Customer Reviews

Battleship Potemkin

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Most of the reviews posted here unfortunately review the film, not the product for sale. Little else can be said about Battleship Potemkin, Eisenstein's masterpiece and one of the crown jewels of cinematic history. With all this positive karma, one would think that such a film would get a decent DVD release.
Unfortunately, Battleship Potemkin does not. Granted, the film itself is wonderful, and one of my all time favorites, but this DVD transfer does not do it justice. The famous musical score, banned in many countries at the time of its release, is absent, replaced with a tinny, bombastic score composed thirty years after the fact. The Odessa Steps sequence has also been severly mangled, omitting many of the shots which stuck in my mind the first time I viewed this film so long ago. Do yourself a favor and buy a good VHS copy of this film until a good DVD comes along, hopefully from a big-name group like Kino Video or Criterion.

Many silent films are difficult to sit through, even if the film contains a strong message such as The Birth of a Nation. Potemkin, on the other hand, keeps you engaged the entire time, from the mutiny to the massacre on the Odessa Steps. It contains images and clips that will remain with you indefinately, and are used by other film-makers, such as Terry Gilliam in Brazil. It is a must-see for anyone who loves classic cinema.

"Revolution is war. Of all the wars known in history it is the only lawful, rightful, just, and truly great war... In Russia this war has been declared and begun". Lenin said that in 1905, and the quotation appears on the screen as soon as you begin watching this film. It gives you an excellent idea of what "Battleship Potemkin" is about, that is Soviet propaganda.

All the same, this film is a classic that should be watched, in order to understand why it is considered as such. In my opinion, the reasons are many:

a) To start with, the story of a naval mutiny sparked by rotten food is an interesting one, and it is told in a way that makes the spectator think that that event is happening right before him, even though the film is in black and white, and has no sound.

b) Secondly, the sequences regarding the Odessa massacre are impossible to forget, and some scenes are simply gems of great emotional impact and a profound shocking value.

c) Finally, and from a technical point of view, the ability of Sergei M. Eisenstein to produce such a film in 1925 is something noteworthy, as is his edition technic, and the way in which he uses symbols to impress upon the spectator what he wants to say.

All in all, I think that even though watching this film isn't likely to be something you will do often for fun, it is something you should do at least once. Recommended!

Belen Alcat

A movie that contains some very clever sequences and shots, particularly those of the massacre on the steps of the city. There isn't much of a story though. It's more a snapshot of a moment in history, that of the Russian revolution, and where as, it may have had emotional significance for the Russian audience of the time, the same cannot be said for the modern viewer.

The movie: 5 stars.
The dvd edition: 2 stars, okay picture, good score, no special features, average on the whole.

A nice little DVD edition, if you get it cheap. Not worth the same price as a Criterion DVD for its lack of special features and general cheap-lookingness.

Image was quite good, especially for a silent. The score, i believe, composed by Eistenstein collaborator Prokofiev, was wonderful.

If this is your only way of seeing Battleship Potemkin, however, i couldn't recommend it highly enough. The main attraction of this DVD is the movie itself, which is more than worth the price of entry. No matter how many people tell you about the Odessa steps sequence, you'll still be impressed by it. The most moving single sequence in all of silent cinema - and one of my favourite sequences in all cinema. Such brilliant editing, such brilliant movement down the steps. And the imaginative little episodes as we move down the steps: the famous pram rolling down the steps, the little boy who gets shot and trampled on, his wailing mother who picks him up and marches up the steps towards the descending cossacks (this moment is pictured on the DVD cover).

The movie is a very moving experience, and has become one of my favourites. If there is no Criterion edition or edition with special features, i'd say get this (but try not to pay too much for it - as i said, its pretty much just the movie).

Whenever the subject of Sergei Eisenstein's "The Battleship Potemkin" comes up, it is virtually impossible not to immediately think of the amazing Odessa Steps sequence, but there is so much more to admire about this landmark film in addition to that legendary moment. It takes only one look to realize that it still maintains all of the emotional power and technical brilliance that it possessed all those decades ago.

The crew of the Battleship Potemkin returns home after its battle against Japan. A mutiny erupts onboard after the crew is given contaminated rations and soon news of their rebellious movement reaches shore. The sympathetic townspeople near the ship send them food and water but they are soon fired upon by troops sent to deal with the mutineers. The Russian fleet is then dispatched to destroy the Potemkin and put an end to the uprising.

