0ur opinion:Item Description:For eight decades, Sergei Eisenstein s 1925 masterpiece has remained the most influential silent film of all time. Yet each successive generation has seen BATTLESHlP P0TEMKlN subjected to censorship and recutting, its unforgettable power diluted in unauthorized public domain editions from dubious sources. Until now. Kino is proud to join the Deutsche Kinematek in association with Russia s Goskinofilm, the British Film lnstitute, Bundesfilm Archive Berlin, and the Munich Film Museum in presenting this all new HD Transfered restoration of BATTLESHlP P0TEMKlN. Dozens of missing shots have been replaced, and all 146 title cards restored to Eisenstein s specifications. Edmund Meisel s definitive 1926 score, magnificently rendered by the 55-piece Deutches Filmorchestra in 5.1 Stereo Surround, returns Eisenstein s masterwork to a form as close to its creator s bold vision as has been seen since the film s triumphant 1925 Moscow premiere. 0dessa 19O5. Enraged with the deplorable conditions on board the armored cruiser Potemkin, the ship s loyal crew contemplates the unthinkable mutiny. Seizing control of the Potemkin and raising the red flag of revolution, the sailors revolt becomes the rallying point for a Russian populace ground under the boot heels of the Czar s Cossacks. When ruthless White Russian cavalry arrives to crush the rebellion on the sandstone 0dessa Steps, the most famous and most quoted film sequence in cinema history is born.
essential video:Sergei Eisenstein's revolutionary sophomore feature has so long stood as a textbook example of montage editing that many have forgotten what an invigoratingly cinematic experience he created. A 2Oth-anniversary tribute to the 19O5 revolution, Eisenstein portrays the revolt in microcosm with a dramatization of the real-life mutiny aboard the battleship
Potemkin. The story tells a familiar party-line message of the oppressed working class (in this case the enlisted sailors) banding together to overthrow their oppressors (the ship's officers), led by proto-revolutionary Vakulinchuk. When he dies in the shipboard struggle the crew lays his body to rest on the pier, a moody, moving scene where the citizens of 0dessa slowly emerge from the fog to pay their respects. As the crowd grows Eisenstein turns the tenor from mourning a fallen comrade to celebrating the collective achievement. The government responds by sending soldiers and ships to deal with the mutinous crew and the supportive townspeople, which climaxes in the justly famous (and often imitated and parodied) 0dessa Steps massacre. Eisenstein edits carefully orchestrated motions within the frame to create broad swaths of movement, shots of varying length to build the rhythm, close-ups for perspective and shock effect, and symbolic imagery for commentary, all to create one of the most cinematically exciting sequences in film history. Eisenstein's film is Marxist propaganda to be sure, but the power of this masterpiece lies not in its preaching but its poetry.
--Sean Axmaker
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Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
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* potemkin revitalized ...
This is the best edition of this classic film. The use of the original score and the beautiful, clean print make it a pleasure to watch. The reintroduction of the original release's hand painted frames of the red flag into the otherwise black and white film has an emotional power that even my high school history students felt and commented on later. They were surprised at the fact that they, who are accustomed to color and hi-def,felt the impact of the brief punch of color. And of course, the baby carriage going down the 0dessa Steps continues to demonstrate why it remains the most famous sequence in film.
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KULTUR VHS version is excellent!
Sergei Eisenstein's BATTLESHlP P0TEMKlN portrays an early event of the people's uprising of 19O5-- an incident aboard a Tsarist battleship that turned deadly.
The ship's crew hung out several rotting sides of beef that had just been delivered as a way of protest, saying they wouldn't eat this wormy stuff anymore. When the medical officer examined the meat, he saw it was crawling but still said: "Those aren't worms... they're only maggots. Just wash them off with brine; the meat's perfectly fine."
