A cinematic landmark.

Rating: 9/10 (18 February 2017)

That, of course, is far from a fresh observation but it's true. Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin tells the real life story of the 1905 mutiny on the Potemkin in the Russo-Japanese War. When the crew of the Potemkin are fed borscht made from rotten meat most opt to eat bread and butter instead. When the officers of the ship hear of this, they become outraged and they believe the enlisted men of the ship to be spoiled. Chief Officer Ippolit Giliarovsky (Grigori Aleksandrov) orders the men the be executed. A revolutionary sailor named Grigory Vakulinchuk (Aleksandr Antonov) inspires a mutiny and the oppressive officers are thrown overboard. The mutiny is successful but Vakulinchuk is killed by Giliarovsky. The sailors mourn their fallen hero and deliver him to the port at Odessa. When the Odessa residents learn of what has happened they protest but are brutally suppressed by the Tsarist guards. In response a revolution goes underway. The film is done very well and has since come to be regard as one of Russia's best films. Not to mention the commonly used soundtrack by Dmitri Shostakovich is brilliant and perfectly fitting. The film is most famous for the "Odessa steps" sequence, so much so that the stairs on which the sequence was filmed has come to be known at the "Potemkin stairs." It is important to note that no such event took place at the Potemkin stairs but that doesn't make the sequence any less groundbreaking. It should also be said that the film is brutally violent, even by today's standards. Overall, Battleship Potemkin is highly recommended.