This technique usually summons up reminiscences of '80s sports dramas - in particular the now-ubiquitous Rocky training scene - but the technique is much older than that, first appearing in the work of famed Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein.
Eisenstein, who would go on to develop what became known as 'œSoviet montage theory,' used montages to create powerful mental associations in the minds of his viewers. Late in his 1925 film Strike, Eisenstein intercut footage of cows in a slaughterhouse with striking workers as they're brutally assaulted by soldiers. The effect was a link in the audience's mind between the butchered animals and the treatment received by the strikers. He would repeat the effect later that year in the famous 'œOdessa steps' sequence of Battleship Potemkin, in which soldiers advance menacingly down a broad staircase while a baby carriage tumbles away below them.
Eisenstein, who would go on to develop what became known as 'œSoviet montage theory,' used montages to create powerful mental associations in the minds of his viewers. Late in his 1925 film Strike, Eisenstein intercut footage of cows in a slaughterhouse with striking workers as they're brutally assaulted by soldiers. The effect was a link in the audience's mind between the butchered animals and the treatment received by the strikers. He would repeat the effect later that year in the famous 'œOdessa steps' sequence of Battleship Potemkin, in which soldiers advance menacingly down a broad staircase while a baby carriage tumbles away below them.
The now-clichéd Rocky-esque montage owes much to the work of Serbian special effects artist Slavko Vorkapich. Vorkapich mixed together seemingly unrelated images in sequences which elevate their parts into a dramatic whole when combined. For example, bottles smashing on the floor, hallucinated flowers and faces, and seething, dripping fluids made up the transformation scene in the 1941 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, resulting in a visual representation of the torment and disorientation the good doctor undergoes after drinking his noxious serum.
The training montage, à la Karate Kid, Full Metal Jacket, et al, has only become a cliché because it serves its purpose so well that few directors feel the need to break free of it. After all, witnessing Rocky actually punch meat for weeks on end is more the domain of avant-garde cinema. The training montage typically follows a set pattern in which the protagonist encounters a setback as a result of their failure to prepare sufficiently, after which they retreat to train intensely - getting better step-by-step - until they're ready to challenge their opponent in a dramatic conclusion. Normally they win, of course.
However, that doesn't mean the technique can't be experimented with or pushed beyond its apparent boundaries. Disney films like Mulan have famously combined montages with songs to enliven the experience of seeing the protagonist grow in strength and confidence. The Baptism Murders from The Godfather (1972)
In The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola juxtaposed the baptism of Michael Corleone's nephew with the deaths of his rivals. As Michael promises to the priest that he will 'renounce Satan,' his loyalists are all over New York enacting a devilish massacre.
While it had its origins in artistic dramatic films, the montage now enjoys widespread popularity across multiple genres, including television and corporate video production. When you need to condense time, space, or information while keeping your viewers engaged, the montage is waiting and ready. Just remember, in the immortal words of South Park's Sport's Training Montage song, to always fade out in a montage'¦
Training montage Marine style in Full Metal Jacket (1987)
However, that doesn't mean the technique can't be experimented with or pushed beyond its apparent boundaries. Disney films like Mulan have famously combined montages with songs to enliven the experience of seeing the protagonist grow in strength and confidence. The Baptism Murders from The Godfather (1972)
In The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola juxtaposed the baptism of Michael Corleone's nephew with the deaths of his rivals. As Michael promises to the priest that he will 'renounce Satan,' his loyalists are all over New York enacting a devilish massacre.
While it had its origins in artistic dramatic films, the montage now enjoys widespread popularity across multiple genres, including television and corporate video production. When you need to condense time, space, or information while keeping your viewers engaged, the montage is waiting and ready. Just remember, in the immortal words of South Park's Sport's Training Montage song, to always fade out in a montage'¦
Team America World Police (2004). Puppet montage genius.
Al Pacino as big collared Cuban mobster Tony Montana in the 'Push it to the Limit' montage in Scarface (1983)
Wax on. Wax off. Game on. Training scene from The Karate Kid (1984)