The uncanny similarities between the Union Station steps scene in The Untouchables and the Odessa Steps in Battleship Potemkin are proof that the former was a recreation paying homage to the latter. Both scenes are considered some of the greatest scenes in cinema history. There are however several technical contrasts between the creation of the two clips.
While both scenes use shots of a baby carriage, their use and intention is significantly different. The Union Station scene has long shots focusing on the baby carriage and the mother such that the baby carriage forms one of the main narratives. This approach builds suspense within the audience. The baby carriage in Battleship Potemkin was juxtaposed with cross-cut close-up shots of an elderly woman who looks hopelessly from afar. This shot was designed to elicit a sense of hopelessness and signify oppression.
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The two directors incorporate sound very differently within the scenes. In the Union Station scene, the music playing is low with an audio background of the enclosed space’s spatial effect, creating a sense of ominousness and foreshadow. The audience is almost sure that something dramatic is about to take place. The Odessa Steps scene, however, is characterized by a fast tempo soundtrack which was supposed to create suspense. The tempo of the soundtrack in this scene has continually increased as the intensity and pace of the events in the scene increases.
The two clips exhibit contrasting use of time and space in various aspects. The Union station scene contains several motifs of time such as the clock and the age spectrum of the characters. To maximize suspense, the pace of events is slow, with the editors incorporating slow motion cuts. The use of space also allows the audience to focus on the details of the plot given that there are very few characters, yet the space on which the scene is shot is significantly large. The Odessa steps scene is fast paced. This perception is exacerbated by the short duration of shots and the quick succession of cuts. There are also very many characters spread over the space making it difficult to focus on specific characters in the midst of the chaos. This style of editing was necessary to develop the main theme of the film which is oppression and revolt.
The Union Station scene is composed of POV shots indicating what each of the characters is looking at and seeing per time. Most of the shots are close ups and half close ups focusing on the faces and revealing the emotions of the characters. There are also a few instances where the crane shot pans to reveal the space in which the scene takes place. The result is that the audience feels as if they are taking part in the unfolding events. The Odessa Steps scene is often shot through stationary imaging making very wide shots necessary for full spatial coverage. Moreover, the events therein do not often focus on one single subject hence closer shots may not be needed. There are numerous shots from a non-participant’s point of view, hence the audience watches as mere observers of the unfolding events.
The Odessa Steps scene uses the montage technique to compress a long story into the length of the scene. The editor herein employed rhythmic montage to show the arrival of the Potemkin vessel, its warm reception by the people, and all other events leading to the retaliatory firing of the ships guns after the massacre within a 12 minute clip. The Union Stations scene, however, seems to occur almost in real time, going by the time change in the clock occasionally visible in the far background. The directors use other aforementioned techniques such as cross-cutting and POV shots to build up the narrative.
In conclusion, the Odessa Steps and the Union station scene were shot differently. This is expected given the growth of filming technique in the within the 62 year period separating the Battleship Potemkin and The untouchables . They, however, remain two of the most iconic scenes in film-making.
