The Battleship Potemkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm. Battleship Potemkin is the film which brought Eisenstein, always a citizen of the world, to world attention.
The theme of the film centers on the depiction of the Battleship Potemkin uprising that happened in 1905 when the crew of a Russian battleship rebelled against the officers of the Czarist regime who oppressed them. Potemkin is considered as one of the greatest films of all time.
Details of the Potemkin Mutiny
Battleship Potemkin provides a detailed account on Potemkin mutiny in 1905. It intended to tell the story of the Revolution. Battleship Potemkin commemorates the failed 1905 uprising, though technical constraints meant that only one aspect of the revolt - the Potemkin mutiny - was finally dealt with.
The film offers a reflection on the socio-cultural context of the Potemkin uprising by using several episodes. Eisenstein's film has five episodes:
- Men and Maggots
- Drama on the Quarterdeck
- An Appeal from the Dead
- The Odessa Steps
- Meeting the Squadron
Each episode, although fictional, offers possible explanations to what led the soldiers to revolt against their officers. In a way, it is unfolding little by little the reasons why the Potemkin uprising occurred and why we should sympathize with the soldiers.
The first episode, "The Men and the Maggots" shows the enlisted men on the battleship "Potemkin" being beaten by the officers. The rotting meat served to them as their meal is the reason for the altercation and punishment.
In this part of the film, we can see that there appears to be a distinction between the officers and men. The ship is kept clean and polished by the crew but the meat offered to them is stale and maggot-infested. The men later refuse to eat the soup made from the rotting meat which further inflamed the animosity of the officers.
The Second episode features the "Drama in the Harbor". After officers throw a tarpaulin over the rebellious soldiers and order them to be shot, a soldier named Vakulinchuk shouts, ``Brothers! Who are you shooting at?' The officers are thrown overboard but the sailor who called for resistance is killed by an oficer. His body is brought to the port city of Odessa.
In the third episode "A Dead Man Calls For Justice" we see the townspeople pay last respects to the dead sailor. It was an emotional scene as people gathered to give tribute to the man that paved the way for the uprising to occur. This scene shows the support of the town folks to its soldiers.
An Historic Film Sequence in The Odessa Staircase
The most heart-wrenching part of the film which created the most impact is the Fourth Episode "The Odessa Staircase." “History was made with this film's sequence, particularly the scene that depicted a mother who carries her wounded son up the steps, while Cossacks prepare to shoot another round on the panicked citizens below.
The Odessa steps sequence is a powerful recreation of what it's like to be caught in the midst of random violence.” (Emmanuel Levy, 2008). This is probably where we can sense the indirect attack employed by Eisenstein to elicit anger towards the Czarist regime. In this episode townspeople are on the famous Odessa steps cheering the sailors. The Czarist troops suddenly appear out of nowhere and shoot on the unarmed civilians.
To get the maximum effect on this heartbreaking scene, Eisenstein individualizes the massacre with close-ups and medium shots. He used the theory of montage that juxtaposes good scenes with bad scenes. As in the case of a young mother being killed but not before she throws her baby carriage down the stairs to protect the baby.
The final section of the film, "The Meeting With the Squadron," shows the "Potemkin" heading out to sea, not knowing if the other Czarist ships will fire on them or join them in rebellion. At the end of the film, we can hear Shostakovich's music in the background.
The ending of the film is subjected to heated debates by the film critics. They believe that Eisenstein ended the story too soon. Eisenstein pointed out that the early ending is meant to show that the Potemkin mutiny was a success.
He stopped "the event at this point where it had become an asset' to the Revolution" so that it becomes "an objectively victorious episode, the harbinger of the triumph of the October Revolution." (Taylor, 1998). It was intended to be a victorious episode as opposed to a failed attempt to quell the regime.
Theory of Montage
Eisenstein cleverly used the theory of montage in the film. This theory forwards the idea of montage which juxtaposition images of innocence with that of violence to evoke emotional reactions from the audience. This is done to evoke the greatest emotional response from the audience.
The film clearly want to evoke sympathy for the rebellious sailors of the Battleship Potemkin and hatred for their cruel overlords. The characterization is made simple, so that the audience could choose exactly whom to direct their sympathy.
The massacre on the Odessa ship was fictional, created by Eisenstein for dramatic effect and to show how evil and cruel the Czar and Imperial regime were. “That there was, in fact, no czarist massacre on the Odessa Steps scarcely diminishes the power of the scene (Ebert, 1998).” Battleship Potemkin is a classic of revolutionary cinema that exhibits the impressive cinematic skills of the young director, Sergei Eisenstein.
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