Viewed in
2010
Formats
Netflix streaming (Xbox 360) [2005 restorations version?]
Premise
Sergei M. Eisenstein's silent movie classic about mutiny on a Russian battleship.
Liked
Action scenes.
Thoughts
Expecting a boring silent movie, there was a lot of cinematic surprises for me.
I was most impressed with the action sequences, especially in terms of scope and numbers. There were many shots that contained what looked like hundreds of actors and extras, and to coordinate them all is rarely easy. The most memorable moment was the amazing dolly shot of a stampede down courtyard stairs; I was shocked that they could pull off such a complicated shot so smoothly.
Another unexpected aspect was the amount of violence and gore depicted. I guess I had incorrectly assumed it was going to be like Hayes Code America. It was interesting listening to how the music score tried to be in sync with the action on screen, even acting as the sound effects like gun shots.
Lastly, I thought it was a restoration trick to have a red-colored flag, but after some research, turns out Eisenstein had hand-painted it on the film itself.
Not surprisingly was the unintentional comedy of movies that did not know any better, such as breathing dead bodies, repeating footage, bad acting, and obvious boat models. I am certain the English translations did not do the Russian dialog any justice to what Eisenstein was attempting to do.
For a Bolshevik propaganda disguised as a silent movie, it was not bad, thanks to the decently-executed action scenes.
What I would change
Nothing.