWII Italian neorealist film movement.
Of course, the most notable influence of Eisenstein on the film is his application of montage-style editing. This was born out of a reaction against the dominant form of film editing at the time, called continuity editing, and associated with Hollywood film. (There is some nuance here, as montage style was in part inspired by some aspects of continuity editing such as American director D.W. Griffith’s work, but most film theorists treat the two as completely distinct stylistic schools.) Continuity editing was focused on showing a clear and temporally continuous line of action, one that gave the impression of a smooth, realistic narrative. Script, shot composition, and editing were all oriented towards recreating on film what had already happened in real life. Eisenstein’s "montage" cinema, by contrast, is more focused on creating powerful individual emotional responses in an audience that may—or may not—depend on the actual events being described. The most famous sequence from Battleship Potemkin is the showdown between revolutionaries and the state police in what is known as the Odessa Steps sequence. The content of this sequence is marked by violent clashes, confusion and the presence of menace no matter where the characters turn. In editing the sequence together, therefore, Eisenstein rejects smooth transitions from one shot to the next, or a linear progression that guides the viewer through the confusing landscape. Instead, the editing is jarring and creates the same sense of chaos and confusion among viewers as exists among the character on the screen. The logic of the film is based on narrative, but on emotion: what is taking place on-screen is meant to mirror formally what is happening in the mind of the viewers.
Sergei Eisenstein’s innovations in Battleship Potemkin changed how films were made, and the effect can be seen in countless films made since. We can see it in any film where the editing arranges shots not just to propel the narrative, but to produce an effect in the audience or replicate an emotional reaction in the viewer similar to that experienced by a character on screen. Beyond Battleship Potemkin, this style has influenced most major styles of filmmaking in the 20th and 21st century to the point that some aspects of montage are virtually ubiquitous in global filmmaking.