"The Battleship Potemkin" is a propaganda product that has exceeded its original purpose to become something much more significant. When it was first made, the film was more important for its commentary on class struggle but it is now more renown for its innovations in cinematic storytelling. Eisenstein's use of juxtaposed images was the origin of the modern film montage and his editing techniques gave rise to a faster and more energetic narrative style that was much more satisfying than the start-and-stop, jarring method that characterized other films of the era. The expert craftsmanship typical of so many films made today owe "The Battleship Potemkin" a debt of gratitude for influencing their look and feel. Clearly this is one ship that has not sailed into the sunset to be forgotten.

Remembering that the film was both a product and a tool of the Soviet political machine, the hatred of the Tsarists is evident throughout. It takes discontented masses and charismatic leaders to spawn a revolution. The seeds of discontent are graphically illustrated in this classic production. The charismatic leadership is not an issue in this movie, which is not surprising since they were no less evil then the Tsarists.

The story is compellingly portrayed through the rapid transition of action sequences that should please even the short attention spans common in the MTV set. No Hollywood Pretty People in this movie, each is distinctive and right for the role. The grime on the faces, maggots in the food... the polished brass on deck, the bloodshed on the famous steps of Odessa... the story is a visual delight, though it was hard not to smile at the obvious propaganda promoting a classless society.

With modern multi-million dollar blockbusters with computer effects, an OLD film like this can be difficult to watch. With the masterful scoring, it justs adds to the effect.

Film School students have undoubtedly seen the "Odessa Step" sequence. It is a great source of semiotic analysis with editing cuts and cuts to shapes. Not to mention the diagonal lines. This scene, with the baby carriage incident, was used in "The Untouchables".

The "Odessa Step" scene is the part I remember the most. The mother carrying her small son up to the soldier's after he'd been shot. They shot her, and walk over the body. Or the young mother with the baby in the carriage, you know the baby is going to go down the steps because that's what happens in every other movie.

I had the opportunity recently here in Germany to watch Potemkin in the big cinema with live music - played by a combo from Berlin (violin, drummer, bass and piano), that had written a new score for the film. They showed a restored version with the original russian subtitles. I had seen the film before in offside university cinemas with canned music and on tape, but I never realized what an impact the film can have. It simply blows your mind. The live music turned the film into a totally different expierence. Now I can unterstand why the film caused such turmoil back in the Twenties in Europe. It was banned repeatedly. The governments were afraid of it's impact, as well they should have been. Can you say that of any film today? The original music by Edmund Meisel - who by the way set new standards for film scores with his music for Potemkin - combined with the film genius of Eisenstein to create a film that transcended the normal cinema. It just didn't comment about politics, it created politics. I consider myself a pacifist - but while experiencing the film I had the feeling I ought to stand up, get out a red flag and blow up the next Townhall. The film - with the right music - can have that much of an impact. I was literally shaking during the "Odessa steps" sequence, largley due to the pounding music that accompanied the slaughter of the cossaks on the civilians.
I've never had that deep of an expierence in the cinema before with the possible exception of Kubrick's "2001" and Alexandro Jodorowsky's "El Topo", but I was high both times then. With Potemkin and the right music you don't need any help.
What I mean to say - Find the chance to experience the film the way it was meant to be expierenced. Full screen, the original version und live music. And by that I don't mean a single piano. It's got to be more. The movie will rip you out of the chair. Then you will realize what a masterpiece Eisenstein created.

The need for serious film-buffs to own this film is so obvious that I hardly need reiterate it. Too many have called it the greatest film ever, or nearly so. Seeing it again, I have to agree that it is a powerful and finely-crafted film, of huge historical importance thanks in part to its many innovations in technique. While I still squirm at some of its blatant propagandism, I can look past that enough to appreciate the film's excellence.

Anyway, as to this DVD: the print is pretty good for a silent film, which means that you can make out what's going on about 90% of the time. Of course, the recent restoration of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" so completely spoils us now, with its incredible beauty and clarity, that it's hard to settle for anything less! But this printing of "Battleship Potemkin," from a 1976 Soviet restoration, remains quite respectable.

My main reservation is the music. Austrian composer Edmund Meisel composed a score specifically for this film at the time of its original release. Even though the present DVD version is a "restoration," it does not use the original music. Instead, the score a patchwork of extracts from Shostokovitch's symphonies (the opening scene of waves crashing is the beginning of the 1st movement of the 5th symphony; the opening of "Odessa Steps" with the ships moving in the harbor is the beginning of the same symphony's Scherzo). Great music, yes, but often not well-matched to the action.