Battleship Potemkin (1925) Bronenosets Potyomkin (original title)

Director:

Sergei M. Eisenstein

Writer:

Nina Agadzhanova (script)
(more)

Release Date:

24 December 1925 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Revolution | Mutiny | Battleship | Massacre | Naval

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)
Korobei	...	Legless Veteran
Marusov	...	Officer
Protopopov	...	Old Man
Repnikova	...	Woman on the Steps
Vladimir Uralsky
Zerenin	...	Student
Aleksanteri Ahola-Valo	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Sergei M. Eisenstein		(as S.M. Eisenstein)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nina Agadzhanova		script (as N.F. Agadzhanova-Shutko)
Nikolai Aseyev		intertitles (uncredited)
Sergei M. Eisenstein		uncredited
Sergei Tretyakov		intertitles (uncredited)

Original Music by
Eric Allaman		(1986)
Yati Durant
Vladimir Heifetz
Nikolai Kryukov		(1950)
Chris Lowe
Edmund Meisel		(as Meisel)
Sheldon Mirowitz		(2011)
Neil Tennant

Cinematography by
Eduard Tisse
Vladimir Popov		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Grigori Aleksandrov		(re-issue) (uncredited)
Sergei M. Eisenstein		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Vasili Rakhals		(uncredited)

Production Management
Brian Shirey	....	production manager (2007 alternate version)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Grigori Aleksandrov	....	assistant director (as T. Aleksandrov)

Sound Department
Yevgeni Kashkevich	....	sound recordist (1950 re-issue)

Editorial Department
Sala Deinema	....	work print editor: Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin (2007 alternate version)
Ron Heidt	....	title editor (2007 alternate version)
Erika Schmidt	....	negative cutter: Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin (2007 alternate version)
Gerhard Ullmann	....	colorization (2007 alternate version)
Jay Leyda	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Helmut Imig	....	conductor: Deutsches Filmorchestra Babelsberg (2007 alternate version)
Helmut Imig	....	instrumentation: Edmund Meisel's 1926 score (2007 alternate version)
Helmut Imig	....	music adaptor: Edmund Meisel's 1926 score (2007 alternate version)

Other crew
Aleksandr Antonov	....	assistant to director (as A. Antonov)
Anna Bohn	....	reconstruction collaborator (2007 alternate version)
Mikhail Gomorov	....	assistant to director (as M. Gomorov)
S. Kazakov	....	supervisor (1950 reissue)
A. Kotoshev	....	administrator
A.P. Kryukov	....	administrator
Aleksandr Levshin	....	assistant to director (as A. Levshin)
Enno Patalas	....	reconstruction director (2007 alternate version)
Maksim Shtraukh	....	assistant to director (as M. Shtraukh)
Bret Wood	....	title designer (2007 alternate version)
Hertzel Effensachs	....	director: marine sequences (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Goskino

Distributors

• Goskino (1925) (Soviet Union) (theatrical)
• Amkino Corporation (1926) (USA) (theatrical)
• Prometheus-Film-Verleih und Vertriebs-GmbH (1926) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Alta Films (1988) (Spain) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2006) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Kosmos-Filmi (1952) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Kosmos-Filmi (1969) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Kosmos-Filmi (1978) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Sovexportfilm (????) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Barium Video (1994) (Finland) (VHS)
• Circulo Digital (????) (Spain) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Critics' Choice Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Delta Expedition (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Divisa Home Video (2007) (Spain) (DVD)
• Empresa Hispanoamericana de Video (EHV) (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Eureka Entertainment (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (????) (USA) (VHS)
• FilmAnnex (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Films sans Frontières (2006) (France) (DVD)
• General Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Icestorm Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• International Visual Corporation (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Kino International (2007) (worldwide) (all media) (2007 alternate version)
• Kino Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Kinovideoobedinenie "Krupniy Plan" (????) (Russia) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1965) (Finland) (TV)
• MediaOutlet.com (????) (USA) (DVD) (as 'Battleship Potemkin')
• Movies Unlimited (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• SBP (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (2005) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Timeless Video (2000) (USA) (VHS) (1960s Blackhawk Films source print)
• Velissarios (1995) (Greece) (VHS) (sell through)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1978) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• German Federal Cultural Foundation  project development (2007 alternate version)
• Deutsche Kinemathek für Film und Fernsehen  producer (2007 alternate version)
• Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv  with the support of (2007 alternate version) (as Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin)
• British Film Institute (BFI)  with the support of (2007 alternate version)
• Filmmuseum Berlin  with the support of (2007 alternate version)
• Gosfilmofond of Russia, Moscow  with the support of (2007 alternate version)
• Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv  negative duplication (2007 alternate version) (as Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin)
• Moser Rosié  title work (2007 alternate version)
• Taunus Film, Wiesberg  processing laboratory (2007 alternate version)
• Ries & Erler  music: Edmund Meisel's 1926 score courtesy of (2007 alternate version)
• Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek  music adaptation commissioned by (2007 alternate version)
• Filmmuseum Berlin  music adaptation commissioned by (2007 alternate version)
• Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg  music performed by (2007 alternate version) (as Deutsches Filmorchestra Babelsberg)
• Kino International  titles: English (2007 alternate version)

