Soviet Montage Theory — Definition, Examples and Types of Montage

Montage Film

What is montage in film?

The word ‘montage’ is rooted in the French language as a term to describe the connection of individual pieces, whether they be film, music or images, into a cohesive whole.

But to understand why montages became a major component of Soviet cinema, we have to first look at how the industry got to that point. 

The Moscow Film School or VGIK was founded in 1919 during the midst of the Russian Revolution. One of the foremost professors at the School was Lev Kuleshov, who had begun experimenting with new ways of editing film by 1920.

In 1923, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks usurped control of the Russian government. What followed was a period of radical change, both socially and economically. Consequently, at this time it was incredibly difficult to find film stock in Russia, so instead, the people were left to study film rather than create it.

Kuleshov, along with his students, explored the process of film editing rigorously. During his professorship, Kuleshov released a short film that would go on to become the foundation of Soviet Montage Theory. 

Types of Montage Film

Intellectual Montage

The goal behind this method was to create a montage where the combination of shots would evoke something different each time, such as hunger (soup), sadness (coffin) and desire (woman.) Kuleshov was credited with pioneering the evoking of emotion through contrasting images, therefore the technique became known as the Kuleshov effect.

The Kuleshov effect is still widely used in cinema today, as it allows a filmmaker to communicate with the audience solely through editing.

Types of Montage

Metric Montage

After Kuleshov created the intellectual montage, other types began to pop up in its wake. One such example is the Metric Montage in which a film is cut per frame.

The Metric Montage is inspired by the pacing of a musical score, AKA the meter. This is used to create a visual pace within a film scene by cutting to the next shot after a finite number of frames no matter what is happening on screen.

Types of Montage Film

Rhythmic Montage

If the Metric Montage is used to establish a visual pace, then the Rhythmic Montage is used to keep to the pace, in both a visual and auditory sense.

This clip from Whiplash is a great example of the Rhythmic Montage because each shot keeps to the pace of the music, which ultimately creates an engrossing continuity.

Types of Montage

Tonal Montage

The Tonal Montage is the use of two or more shots that support one another and build a theme, quite to the opposite effect of the Intellectual Montage. Here's a video essay on Parasite's montage; Director Bong Joon-ho crafts a scene which skillfully weaves integral themes of social inequality, deception, and infiltration.

As the name implies, the Tonal Montage helps to establish the tone of a scene through editing shots together that have the same thematic aim.

Types of Montage

Overtonal Montage

The Overtonal Montage is a sort of amalgamation of the four other types of montages: Intellectual, Metric, Rhythmic and Tonal.

Perhaps the most famous scene of the Soviet Montage Theory is that of the Odessa Steps in Battleship Potemkin. This scene utilizes all four types of Montage filmmaking to expert effect.

One of the most enduring images of the scene is the baby in the carriage falling down a flight of stairs, which is a great example of the Intellectual Montage as it uses the tragic circumstances to evoke an emotional response from the audience. 

This scene is one of the best examples of the influence of Soviet Montage Theory on international cinema. Let’s look at the essential aspects inherent in a montage:

1. Establishes pace 
2. Keeps to the pace
3. Evokes an emotional response
4. Exaggerates the emotional response through supporting and contrasting images.

Sergei Eisenstein Montage Film

The Five Steps

Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, who was once a student of Lev Kuleshov, is credited with outlining Soviet Montage Theory through the five steps we’ve just gone over.

Both Eisenstein and Kuleshov used the five steps of Soviet Montage Theory through their careers, which helped them to become some of the most influential technical filmmakers of all-time.

Up Next

The Kuleshov Effect Explained

We only touched on the Kuleshov Effect as part of Soviet Montage Theory, but in this next article we break it down in further detail with modern examples, including the work of Steven Spielberg. Up next is “The Kuleshov Effect Explained (and How Spielberg Subverts it.)”  

Up Next: Kuleshov Effect Explained →