Battleship Potemkin
In June 1905, the battleship Potemkin sat anchored off the island of Tendra. Two sailors named Matyushenko and Vakulinchuk discussed the need for their crew to support a revolution back home in Russia. When an officer inspected the sleeping quarters, he stumbled and took out his aggression on a sleeping sailor. This ruckus awakened Vakulinchuk, who gave a speech linking the revolution to the sailors' own poor conditions. They complained about maggot-infested rations that were supposed to be food for men.
The captain ordered the ship's doctor Smirnov to inspect the meat. He claimed the insects could be washed off before cooking. Senior officer Giliarovsky forced the complaining sailors to leave the area. The cook began preparing borscht despite questioning the quality of the meat himself. The crew refused to eat the soup and chose bread, water, and canned goods instead. One sailor saw an inscription on a plate reading "give us this day our daily bread". He smashed the plate after considering its meaning.
All those who refused the meat were judged guilty of insubordination. They received religious last rites on the fore-deck while a canvas cover was thrown over them. A firing squad marched onto the deck with rifles ready. The First Officer gave the order to fire, but Vakulinchuk pleaded for mercy. The firing squad lowered their rifles and the uprising began. The sailors overwhelmed the officers and threw them into the ocean.
On the 20th anniversary of the first Russian revolution, a commemorative commission decided to stage performances dedicated to revolutionary events of 1905. Nina Agadzhanova was asked to write the script while direction went to 27-year-old Sergei Eisenstein. The original script highlighted episodes from the Russo-Japanese War and Armenian-Tatar massacres of 1905-1906. Filming was planned across multiple cities within the USSR.
Shooting began on the 31st of March 1925 in Leningrad. Eisenstein filmed railway strike scenes and city at night sequences before fog set in. He faced tight time constraints since the film needed completion by year's end despite script approval only on the 4th of June. Eisenstein abandoned the eight-episode script to focus on just one episode about the battleship Potemkin. This involved only 41 frames from Agadzhanova's original text.
Eisenstein hired many non-professional actors who were people of specific types rather than famous stars. Further shooting took place in Odessa where suitable warships could be found for filming. The first screening occurred on the 21st of December 1925 at a ceremonial meeting at the Bolshoi Theatre. A premiere followed in Moscow on the 18th of January 1926 at the 1st Goskinoteatre.
Eisenstein wrote the film as revolutionary propaganda while testing his theories of montage editing. Soviet filmmakers of the Kuleshov school experimented with how editing affected audiences emotionally. Eisenstein edited the film to produce maximum emotional response so viewers would feel sympathy for rebellious sailors and hatred for their overlords. Characterization remained simple like most propaganda films to ensure clear audience alignment.
A notable example appears in the sequence featuring lion statues at the Vorontsov Palace in Crimea. Three statues, a sleeping lion, a waking lion, and one rising to its feet, were edited in succession. This created an illusion of movement symbolizing revolutionary awakening. These statues modeled after Medici Lions of Renaissance Italy linked classical art to modern revolutionary themes.
Eisenstein's experiment proved mixed success since Potemkin failed to attract masses of viewers initially. Yet international audiences responded positively when released overseas. Both Soviet and foreign audiences felt shocked not by political statements but by graphic violence standards of the time. Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels called it "a marvelous film without equal" that could turn anyone into a Bolshevik.
One celebrated scene shows Tsarist soldiers marching down Odessa Steps in white summer tunics. They fire volleys into crowds while advancing with fixed bayonets in rhythmic machine-like fashion. A separate detachment of mounted Cossacks charges fleeing people at the bottom of stairs. Victims include an older woman wearing pince-nez glasses and a young boy with his mother.
A student in uniform and a teenage schoolgirl appear among those caught in the crossfire. A mother pushing an infant in a baby carriage falls dying as the carriage rolls down steps amid fleeing crowds. Though no actual massacre occurred on daylight hours, widespread riots sparked by Potemkin's arrival in Odessa Harbour did happen. The Times reported deaths numbered in hundreds during fierce conflicts between troops and rioters.