Also Known As:

"Bronenosets Potyomkin" - Soviet Union (original title)
"Potemkin" - USA (informal title)
"The Armored Cruiser Potemkin" - USA (alternative title)
"The Battleship Potemkin" - USA (video box title)

Runtime:

75 min | Spain:70 min | Spain:77 min | USA:66 min | Argentina:80 min | Spain:68 min (DVD edition) | 72 min (17 fps) (Blu-ray)

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.25 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Finland:(Banned) (1930) | Finland:K-12 (1978) | Finland:K-16 (1952) | Germany:(Banned) (1933-1945) | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL (video rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Portugal:17 (1974) | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 (video rating) | Spain:T | Sweden:(Banned) (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated | Italy:(Banned) (1925 - 1960) | Italy:T (1960) | Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | South Korea:15 (1994) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (cut) (1946) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (uncut) (1952) | Portugal:(Banned) (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Alupka, Crimea, Ukraine

Company:

Goskino

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Vakulinchuk is breathing slightly as his body lies in state.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Star Trek: The Next Generation: Legacy (#4.6)" (1990)

A gripping story told with style and passion as well as a 'must see' piece of cinema history

With workers striking in Russia, the crew of the battleship Potemkin feel a certain kinship for the plight of their brothers. When they are served rotting, maggot infested meat some of the crew object, only to find themselves singled out and placed in front of a firing squad. With the marines seconds away from firing the deadly shots, ordinary seaman Grigory Vakulinchuk steps into the breach and intervenes to save the men by appealing to the firing squad to ignore their orders. When the officers take their revenge and kill Vakulinchuk, all are bonded together in the struggle; a bond that reaches to the city of Odessa where the rebellion grows, leading to a bloody and historic series of events.

It is hard to imagine that anybody who has seen quite a few films in the past few decades would be unaware of this film, but it is perhaps understandable that fewer have had the opportunity to actually sit down and watch. I had never seen this film before but had seen countless references to it in other films and therefore considering it an important film to at least see once. The story is based on real events and this only serves to make it more interesting but even without this context it is still an engaging story. The story doesn't have much in the way of characters but it still brings out the brutality and injustice of events and it is in this that it hooked me – surprisingly violent (implied more than modern gore) it demonising the actions and shows innocents falling at all sides in key scenes. The version I saw apparently had the original score (I'm not being snobby – modern rescores could be better for all I know) and I felt it worked very well to match and improve the film's mood; dramatic, gentle or exciting, it all works very well.

The feel of the film was a surprise to me because it stood up very well viewed with my modern eyes. At one or two points the model work was very clearly model work but mostly the film is technically impressive. The masses of extras, use of ships and cities and just the way it captures such well organised chaos are all very impressive and would be even done today. What is more impressive with time though is how the film has a very strong and very clean style to it – it is not as gritty and flat as many silent films of the period that I have seen; instead it is very crisp and feels very, very professional. Of course watching it in 2004 gives me the benefit of hindsight where I can look back over many films that have referenced the images or directors who have mentioned the film in interviews; but even without this 20:20 vision it is still possible to see how well done the film is and to note how memorable much of it is – the steps and the firing squad scenes are two very impressive moments that are very memorable. The only real thing that might bug modern audiences is the acting; it isn't bad but silent acting is very different from acting with sound. Here the actors all over act and rely on their bodies to do much of their delivery – word cards just don't do the emotional job so they have to make extra effort to deliver this.

Overall this is a classic film that has influenced many modern directors. The story is engaging and well worth hearing; the directing is crisp and professional, producing many scenes that linger in the memory; the music works to deliver the emotional edge that modern audiences would normally rely on acting and dialogue to deliver and the whole film is over all too quickly! An essential piece of cinema for those that claim to love the media but also a cracking good film in its own right.