1925 Battleship Potemkin

 

  Battleship Potemkin

 
Director: Sergei Eisenstein

Cast: Aleksandr Antonov, Grigori Alexandrov
Country: SOVIET UNION

Notes: "Odessa Steps" sequence is a textbook example of Russian montage.


Storyline:  A dramatized version of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers of the Tsarist regime.

The film is composed of five episodes:

• "Men and Maggots" (Люди и черви), in which the sailors protest at having to eat rotten meat;
• "Drama on the Deck" (Драма на тендре), in which the sailors mutiny and their leader, Vakulinchuk, is killed;
• "A Dead Man Calls for Justice" (Мёртвый взывает) in which Vakulinchuk's body is mourned over by the people of Odessa;
• "The Odessa Staircase" (Одесская лестница), in which Tsarist soldiers massacre the Odessans.
• "The Rendez-Vous with a Squadron" (Встреча с эскадрой), in which the squadron tasked with intercepting the Potemkin instead declines to engage, lowering their guns, its sailors cheer on the rebellious battleship and join the mutiny. [wikipedia]