RU-B003-1984

The Battleship Potemkin -- LOCATED IN I.A.S. OFFICE

Video

VHS

International Studies

No

Available

In early 1925, the Soviet government commissioned filmaker Sergei Eisenstein to produce an 8-part epic film commemorating the revolution of 1905. It was to cover all of the major events of the crucial year, with the action taking place in cities all over the Soviet Union. Fortunately, the shooting was interrupted repeatedly by bad weather and Eisenstein was forced to narrow his focus to just one of the many episodes planned for the film: the mutiny on the battle ship Potemkin. On "Black Monday," June 13, 1905, the Rssian batleship Potemkin lay at anchor in the harbor of Odessa. Across the land the peasants and workers were revoletin against the Czar, and on board the Potemkin, the crew was planning a revolt of its own. Before this fateful day was to end, hundreds of men, women and children would be shot down on the steps of Odessa harbor by the soldiers of the Czar in retaliation for their support of the sailor's revolt. It was a day of infamy, yet what had begun on the Potemkin was soon to spread to the other ships in the Admirals' fleet, giving new hope to the revolution. Potemkin was an immense success when it opened at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater in December, 1925, and after 60 years, it is still one of the most visually electrifying movies ever brought to the screen. It stands alongside The Birth of a Nation and Citizen Kane as one of the greatest movies ever made. Director: Sergei Eisenstein. Black and White. Country: Russia. Subtitled. (I.A.S. now located in Old McMillan 254.)