Reading Notes From Pages 29-44

In such a hard period of wars in Europe and Russia even a Moscow Film School and All Union State Institute of Cinematography were established. That is somehow unbelievable but I am happy that it happened because thanks to that nowadays we have the film technology that we have and we are working on inventing even more sophisticated things in the film industry. 

Many years later I still agree with Kuleshov effect formula that an actor's appearance in the shot is determined more by what he is looking at than by his facial expressions. It is true that by watching a film we focus on actors facial expressions but by focusing on that we always have in mind of why he or she is making that expressions and what is going on next, what he or she is looking at.

I found interesting the part in the book that talks about the Soviet Russia and the Montage Theory. I was born and raised in Europe, so I know a lot of things about that and as someone interested in History it is great to connect my previous knowledge now with a film theory of a specific period in the history. It is great how in such a hard period of wars the film still survived in Europe and even it developed and improved. I have heard before about the montage theory and editing in 1920 developed by the film theorists Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov. The montage theory was a very important technique in that period of film as it is still due today's perspective of film. We keep the same theories and techniques that were developed back then we just work on improving them and making better things with better results. I also found interesting how Karl Marx theories had influences even on the theories of film. 

It is also fascinating how people in Germany focused on film even in the period of the wars and how directors as Robert Wiene made great films such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.

I found interesting to read Kracauer's concepts and his film theories.

This reading reminded me of the Russias film that I have watched Ivan's Childhood which is directed by the Soviet Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky.