Review of Battleship Potemkin (1925) by Richard L — 05 Jun 2015

Like "Birth of a Nation," the Russian silent film "Battleship Potemkin" is pure propaganda, but fortunately doesn't have the level of racism of the former. What it does have is incredible camerawork, huge set pieces, melodrama, and tension. The massacre of civilians on the Odessa Steps is especially well shot, with a variety of closeups and long shots, as well as panning shots following the soldiers and their hail of bullets down the stairs. The scenes are shocking, violent, melodramatic, and gigantic in scope.

The plot/history reenactment is relatively simple: sailors refuse to eat the borscht full of rancid, maggot infested meat. When the officers decide to make an example of several sailors, the sailors rise up against them and take over the ship, just as revolution begins to spread across Russia.