Battleship Potemkin (1925)
"Bronenosets Potyomkin" (original title)

A dramatized account of a great Russian naval mutiny and a resulting street demonstration which brought on a police massacre.

Director:

Sergei M. Eisenstein

Writer:

Nina Agadzhanova (script)

Stars:

Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barsky, Grigori Aleksandrov

Cast

Credited cast:
Aleksandr Antonov	...	Grigory Vakulinchuk - Bolshevik Sailor
Vladimir Barsky	...	Commander Golikov
Grigori Aleksandrov	...	Chief Officer Giliarovsky
Ivan Bobrov	...	Young Sailor Flogged While Sleeping (as I. Bobrov)
Mikhail Gomorov	...	Militant Sailor
Aleksandr Levshin	...	Petty Officer
N. Poltavtseva	...	Woman With Pince-nez
Konstantin Feldman	...	Student Agitator
Prokopenko	...	Mother Carrying Wounded Boy
A. Glauberman	...	Wounded Boy
Beatrice Vitoldi	...	Woman With Baby Carriage
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brodsky	...	Student
Julia Eisenstein	...	Woman with Food for Sailors
Sergei M. Eisenstein	...	Odessa Citizen
Andrey Fayt	...	Recruit (as A. Fait)

Storyline

Based on the historical events the movie tells the story of a riot at the battleship Potemkin. What started as a protest strike when the crew was given rotten meat for dinner ended in a riot. The sailors raised the red flag and tried to ignite the revolution in their home port Odessa.

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Plot Keywords:

revolution | mutiny | battleship | massacre | naval | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

24 December 1925 (Soviet Union)

Also Known As:

Potemkin

Filming Locations:

Alupka, Crimea, Ukraine

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,283 (USA) (21 January 2011)

Gross:

$50,970 (USA) (13 January 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goskino

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min 68 min (DVD edition) 72 min (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.25 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On 4 November 2005, composer Yati Durant premiered a new score for large orchestra and quadraphonic electronics for the recently restored "Berlin" version of the movie, commissioned by the Cologne University of Music.

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Goofs

In the firing squad scene, just before the mutiny, the ship's priest taps a crucifix upon his right hand, holding it in his left. As the shot cuts to a close-up of the cross, it instantly switches hands.

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Connections

Referenced in Starter for 10 (2006)

User Reviews

Still one of the best films ever made.

Quite a lot has been said about this film and its landmark importance in forming the language of film. If you are interested in film history, to truly understand the innovations Eisenstein brings to the medium you might try viewing Potemkin along side most any film made before it (those of D.W. Griffith offer a good contrast). It should be allowed that Eisenstein was not the only montage theorist and the principles of montage editing would likely have been discovered by another given time. However, even today, few directors have approached the skill with which Eisenstein created meaning through the combination of images at such an early point in the evolution of the medium.

If you are not interested in that sort of thing, Potemkin is still one of the most beautiful and moving films ever made. You should see it, buy it, and tatoo it to your chest.