Roger Ebert noted that the lack of historical accuracy scarcely diminished the scene's power. Eisenstein created what became known as the action sequence vital to modern filmmaking. His editing techniques influenced any subsequent film featuring action sequences. Many films pay homage including Terry Gilliam's Brazil and Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After its first screening, the film faced distribution challenges within the Soviet Union where it risked being lost among other productions. Poet Vladimir Mayakovsky intervened because his friend Nikolai Aseev participated in creating intertitles for the picture. Mayakovsky presented hard demands to Sovkino president Konstantin Shvedchikov who was Lenin's political ally.
Mayakovsky intimidated Shvedchikov with threats of becoming history's villain while stating art remains even when politicians come and go. Constant pressure eventually convinced Shvedchikov to send the film to Berlin where it achieved huge success. When Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford visited Moscow in July 1926 they praised the work enthusiastically. Fairbanks helped distribute the film in the United States and invited Eisenstein to Hollywood.
The film premiered in New York on the 5th of December 1926 at the Biltmore Theatre. It appeared edited in Germany with extreme violence scenes removed by distributors. Trotsky's written introduction disappeared from Soviet prints after he fell out of favor with Stalin. The movie faced bans in the United Kingdom until 1954 and France for extended periods due to revolutionary zeal.
To retain relevance as propaganda for new generations, Eisenstein hoped scores would be rewritten every twenty years. Edmund Meisel composed the original score in twelve days following late approval from censors. He repeated sections because time constraints were severe during composition. A salon orchestra performed the Berlin premiere in 1926 using flute piccolo trumpet trombone harmonium percussion and strings without viola.
Nikolai Kryukov composed a new score in 1950 for the 25th anniversary celebration. Chris Jarrett created a solo piano accompaniment in 1985 while Eric Allaman wrote an electronic score for the 1986 Berlin International Film Festival. Dmitri Shostakovich contributed three symphonies used commercially including his Fifth Symphony beginning and ending films most prominently.
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys composed a soundtrack released in 2005 premiered at Trafalgar Square London. Their work received four further live performances with Dresdner Sinfoniker in Germany plus one at Swan Hunter shipyard Newcastle upon Tyne in 2006. The film's centenary in 2025 marked cinema releases of restored versions featuring these modern interpretations.
Battleship Potemkin holds a perfect 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on fifty-two reviews averaging 9.2 out of ten points. Critics describe it as Soviet cinema at its finest where montage editing techniques remain influential today. The film was named greatest movie ever made at Brussels World Fair in 1958. Sight & Sound magazine cited it fourth-greatest film overall in 1952 before dropping to number eleven in 2012 polls.
In April 2011, Total Film magazine gave the re-released version five stars stating nearly ninety years later Eisenstein's masterpiece still guaranteed pulse-racing excitement. Directors Orson Welles Michael Mann and Paul Greengrass placed Battleship Potemkin among their favorite films. Billy Wilder named it his all-time favorite motion picture production.
The film appears ranked third in Empire magazine's list of hundred best world cinema films from 2010. A two-disc restored DVD version released in 2007 earned Richard Corliss recognition as one of top ten DVDs that year. Modern audiences continue discovering how Eisenstein's technical innovations shaped subsequent generations of filmmakers worldwide.
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Common questions
When was the film Battleship Potemkin released?
The first screening of Battleship Potemkin occurred on the 21st of December 1925 at a ceremonial meeting at the Bolshoi Theatre. A premiere followed in Moscow on the 18th of January 1926 at the 1st Goskinoteatre.
Who directed the film Battleship Potemkin?
Sergei Eisenstein directed Battleship Potemkin after Nina Agadzhanova wrote the initial script. He abandoned an eight-episode script to focus on one episode about the battleship Potemkin involving only 41 frames from Agadzhanova's original text.
What historical event does the plot of Battleship Potemkin depict?
Battleship Potemkin depicts events from June 1905 when sailors aboard the ship sat anchored off the island of Tendra. The story follows a mutiny where sailors refuse maggot-infested rations and overthrow officers who inspect their sleeping quarters.
Where did the Odessa Steps sequence take place in Battleship Potemkin?
The famous Odessa Steps sequence takes place in Odessa Harbour during widespread riots sparked by the arrival of the battleship. Tsarist soldiers march down these steps firing volleys into crowds while mounted Cossacks charge fleeing people.
When was Battleship Potemkin banned in the United Kingdom?
Battleship Potemkin faced bans in the United Kingdom until 1954 due to its revolutionary zeal. The film also experienced extended periods of restriction in France for similar reasons regarding its political content.