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.
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.Written by
Konstantin Dlutskii <ked@falcon.cc.ukans.edu>
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. See more »
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. See more »
Quotes
Grigory Vakulinchuk:
Russian prisoners in Japan are fed better than we are! We've had enough rotten meat!
Smirov, the ship doctor:
It's good meat. End of discussion!
See more »
Alternate Versions
The 29 April 1926 version, at the Apollo Theater, Berlin, under the auspices of Prometheus Films, was heavily censored under pressure from the Weimar authorities. Nearly a hundred feet of footage was cut (the equivalent of more than 50 shots) as well as a number of title cards. This version became the basis for the copies that traveled to the United States and England, where they were further censored. The Prometheus negative was returned from Germany to the USSR after the Second World War, and became the source for official export prints from 1949 on. See more »
The first time I saw Potemkin, I must have been around 12, and I
bet it was the first silent drama I'd seen, after Metropolis. I hated it.
I saw it recently again, along with a couple of other Eisenstein
pictures. While I felt that Strike and October were both superior
films, I really liked Potemkin a lot more.
Now, also I understand more some of the things Eisenstein was
doing with editing and camera work. I would like to point out, to
those who say Eisenstein invented "montage", that D.W. Griffith
was doing the same thing ten years earlier. Extreme close-ups
came around in 1903, with films like The Gay Shoe Clerk.
Tracking shots are in a huge number of films predating this film by
almost a decade (Intolerance, Cabiria). No, Eisenstein did not
invent these visual tools. Nor did he really perfect them (I doubt
anyone has truly done that). What he did was try to utilize them to
create a stirring and powerful cinematic experience, which he
certainly did.
One thing I love about Eisenstein's films is his use of "types",
really distinctive-looking actors. The citizens of Odessa look
fascinating, especially the wealthy-looking woman with the veiled
hat. The ship's creepy-looking, bearded and mustachioed doctor
was very effective as an evil presence just asking to be overthrown.
Eisenstein also provides us with plenty of beefy, sexy sailors,
which you really can't complain about. Those opening scenes are
pretty hot, if you ask me.
So, overall, this is a good film. I like the acting, the camerawork,
the editing. However, I wish film professors would stop showing
the Odessa steps sequence in their classes. Young students with
no understanding of Soviet cinema will watch that and promptly
give up on the genre. The scene feels clumsy and disconnected
today, and plays on the common misperception that all silent film
was overstated gesturing and unrealistic character decisions. At
least they're not showing them Earth (I hope).