Complete propaganda but technically brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (29 July 2006)

At the onset, it must be understood that this film was a propaganda piece that was made with the backing of the new Soviet government. I doubt that director Eisenstein had a lot of control over the product as it had to conform to what the government demanded,...or else! And, as far as producing a propaganda film to commemorate the abortive 1905 Revolution goes, he did an exceptional job! So good that it took years for Stalin to get around to persecuting the director and purging several of his later films (now THAT'S gratitude "Stalin-style").
The film is a pretty simple movie that concerns a real-life rebellion on the Russian naval ship POTEMKIN as well as an uprising in Odessa by the masses. And, from what I was able to learn, the story was probably relatively faithful to the events though they were of course dramatized a bit here and there. Despite the movie making it appear that all the officers on board were killed, the crew killed several but others were allowed to live. Also, the incredibly sensationalistic and evil character of the insane-looking priest on board the ship was just a very clumsy attempt by the Soviets to ridicule their enemy--organized religion. But, the crew really DID rebel, the citizens of the city really were massacred by the army and the Potemkin did actually escape unscathed because the other ships refused to fire on her. Unfortunately, what happened next was never covered in the film and I wish it had been. While it made it look as if perhaps the other ships joined Potemkin in rebellion, this wasn't the case. Instead, the ship defected to Romania and most of the crew either stayed there or returned after the 1917 revolution--the few that returned sooner were prosecuted.
If you ignore some inconsistencies and over-the-top priest character, the rest of the film is brilliant, moving and was a very effective piece. Compared to other Hollywood productions, the camera-work was amazing--with crane shots, cameras that seamlessly moved with the action and terrific dramatic scenes that made you almost wish you, too, were a Communist.
I noticed that there were quite a few negative reviews and those who felt the film was overrated. While I do agree its reputation is greatly overrated, I can't agree with scores of 1, 2 or 3 stars, as technically the film is well-made and effective compared to other films of the day. Don't let the film's political bias make you dismiss it unfairly, but also do not accept the film as Gospel (that's an interesting choice of words considering the Atheist Soviet government, eh?).