Battleship Potemkin (1925)

January 5, 2023 7:26 AM

When they are fed rancid meat, the sailors on the Potemkin revolt against their harsh conditions. Led by Vakulinchuk (Aleksandr Antonov), the sailors kill the officers of the ship to gain their freedom. Vakulinchuk is also killed, and the people of Odessa honor him as a symbol of revolution. Tsarist soldiers arrive and massacre the civilians to quell the uprising. A squadron of ships is sent to overthrow the Potemkin, but the ships side with the revolt and refuse to attack.

Also starring Vladimir Barsky, Grigori Aleksandrov, Ivan Bobrov, Mikhail Gomorov, Aleksandr Levshin.

100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein. Written by Nina Agadzhanova, Nikolay Aseev, Sergei M. Eisenstein, Sergei Tretyakov.

Currently streaming in the US on HBO Max, Kanopy, and several other services. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (7 comments total)

This is one of those "Oh you really need to watch this, it's foundational!-" silent films that doesn't feel like homework. It's riveting.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:30 AM on January 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

The only reason I had ever heard of this movie is that it's one of the films used by the Soviet Politburo in Clancy's _Red Storm Rising_ to rile up their own citizens before they invade the Persian Gulf. I hear the original score is amazing.
posted by hanov3r at 12:44 PM on January 5, 2023

Note that the revolution is launched by bad borscht. Also: "bonus" random pogrom.
posted by praemunire at 1:45 PM on January 5, 2023

I watched his Strike a while ago without any foreknowledge, and Eisenstein was so far ahead of his time that his work still feels startling and new.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:29 PM on January 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Several years ago we went to see the restored version at a local theater, with a live orchestra playing their own score. The live music really made for an extraordinary experience.
posted by briank at 6:42 PM on January 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Late period silent film might be my favorite era of filmmaking. There was such an joy in the experimentation of form and technique during that time and then sound had to come in and ruin everything.
posted by octothorpe at 4:49 AM on January 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

Yes! God, what a movie. Still a banger almost 100 years on.
posted by potrzebie at 1:53 PM on January 6, 2023