Slow start, but a great second half

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2011)

Battleship Potemkin is really a film of two halves. The first is a bit slow and sets the scene, showing the sailors mistreatment at the hands of their officers. Where it really livens up though, is once the action switches to the Odessa steps. Here the stirring music is the perfect accompaniment to the events and as the second half progresses a strong continual beating of the drum echoes the soldiers footsteps and indeed the heartbeats of the people you are watching. It helps build the tension until the drum is even syncing with your own heat beat as you become engrossed in the events. For me this is the true master stroke and the reason that I can let the first half go and still really recommend this film.