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

In 2004, British pop duo Pet Shop Boys were commissioned to write a new score for the film. It premiered on a live concert and screening in Trafalgar Square, London, on 12 September 2004.

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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 We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974)

User Reviews

Like Citizen Kane it's almost been TOO analyzed and cherished as a landmark, but still not without good reason

If you're a film student, or were one, or are thinking of becoming one, the name Battleship Potemkin has or will have a resonance. Sergei Eistenstein, like other silent-film pioneers like Griffith (although Eisenstein's innovations are not as commonplace as Griffith's) and Murnau, has had such an impact on the history of cinema it's of course taken for granted. The reason I bring up the film student part is because at some point, whether you'd like it or not, your film professor 9 times out of 10 will show the "Odessa Stairs" sequence of this film. It's hard to say if it's even the 'best' part of the film's several sequences dealing with the (at the time current) times of the Russian revolution. But it does leave the most impact, and it can be seen in many films showcasing suspense, or just plain montage (The Untouchables' climax comes to mind).

Montage, which was not just Eistenstein's knack but also his life's blood early in his career, is often misused in the present cinema, or if not misused then in an improper context for the story. Sometimes montage is used now as just another device to get from point A to point B. Montage was something else for Eisenstein; he was trying to communicate in the most direct way that he could the urgency, the passion(s), and the ultimate tragedies that were in the Russian people at the time and place. Even if one doesn't see all of Eisenstein's narrative or traditional 'story' ideas to have much grounding (Kubrick has said this), one can't deny the power of seeing the ships arriving at the harbor, the people on the stairs, and the soldiers coming at them every which way with guns. Some may find it hard to believe this was done in the 20's; it has that power like the Passion of Joan of Arc to over-pass its time and remain in importance if only in terms of technique and emotion.

Of course, one could go on for books (which have been written hundreds of times over, not the least of which by Eisenstein himself). On the film in and of itself, Battleship Potemkin is really more like a dramatized newsreel than a specific story in a movie. The first segment is also one of the great sequences in film, as a mutiny is plotted against the Captain and other head-ups of a certain Ship. This is detailed almost in a manipulative way, but somehow extremely effective; montage is used here as well, but in spurts of energy that capture the eye. Other times Eisenstein is more content to just let the images speak for themselves, as the soldiers grow weary without food and water. He isn't one of those directors who will try to get all sides to the story; he is, of course, very much early 20th century Russian, but he is nothing else but honest with how he sees his themes and style, and that is what wins over in the end.

Some may want to check it outside of film-school, as the 'Stairs' sequence is like one of those landmarks of severe tragedy on film, displaying the ugly side of revolution. Eisenstein may not be one of the more 'accessible' silent-film directors, but if montage, detail in the frame, non-actors, and Bolshevik themes are your cup of tea, it's truly one of the must sees of a lifetime.