Empire and The Battleship Potemkin review/essay

Empire (July 25 and 26, 1964)

Directed by Andy Warhol

Length: 8hrs 5minutes

It was filmed on the 42nd floor of the Time Life Building.

What makes this film contemporary is that it is not like a normal film, as with normal films you watch the entire film, but Empire is a challenge for the viewer to watch as it just features the same image of the tower. I think it is to be viewed more of a painting than a film. In short, Empire is an extremely weird and wonderful experimentation that Andy Warhol did. Empire is exactly a single uninterrupted shot of the Empire State Building in New York.

My overall opinion of the piece is that Empire is one of the most unexpectedly gripping movies I have seen to date, as not much happens but you expect it to. I could not wait to see what was going to happen and as I watched it I began to believe that nothing ever would, but as soon as the lights go on I sprang out of a chair like I would on an action film. Just like in life, sometimes the most simple things are the most beautiful. If all films were a huge 485 minutes long I would most likely be bored out of my skull, but if I was listen to music that was that long I probably would not get bored as there is something relaxing in hearing and letting your other senses go to rest, just like with watching Empire which keeps my eyes busy but relaxes all the rest of me.

I would say that the overall technique of Empire is mesmerizing. It used only one shot that would be boring and dull for most films but it uses it as a plus point by making it a film that is one of a kind film that has not be done before or after with any great success. I believe the techniques in Empire were done in a style that Warhol wanted us to relax and to be interpreted in our own way as we are not mentally stimulated enough to keep full concentration on the film itself. Also when I look at this documentary I don’t see a film but more of history that has been frozen in time and I believe this is what Warhol wanted to achieve as the film appears to be in slow motion.

I would describe the medium of the film as gritty as you can see a lot of grain in the film which is most likely due to it being night during most of it and the time the film was made. The fact that the film is black and white makes it feel more like a contemporary piece. What most films are made of include a visual and sound combined to make a pleasant experience for the audience. Even though this film is a silent movie it still relies on sound to give the whole effect of the film, as when I was watching it I found I was getting easily distracted by sounds around me bringing me out of the trance of the film and then bringing me back into it once I started watching again.

The reason I selected this particular piece and Warhol is that I found this motion picture so captivating and it made me want to write about it. It makes me think while watching it and most films do the thinking for you. It is for this reason that this is one of Warhol’s best films in my opinion and what makes him such a mastermind.

Historical references I can link with this film and the artist is that it was made in the 60’s which was a time for change and trying new things that had not been done before Examples include pop music from the Beatles or sex becoming a subject people talked about, so artists were becoming more daring in what they did. I believe if Empire was made in any other decade it would be a lot different from what we see today.

 

The Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein

My overall opinion of the film is that I loved it. It is a very successful in getting its emotions across and it is that which makes the film brilliant.

Even though the film is not perfect it is definitely a film that I will not forget in a hurry. It says a lot for how successful all of the images are that so many people think so highly of "Battleship Potemkin", regardless of a narrative that is from time to time hard to follow. This is because the film does not have the best acting talents but it still delivers a hard punch that stays with you. I would say that the Odessa Steps has to be one of the most well known sequences in the history of film. The famous Odessa Steps montage single-handedly reveals equally the excellent industrial talents and an intense understanding of how to deliver a picture that stays with the audience.

I would say that the overall techniques used in this film were to make it shocking, just like my first and second film in A2. The images are so striking that the movie's faults are often not so obvious and they don't keep it from being an unforgettable film. There is a lot to understand in the way that the main scenes were set up and shot. The Battleship Potemkin is packed with vibrant metaphors that stay in your brain after you have watched it.

The reason I selected this particular film, The Battleship Potemkin is that it is a stunning success of imaginative montages that lead the way for films like Rocky. What makes this such a good film particularly is the well-known Odessa Steps scene where blameless city dwellers are chased away down the steps. The motion picture is an all time movie standard for all film fans. The cinematography is incredible in this Russian film, it used a combination of tracking and crane shots that move with the battle and used modern viewpoint and composition layouts for a film of that time.

Historical references that go with this film were easy to find out as the film is based on the historical actions that happened at that time. The motion picture tells the narrative of a rebellion at the battleship Potemkin in Russia. Troops were given gone off meat for food which resulted in the uproar/dispute.

Empire and The Battleship Potemkin are very different films, they both used film to record an aspect of history but the techniques could not be more different as The Battleship Potemkin is a montage of lots of different shots but Empire is just one single shot the whole way through. It is hard to find similarities in terms of compositions and viewpoints as Empire only has one as it was intended to be viewed as art rather then a film. One thing I can say is that, in my opinion, both artists have influenced current filmmakers and advertisements in a way that makes something truly stand out and be remembered in time. To do this you have to try something new and different like the two films I have studied were in their time. Studying these two films has given me some ideas and inspiration for my own short films. They gave me the idea to make a film that documents an event or period of time by just showing it and not having to have a story. I hope to capture my town in a time capsule way to show the future what it was like living in Eastleigh in 2011.