Battleship Potemkin (1925)

In the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.

Director:

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

Writer:

Nina Agadzhanova (script by) (as N. F. Agadzhanovoy-Shutko)

Stars:

Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barskiy, Grigoriy Aleksandrov

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Aleksandr Antonov	...	Grigory Vakulinchuk
Vladimir Barskiy	...	Commander Golikov
Grigoriy 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
Prokhorenko	...	Mother Carrying Wounded Boy
A. Glauberman	...	Wounded Boy
Beatrice Vitoldi	...	Woman With Baby Carriage
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daniil Antonovich	...	Sailor
Iona Biy-Brodskiy	...	Student (as Brodsky)
Julia Eisenstein	...	Woman with Food for Sailors
Sergei M. Eisenstein	...	Odessa Citizen

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:

year 1905 | russian revolution | russian navy | social discontent | unrest | 

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Taglines:

Revolution is the only lawful, equal, effectual war. It was in Russia that this war was declared and begun.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The flag seen flying on the ship after the crew had mutinied was white, which is the color of the tsars, but this was done so that it could be hand-painted red on the celluloid, which is the color of communism. Since this is a black-and-white film, if the flag had been red it would have shown up black in the film. The flag was hand-tinted red for 108 frames by director Sergei M. Eisenstein for the film's premier.

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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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Quotes

Grigory Vakulinchuk: Comrades! The time has come when we too must speak out. Why wait? All of Russia has risen! Are we to be the last?

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Alternate Versions

In 2007, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin, copyrighted a reconstruction of the Russian premiere version, with English titles copyrighted by Kino International Corp., and using Edmund Meisel's 1926 music score (written for the German version) played by the German Filmorchestra Babelsberg.

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Connections

Featured in Russian Revolution Through Its Films (2017)

User Reviews

Masterful film-making from Sergei Eisenstein

When "Battleship Potemkin" was released in Moscow back in 1925 it was described by some as the greatest film of all time. While I can't claim much familiarity with films predating 1925, I expect that those people were probably right. But what's truly astonishing is how well the film stands up, even today.

The film tells the story of the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin. Fed up with poor treatment, they revolt and overthrow their superiors. However, this accomplished, they meet the inevitable resistance from the military, whom they implore to join them. Predictably, the plot & intertitles savour of propaganda but not overwhelmingly so.

Easily the most impressive aspect of the film is the visual aspect. Eisenstein's direction is impeccable but his editing techniques were nothing short of revolutionary. There's a reason why this film is still considered one of the greatest films of all time by countless critics.

That's not the film's only drawing point, though. Nearly as impressive is the original score by Edmund Meisel. I watched the 2005 restoration where the score was adapted by Helmut Imig and I found it to be an integral element of the picture. Though there have been other scores for the film over the years I can't imagine any better than this one.

Ultimately, while "Battleship Potemkin" is mainly notable for pioneering influential techniques it also functions as a rousing, tense historical drama. If you're a true lover of the art of cinema there's simply no excuse for not seeing this movie.

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

None Russian

Release Date:

24 December 1925 (Soviet Union)

Also Known As:

Battleship Potemkin

Filming Locations:

Crimea, Ukraine

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,641, 16 January 2011

Gross USA:

$51,198

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$61,389

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goskino, Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.25 : 1