Shklovsky on eisenstein

Pushkin’s lexicon. There are very few neologisms in Pushkin’s work—he stands at the summit of his age. His lexicon and his prosody, anticipated by formal innovations he proceded to refine, emerged semiconsciously, the product of a well-lit field of sensitive readers coupled with the genius of the poet.

Eisenstein’s shooting script for 1905: edits, camera angles, dissolves, diagrams, all less elaborate than in The Strike (StaČka). There are only two dissolves in the entire film, and each stresses the key image: the steps filling with people, and the deck of the battleship emptying.

Dissolves economize scene exposition without feeling like its focus. The film is good because the things in it are uncluttered. I think that economy as a device is consciously utilized here—it serves as a unifier of action.

more from Context here.