October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (1928) Oktyabr (original title)

Directors:

Sergei M. Eisenstein
Grigori Aleksandrov (co-director)

Writers:

Sergei M. Eisenstein (written by) and
Grigori Aleksandrov (written by)

Release Date:

20 January 1928 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

In documentary style, events in Petrograd are re-enacted from the end of the monarchy in February of...

Plot Keywords:

Counter Revolutionary | Menshevik | Petrograd | Bolshevik | Bourgeoisie

Cast

Nikolay Popov	...	Kerenskiy
Vasili Nikandrov	...	V.I. Lenin
Layaschenko	...	Konovalov
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chibisov	...	Skobolev
Boris Livanov	...	Terestsenko
Mikholyev	...	Kishkin
Nikolai Padvoisky	...	Bolshevik (as N. Podvoisky)
Smelsky	...	Verderevsky
Eduard Tisse	...	German Soldier

Directed by
Sergei M. Eisenstein
Grigori Aleksandrov		(co-director)

Writing credits
Sergei M. Eisenstein		(written by) and
Grigori Aleksandrov		(written by)

Original Music by
Edmund Meisel

Cinematography by
Vladimir Nilsen
Vladimir Popov
Eduard Tisse

Art Direction by
Vasili Kovrigin

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mikhail Gomorov	....	assistant director
Maksim Shtraukh	....	assistant director
Ilya Trauberg	....	assistant director

Production Companies

• Sovkino

Distributors

• Sovkino (1927) (Soviet Union) (theatrical)
• Amkino Corporation (1928) (USA) (theatrical)
• Grapevine Video (2002) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)
• Alta Films (1977-1988) (Spain)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2009) (Spain) (DVD)
• Empresa Hispanoamericana de Video (EHV) (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Producciones JRB (2004-2009) (Spain) (DVD)
• Sovexportfilm (19??) (Argentina) (all media)
• Suevia Films (2005-2009) (Spain) (DVD)
• Velissarios (1995) (Greece) (VHS) (sell through)

Also Known As:

"Oktyabr" - Soviet Union (original title)

Runtime:

Finland:103 min | Sweden:104 min | USA:95 min | Finland:142 min (2007 restored version) | 127 min (20 fps) | Spain:115 min (DVD special edition)

Country:

Soviet Union

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Canada:G (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 (1965) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Sovkino

Trivia:

More people were injured reproducing the storming of the Winter Palace than were hurt in the Bolsheviks' actual takeover of the building. '(Source: Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore)'

Quotes:

V.I. Lenin:Long live the revolutionary soldiers and workers who have overthrown the Monarchy! No support for the Provisional Government! Long live the Socialist Revolution!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1970)

Interesting, very different from Hollywood's style

October is a dramatized version of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917. If you're planning on watching this, be sure to read up on your history of the event before hand. I really wish I had brushed up on the details of the Soviet revolution before watching this. I've read that Eisenstein stretched the truth often and took lots of liberties when making this. This is understandable. He changes the truth to make the story work better for an exciting movie and also because this is a pro-Soviet film.

For those used to the Hollywood style, this can be tough to enjoy. October is filmed to like it is a documentary and we are constantly being introduced to many minor unnamed characters who are then never seen again. Its Hollywood counterpart would be a movie like The Longest Day, about the invasion of Normandy in WWII. In The Longest Day, we are also introduced to real historical figures and fictionalized minor characters, but unlike October, we really feel like we get to know them all. And movies like The Longest Day in Hollywood are not filmed like it were a documentary. I felt as if I didn't care as much for what happens to the many characters of October. However, I would probably feel much differently if I were a Bolshevik sympathizer during the time of its release.

There is some very interesting symbolism all throughout this movie. There is a scene were troops of the Provisional Government fire machine guns on a crowd of Bolshevik supporters and the draw bridges in the city are raised. First of all, the editing is very interesting – quick cuts between the machine gun's muzzle and the machine gunner creates a great effect and helps emphasize what you're seeing playing out in the scene – a crowd being mowed down by machine gun. A white horse is standing on the bridge and is shot and killed. Its body falls down into the crack of the separating parts of the bridge and is hoisted up with the one half of the bridge. It's a disturbing image – a symbol of what is happening to the Bolsheviks under the Provisional Governments rule. This is just one example of interesting symbolism throughout the film.

The Montage style takes some getting used to. I get more enjoyment out of watching a traditional drama, but the great symbolism is great to see. For what it is, it is very good and gets a 9/10. It is also good to put yourself in the shoes of audience that was intended for and the time period.