NOTE: This is not a conventional review; this is my required response to Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin for my college course Intro to Film & Screen Studies...Cinema, both domestic and foreign, owes a lot to Sergei Eisenstein for creating not only one of the most successful propaganda films with Battleship Potemkin, but one of the most successful examples of montage in history. Eisenstein employs a wide variety of subversive montage styles here, some considered tonal ones that string together a continuous feeling that rubs off on an audience, some for the purpose of continuity and consistency in events, and some for the purpose of putting grandiose, large-scale sequences into a specified perspective, though all significant in their own right.One of the most jarring inclusions of structurally conflicting shots is the famous shot of the statue of the lion, which is shown sleeping, awakening, and rising all in the matter of about two seconds. These static images, when strung together, inspire the kind of momentary shock we, the audience, have upon watching Eisenstein concoct a film so raucous and battle-hungry that it's as if the lion is replicating our personal feelings whilst watching the film. The conflict established is more or less a circumstance of reactionary response to the disobedience of order; order which is constantly affirmed throughout the entire first chapter of the film.Then there's the scene in the second chapter where the passengers aboard Potemkin begin to rebel. Eisenstein utilizes his montage theory to establish the events occurring before zeroing in on specific people fighting and specific blows in a way that shows the conflict between the two parties whilst showing a more concise focus on a large-scale playing field. The effect is unique because it's rare we see a large battle (or even a large battle conducted in a small area) specified so humanly by way of close-ups and intimate shooting techniques that Eisenstein employs that make the sequence so personal.As far as alternative logic goes – where Eisenstein creates some sort of visual poetry or distinction without the use of his beloved montage technique – there's the scene early in the film where one of the captains goes to observe the actions in the bunkers. Eisenstein's camera observes the actions of the captain while interjecting cuts of pots and pans precariously placed atop boards of wood that are strung up and suspended to the room's ceiling. These scenes establish what the captain is looking at and what his environment is composed of in a manner that relates greatly to Kulesov and his own personal effect.Then there are scenes that are more concerned with fleshing out a specific event, rather than encapsulating the horror and the messiness of other events (the uprising aboard the Potemkin and the famous Odessa Steps sequence just to name a few). One scene is the final straw for the workers, of sorts, when they are persuaded to believe that rotting, maggot-ridden meat is okay for consumption, despite being viewed by everybody on board, even the cooks, as otherwise. Eisenstein keeps things grounded more-or-less in a real-time here, allowing his camera to go back and forth between the workers and the captains in a manner that doesn't shortchange or rapidly look for a way out of this event in order to interject other scenes and create a compilation of "last straws" for the workers. This scene in particular establishes the logic that Eisenstein uses can be equal parts broadly observant, as seen in his montages, or decidedly focused.In a way, I feel Battleship Potemkin was a film made for the masses to, for once, look introspectively at their situations in Russian and observe the treacherous, unfair living conditions and the willfully oppressive nature of the rich and able. Eisenstein had to combat the fact that most of the commonwealth Russian population was illiterate and unknowing of their own exploitation, which made him make a film like this that, despite being able to be dissected in numerous ways, almost demands a response of any kind. The complete and total disregard for the health and wellbeing of humans should at least warrant some response from people, and Eisenstein's images reflect the horrors of oppression without getting lost in symbolism or any kind of discernible auteurism. His montage elements only add to a film, rather than being stylistic distractions that work to muddle the themes at hand.Starring: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barksy, and Grigori Aleksandrov. Directed by: Sergei Eisenstein.

