Battleship Potemkin (The Ultimate Edition) (2pc) (Full B&W)
directed by: Sergei Eisenstein
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Product Description:
Studio: Kino InternationalRelease Date: 10/23/2007Run time: 69 minutes
Amazon.com essential video:
Sergei Eisenstein's revolutionary sophomore feature has so long stood as a textbook example of montage editing that many have forgotten what an invigoratingly cinematic experience he created. A 20th-anniversary tribute to the 1905 revolution, Eisenstein portrays the revolt in microcosm with a dramatization of the real-life mutiny aboard the battleship Potemkin. The story tells a familiar party-line message of the oppressed working class (in this case the enlisted sailors) banding together to overthrow their oppressors (the ship's officers), led by proto-revolutionary Vakulinchuk. When he dies in the shipboard struggle the crew lays his body to rest on the pier, a moody, moving scene where the citizens of Odessa slowly emerge from the fog to pay their respects. As the crowd grows Eisenstein turns the tenor from mourning a fallen comrade to celebrating the collective achievement. The government responds by sending soldiers and ships to deal with the mutinous crew and the supportive townspeople, which climaxes in the justly famous (and often imitated and parodied) Odessa Steps massacre. Eisenstein edits carefully orchestrated motions within the frame to create broad swaths of movement, shots of varying length to build the rhythm, close-ups for perspective and shock effect, and symbolic imagery for commentary, all to create one of the most cinematically exciting sequences in film history. Eisenstein's film is Marxist propaganda to be sure, but the power of this masterpiece lies not in its preaching but its poetry. --Sean Axmaker
Studio: Kino InternationalRelease Date: 10/23/2007Run time: 69 minutes
Amazon.com essential video:
Sergei Eisenstein's revolutionary sophomore feature has so long stood as a textbook example of montage editing that many have forgotten what an invigoratingly cinematic experience he created. A 20th-anniversary tribute to the 1905 revolution, Eisenstein portrays the revolt in microcosm with a dramatization of the real-life mutiny aboard the battleship Potemkin. The story tells a familiar party-line message of the oppressed working class (in this case the enlisted sailors) banding together to overthrow their oppressors (the ship's officers), led by proto-revolutionary Vakulinchuk. When he dies in the shipboard struggle the crew lays his body to rest on the pier, a moody, moving scene where the citizens of Odessa slowly emerge from the fog to pay their respects. As the crowd grows Eisenstein turns the tenor from mourning a fallen comrade to celebrating the collective achievement. The government responds by sending soldiers and ships to deal with the mutinous crew and the supportive townspeople, which climaxes in the justly famous (and often imitated and parodied) Odessa Steps massacre. Eisenstein edits carefully orchestrated motions within the frame to create broad swaths of movement, shots of varying length to build the rhythm, close-ups for perspective and shock effect, and symbolic imagery for commentary, all to create one of the most cinematically exciting sequences in film history. Eisenstein's film is Marxist propaganda to be sure, but the power of this masterpiece lies not in its preaching but its poetry. --Sean Axmaker
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- No Hollywood pretty people in this movie...
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 ... Read More
Rating: - Great film, bad music
This was the first silent russian film I'd ever seen, and I like very much! It contains a lot of elements I enjoy in silent films: great acting, descriptive captions, engaging plot. This version even includes the Russian Captions, with the english description below! The only problem I have with this film is the music track on this DVD is much too neutral for Russian Revolutionists. The score does not fit with what is happening in the film. Otherwise, it is fine and a wonderful film!
Rating: 
- Extraordinary Photography
I've often noted Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin as one of the great films of the twenthieth century.I had no idea how extraordinary the photography is.The same must be said of the restoration.The film is historically important.It is also a remarkable work of creativity and imagination.
Rating: - potemkin revitalized
This is the best edition of this classic film. The use of the original score and the beautiful, clean print make it a pleasure to watch. The reintroduction of the original release's hand painted frames of the red flag into the otherwise black and white film has an emotional power that even my high school history students felt and commented on later. They were surprised at the fact that they, who are accustomed to color and hi-def,felt the impact of the brief punch of color.And of course, the baby ... Read More
Rating: - KULTUR VHS version is excellent!
Sergei Eisenstein's BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN portrays an early event of the people's uprising of 1905-- an incident aboard a Tsarist battleship that turned deadly.
The ship's crew hung out several rotting sides of beef that had just been delivered as a way of protest, saying they wouldn't eat this wormy stuff anymore. When the medical officer examined the meat, he saw it was crawling but still said: "Those aren't worms... they're only maggots. Just wash them off with brine; the meat's perfectly ... Read More
- No Hollywood pretty people in this movie...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 ... Read More
- Great film, bad musicThis was the first silent russian film I'd ever seen, and I like very much! It contains a lot of elements I enjoy in silent films: great acting, descriptive captions, engaging plot. This version even includes the Russian Captions, with the english description below! The only problem I have with this film is the music track on this DVD is much too neutral for Russian Revolutionists. The score does not fit with what is happening in the film. Otherwise, it is fine and a wonderful film!
- Extraordinary PhotographyI've often noted Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin as one of the great films of the twenthieth century.I had no idea how extraordinary the photography is.The same must be said of the restoration.The film is historically important.It is also a remarkable work of creativity and imagination.
- potemkin revitalizedThis is the best edition of this classic film. The use of the original score and the beautiful, clean print make it a pleasure to watch. The reintroduction of the original release's hand painted frames of the red flag into the otherwise black and white film has an emotional power that even my high school history students felt and commented on later. They were surprised at the fact that they, who are accustomed to color and hi-def,felt the impact of the brief punch of color.And of course, the baby ... Read More
- KULTUR VHS version is excellent!Sergei Eisenstein's BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN portrays an early event of the people's uprising of 1905-- an incident aboard a Tsarist battleship that turned deadly.
The ship's crew hung out several rotting sides of beef that had just been delivered as a way of protest, saying they wouldn't eat this wormy stuff anymore. When the medical officer examined the meat, he saw it was crawling but still said: "Those aren't worms... they're only maggots. Just wash them off with brine; the meat's perfectly ... Read More
