Review of October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (1928) by Jason D — 07 Jul 2010
It's a hard film to follow, but I found it the most rewarding of the Eisenstein films I've seen ("Strike", "The Battleship Potemkin") and I will have to give this, as well as the other films, another look.
Same complaints as his other work: the narrative is incredibly hard to follow, there is almost no context for viewers who are Russian Revolution scholars. Nevertheless, Eisenstein's eye for provocative and emotional cinematography is incredible, and I respect that aspect of all of his films.
This film is great at feeling like a documentary...the acting is so transparent that I never feel like I'm watching some Hollywood version of history, at all. Some of the shots I would even guess were actual newsreel footage of the October events.
I would only recommend that you learn as much as you can about this period in Russia's history before you watch any of Eisenstein's works, otherwise you'll likely be lost in a sea of grinning bourgeoisie and gun-toting Bolsheviks.
This review of October (Ten Days that Shook the World) (1928) was written by Jason D on 07 Jul 2010.
October (Ten Days that Shook the World) has generally received positive reviews.
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