Expressive Elements: 

• High contrast, high key, close up of their hands
• Knife – violence 
• Tilts up – see people and people on horses – silhouetted (?)
• Editing of the falling child, long duration shot of them on the ground – no reaction shot 
• Crowd movement , fast paced editing – chaos (tonal montage- feelings)
• Sped up film (like middle) 
• “Sea” of dead bodies 
• Children fighting emphasises the innocence of the people 
• Cross fade to the man behind the event – like he’s devouring the people
• Editing – high cutting rate – he hits them, table shakes, ink spills over where the workers live (violence and blood) – puts his hand on the ink (like blood is on his hand)
• Montage – cow (graphic) and people – symbolism, working class, treated like cattle 
• Pan – shows extent of the devastation
• Breaks 180 degree rule – chaotic 

Visual Representation of Sound: 

• Title cards 
• Expressive performances e.g. the laughing 
• Chaos of the crowd

Extent and Limits of Verisimilitude: 

• Black and white – changes the way we view the film 
• Non-professional actors
• Pessimistic ending – ignites anger – propaganda

Positioning and Address  of the Viewer: 

• Positioned within the crowd
• Looking up at the people on horses
• CU of eyes looking at the camera
• Directly addressed at the end – writing 

Context and Messages: 

• Propaganda- focusing on the time it was made, not the past 
• Only one meaning that cannot be interpreted in a different way  (cow and people symbolism) as it’s a propaganda film (need to get the message right)    

Narrative Devices and Structure: 

• Part of ‘Part 6’
• Pessimistic ending 
• No protagonist – strength together, links in with the propaganda throughout the film (e.g. Lenin quote)

Expressive Elements:

• Dialogue shown as text on screen
• Expressive shadows – light tracks man in corridor (neo-classical architecture – shows power)
• Exaggerated performances 
• Harsh directional lighting 
• Juxtaposition of men making drinks and squeezing the lemon while workers get harassed/abused
• Squeezing of the lemon is symbolic of crushing the revolution (editing) – menacing expression when squashing the fruit, then cutting to the horses and people on the ground – his power is why the people are being harassed 
• Police on horses – literally and metaphorically are higher and have more power
• Horses and police come over the hill
• Didn’t run away/disperse – unity is power 
• CU lemon shot 
• CU of wc man with men – laughs at the note 

Visual Representation of Sound: 

• Dialogue shown as text on screen – expresses what characters are like e.g. ‘clean it up’ 

Extent and Limits of Verisimilitude:

• Black and white
• Realism – naturalistic setting 

Positioning and Address of Viewer: 

• Text on screen (e.g. when they pick up the paper, and it tells you it’s the demands and after he’s wiped his feet with it the text creates the idea of what they think of the working class)  (‘considered…care’ – ironic)
• We’re in the crowd, eye-level, in position with them
• Directly addressed – fruit guy looks at us, directly lit – evil, villains expression 

Context and Messages: 

• Unity of workers – propaganda 
• Wipes feet with the needs  of the working class – power dynamic 
• Power of the men – menacing expression when squashing the fruit, then cutting to the horses and people on the ground – his power is why the people are being harassed 

Narrative Devices and Structure: 

• Large ensemble cast – targeting the masses, telling us we’re a group, should be 
• No character names, just functions (bar the spy names)

Expressive (formalist) Elements: 

• Workers framed by factory machinery (wheel) 
• Deep depth of field 
• Kuleshov effect and cross fade (relates images) – factory owner looking at the factory workers, finds it funny
• High angle tracking shot of the factory – expressive camera movement 
• Expressive lighting e.g. high contrast, silhouette 
• Montage 
• Action reaction shots 
• Puddle shot – reverse motion (rotated film? Upside down, reverse?)
• Repetition of chimneys 
• Expressive and exaggerated performances 
• Corridor set – many doors, busy people, crowded 
• Low level shot of factory chimneys 

Visual Representation of Sound: 

• Written speech (dialogue – text) – title cards 
• over-acting/expressive acting to make up for the lack of audible dialogue and therefore get meaning across

Extent and Limits of Verisimilitude: 

• Dark shadows (man with pipe etc) – stylistic, not real life (high key lighting)
• Workers working in the factory – real life
• Over-acting to make up for lack of sound – not real life (e.g. factory owner looking at the workers)
• Black and white/monochrome – changes the way that we view the film 
• Only non-diegetic sound, which audiences wouldn’t even of heard at the time 
• Shot in a factory 
• Ordinary costumes 
• No stars in the film

Positioning and Address of the Viewer:

• Lenin quote tells the audience what to think/believe 
• Addresses the viewer through written speech 
• Laughing factory owner – looking directly at the camera – laughing at us? Mocking the working class in the audience? Positioning us as the factory workers?

Context and Messages:

• Propaganda film e.g. Lenin quote (all got to work together)
• First state Film Factory 
• Factory owner is evil 

Narrative Devices and Structure: 

• Strength that can be found when workers work together – Lenin quote opens the film 
• Montage – introduces us to factory and factory workers
• Told straight away that the film is split into parts  

3.2) Explore how your film option might be considered as either a realist or an expressionist kind of cinema. Make reference to a particular sequence in your answer. [20]

‘Strike’ is directed by Eisenstein, a Soviet film director, who is typically associated with expressionist cinema rather than realist, contrasting to someone like Bazin who focused on realist cinema. The main example of expressionistic film making in ‘Strike’ is the use of editing. Such as, the use of the Kuleshov effect. During the opening of the movie, Eisenstein utilises the Kuleshov effects and cross fades when cutting between the factory boss man and the workers at the factory. This is a way of relating the two together, and the audience being told how the boss feels about the factories workers, especially when paired with the exaggerated performances. Getting across the boss’ opinion on the factory workers is important, as the film Communist propaganda, and focused on the mistreatment of the workers and how everyone working together in unity to revolt is how they shall succeed, as shown by the opening Lenin quote which directly addresses the audience. Later on, montage is used which is another example of ‘Strike’ being an example of expressionist cinema. Such as, the montage at the end of the movie of everyone running away, the police chasing them, people and the cow dying. This is an example of tonal montage as it makes you feel a certain way (scared and upset) but also an example of the collision principle, as the shot of the dead cow with the shot of the dead people produces it’s own meaning comparing the working class to animals. Although this scene is largely expressionistic, there is a moment of realist cinema when the camera lingers of the dead child for effect. This leans into realist cinema as an element of the was long duration shots.

The film was also expressionistic in terms of cinematography, and sometimes mise en scene. For example, during the opening, there is a set which is an example of expressionist cinema. This is when the workers are all rushing through the hallway and was probably created to connote this sense of chaos, as so many workers all rush through a small hallway. The opening also includes an impressive overhead tracking shot of the factory, which is a formalist technique. Moreover, there is also use of back lighting and silhouetting, which is a very expressionistic technique and use of cinematography and may connote a sense of secretiveness. The middle sequence when the rich men are sat at the table also has expressionistic uses of cinematography. Such as, the lighting that follows the helper on the stairs. This could be to emphasise how he is a working-class citizen like the factory workers, yet isn’t on their side, linking back to the Lenin quote and how everyone needs to work together to succeed. These formalist cinematography elements to some extent break the verisimilitude of the film, as they are moments that are clearly cinema and constructed rather than real life, such as the silhouetting during the opening. The exaggerated performances, used as visual representation of sound, are also examples of the breaking of the verisimilitude, as they aren’t realistic moments. Therefore, this is another example of the film being expressionistic.