Battleship Potemkin (1925)
★★½ — Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Sergei Eisenstein was just twenty-seven when he made Battleship Potemkin, his second feature, commissioned by the Soviet government to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the 1905 revolution. The film dramatises a real naval mutiny aboard the Russian battleship Potemkin and the brutal suppression of civilian demonstrators on the Odessa Steps, an event that, in historical fact, was far less dramatic than Eisenstein's version suggests. Shot on location in Odessa and Sevastopol, it was produced by Mosfilm and screened at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in December 1925. Eisenstein would go on to make October (1928) and Strike (1925) as part of the same revolutionary cycle, cementing a body of work that effectively defined Soviet montage theory as a formal discipline.
I fully acknowledge The Battleship Potemkin as a landmark of cinema, but it's 100 years old.... A revolutionary use of montage, rhythm, and political messaging that changed film language forever. Sergei Eisenstein’s work, especially the Odessa Steps sequence, is studied for good reason: the way he cuts between faces, soldiers, and falling civilians creates unbearable tension and emotional power, even a century later. It’s a masterclass in how editing can manipulate time, emotion, and meaning. As a historical and technical achievement, it’s undeniably important. But watching it as a modern viewer (and as someone looking for an enjoyable experience) is another matter entirely. It’s silent, stark, and deeply propagandistic, with exaggerated expressions and minimal narrative nuance. Without context, much of it feels alienating; even with it, the pacing and style are so far removed from contemporary storytelling that it’s hard to engage with on a visceral level. It’s not a film you watch so much as you study. I can appreciate its influence, its craft, its place in film history. But “good” by today’s standards? That’s a different question. It doesn’t entertain, it doesn’t develop characters in a traditional sense, and it doesn’t aim to. It’s a piece of political art, engineered for impact, not enjoyment. So while I respect it deeply, I can’t say I liked it.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 1925 | Watched: 2025-08-20
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Soviet Union: Viy (1967) · Earth (1930) · By the Bluest of Seas (1936) · The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
More from the 1920s: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · The Docks of New York (1928) · A Throw of Dice (1929)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
More history: Apocalypto (2006) · Rio 2096: A Story of Love and Fury (2013) · Harakiri (1962) · Night and Fog (1956)