I really find it hard to describe Battleship Potemkin because it's just a film that just wows you over before you can even stop to think about it, a technical masterpiece with a genuinely thrilling plot. The story takes place in June of 1905 on the battleship well Potemkin, we see the crew of the ship are not so happy and they are revolted by the standards they have and so they stick up for themselves and when fellow crew members are nearly killed by their own officers, it seems quite the time for the crew to get up and fight. It is a dramatized version of true events but this movie really pumps up the workers as complete heroes, I mean this movie is Soviet propaganda through and through, but it's superbly well made even if it is.The man behind this perfectly crafted motion picture is Sergei Eisenstein who directs this in a way which even when it's going very slow still manages to either be thrilling or throw in some kind of thing to make it so amazing. I think what he also does is create a movie that isn't just for critics to feast their eyes on, this can be enjoyed by anyone I swear and it's actually a genuinely exciting kind of movie, although I would always watch a few silent movies beforehand so that you get the right feel of this. What Eisenstein also does is bring in all the crafts that make up a film and creates an art piece, one that's cameras are perfectly working, editing is finely tuned, dialogue (even for a silent movie) is great and then utilises production design especially in the famous "Odessa Steps" scene where the outfits and the general look of the scene looks amazing.This is so often placed on the lists that people compile with the greatest movies and for good reason, the reasons become even more so when you consider this was made in 1925 and it is silent, but you never truly think about that and this doesn't seem to have aged at all, in fact other than the cast the only expired thing is the Soviet Union. Yet again it is Eisenstein who makes it ageless, I felt he just knew what he wanted and did it, made a film that although is made for a certain political position, can still entertain no matter what your views on politics.I feel that again those steps are like come on, I mean those boots are just a brilliant cinematic piece. The scene is one that is thrilling yet also oddly touching with a little added darkness (well OK make that quite a bit). The choreography of the entire scene is marvellous too with the enormous cast to run and fall down it not only makes it incredible to see but you'd think also really dangerous! Don't watch this just for this scene I mean this has sublime scenes elsewhere, take for example the ending which of course I won't spoil but when you think one thing it does something else and builds you up until you are really excited to see what happens next. I think that if you consider this not your kind of film then think again, this isn't a movie that should only be shown in history classes or film studying lectures, it's a movie that should be seen because it is entertaining but also technically a film of flawless dimensions. Yes feast in what Soviet cinema has to offer and maybe you might like it quite a bit, in fact you might even be accustomed to raising a red flag above your house even if the neighbour calls you a commie.

"Battleship Potemkin" is one of the most famous movies in history and is also considered as one of the masterpieces of world cinema. In this movie we watch a protest strike that started when the crew was given rotten meat for dinner and ended in a riot. After that the sailors raised the red flag and tried to start the revolution in their home port Odessa. This movie is divided into five episodes which are:1) 'Men and Maggots', in which the sailors protest because they gave them to eat rotten meat, 2) 'Drama on the Deck', in which the sailors mutiny and their leader (Vakulinchuk) is killed, 3) 'A Dead Man Calls for Justice' in which Vakulinchuk's body is lament by the people of Odessa, 4) 'The Odessa Staircase', in which Tsarist soldiers massacre the Odessans, 5) 'The Rendezvous with the Squadron', in which after all of these the sailors cheer on the rebellious battleship and join the mutiny.Some things that we have to mention about this movie are that is based on historical events and shows us everything about the Battleship Potemkin. I liked this movie because of the direction of Sergei M. Eisenstein which I found very good and also for the music. Finally I have to say that "Battleship Potemkin" is fairly considered as one of the best movies in the history of cinema and I strongly recommend it to everyone who is a fan of cinema. This movie is very well divided into episodes which give us a better view about what happened back then and also make us understand better the history behind this.

This is based on the mutiny in 1905. Sailors on the battleship Potemkin refuse to eat soup from the rotten meat. The officers order some of men executed. When the firing squad refuse the order, the ship explode in revolution. Their story spread in the port of Odessa. The Cossacks attack the defenseless people of the city. The battleship open fire against the Tsarist forces and then sail to face the fleet. The other ships refuse to fire and join in the revolution.Most of the movie is well-made. The story is simple. It does need a protagonist to break a POV but this is very much a communist film. It's about the people and about the amazing tracking shots on the steps. It looks good even today. It's dynamic and wonderful. It probably took people at the time by surprise. It is a thoroughly modern edited sequence. It also has that baby in the carriage. Wonderful.