The Battleship Potemkin - Sergei Eisenstein
"The Battleship Potemkin" is a Russian film made in 1925. This film depicts the failed Russian revolution of sailors on the battleship Potemkin against the leaders of the ship. This revolution was later viewed as an important stepping stone for the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.
The uprising began when ship officers ordered the sailors to eat meat that was rotten and infested with maggots. The sailors refused, and started a mutiny in the ship. The nearby city of Odessa called a general strike and there was some rioting in the area, which was controlled through the imperial police. Although the riot this film famously depicts on the Odessa steps did not actually happen, the scene is loosely based on other riots in the area at the time. The crew expected fellow battleships in the area to also revolt, but for various reasons, they did not. Soon after the revolt began, it lost steam and ended.
This film, made 20 years later, honors the failed revolution. It is considered one of the greatest propaganda films of the Soviet era. The sailors of the Potemkin were seen as martyrs to the Soviet cause with help from the influence of this film.
The uprising began when ship officers ordered the sailors to eat meat that was rotten and infested with maggots. The sailors refused, and started a mutiny in the ship. The nearby city of Odessa called a general strike and there was some rioting in the area, which was controlled through the imperial police. Although the riot this film famously depicts on the Odessa steps did not actually happen, the scene is loosely based on other riots in the area at the time. The crew expected fellow battleships in the area to also revolt, but for various reasons, they did not. Soon after the revolt began, it lost steam and ended.
This film, made 20 years later, honors the failed revolution. It is considered one of the greatest propaganda films of the Soviet era. The sailors of the Potemkin were seen as martyrs to the Soviet cause with help from the influence of this film.