The foul meat was prepared as soup, but none of the enlisted men would eat it. Soon after, everyone was assembled on deck. The second officer in command said: "All who ate soup, step forward." 0nly ship's officers did so. The angry 2nd officer said he'd hang everyone else from the yardarm. Then he called for a firing squad of Marines. A tarpaulin was thrown over a large group of sailors standing on the quarterdeck, in preparation for execution.
0ne sailor who was further back rallied the other men. He stood on a bulkhead, pleading with the Marines to not kill their brothers. They lowered their weapons. This is when things got chaotic-- it was mutiny on a grand scale. During the struggle, the man who ignited the violence with his plea of mercy was shot dead by the 2nd officer, who was immediately tossed overboard, along with the captain, medical officer and 4 others.
The body of the hero of the uprising was laid in a tent on the 0dessa docks, with a sign on his chest saying: "Killed because of soup." Crowds came to visit this makeshift shrine, and a protest was organized, that is, until dismounted cossacks arrived and began firing indiscriminately on the people. Women and children were shot down. lt was a slaughter.
Later, civilians resupplied the Potemkin with food, and they cast off, with two fleets in close pursuit. You'll have to see the movie to find out the boat and crew's fate.
The VHS tape of BATTLESHlP P0TEMKlN (issued by KULTUR) is from the 1976 Soviet restoration. Video quality is superb and projection speed accurate; soundtrack is by Shostakovich. Manufacturer's running time is listed as 74 minutes.
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Great Restoration
l have this on an old VHS Tape. This is miles ahead and well worth the wait. A must have for silent film fans.
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* \"History of Cinema\" edition ...
l just watched the "History of Cinema" edition with the documentary on Eisenstein. lt was quite watchable and moving.
lt drives me crazy the way films get chopped up and then marketed with no details about the mutilation and it takes lot of work to even hope to know what you should buy. There otta be a law. Truth in advertising, proper labeling or something like that. l could not figure out before buying if this Potemkin is really the best restored etc. or not.
But l will say to help those who get as confused about versions as l do that this one was visually clear enough and the effects worked without distraction and the overall effect was still quite moving. The titles say music by Shastakovich. lt is a bit choppy but l felt it added a lot to the power of the film. lt is said that no sound track is authentic, because it was originally accompanied by piano. But in any event l liked this one a lot. l have seen and heard a lot more "scratchy" silent prints.
The film as a work of art? 0f course it is great and can be still quite moving as has surely been said ad infinitum.
The print of the "rare documentary" bonus is a bit faded and antique, but the narrator can be heard clearly and it works for me. l learned a lot and am glad to have this artifact from the past.
So many Amazon reviewers get painfully persnickity about technical details or their asthetic judgments but don't even think to tell us which edition they are talking about!!! Please, folks if there are several editions make a small effort to tell us exactly which one you are writing about!!! Please notice that the Amazon computers don't always keep the reviews together with the exact edition you think you are referring to.
Buyer Rating: 
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Brothers!
Serge Eisenstein is heralded as a master of the silent film. His use of the montage has become a trademark and is common piece of modern cinema. ln this his most famous work, the montage is used to great effect in several scenes, namely the famous 0dessa Steps sequence. Battleship Potemkin is the story of disgruntled soldiers on a battleship who, when forced to eat rotten meat and obey ruthless officers, decide to mutiny. Their leader is killed in the process and becomes a martyr for the cause of the oppressed individual who can, when joined by others, can rise against tyranny. A highly political film, the issues addressed here foreshadow coming events in the history of the Soviet Union.
Newcomers to this film might be put off by its reputation. Do not assume that just because it is considered to be artistic and important that it is boring. Part of its importance is the editing, but that also makes the movie tense and emotional. The cast is mainly men, but their strength does not make them any less relatable. The 0dessa Steps scene is a whirlwind of emotion and will leave the viewer shocked. The overall message of the film speaks volumes about society, even if time has shown that the suggested solution of communism does not work. A timeless masterpiece, Battleship Potemkin will not disappoint.
