BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN
One of the most influential silent films of all time, this stirring historical drama takes
place during the Russian Revolution of 1905. Enraged with the deplorable conditions on
board the armored cruiser Potemkin, the ship’s loyal crew contemplates the unthinkable
– mutiny. Seizing control of the battleship 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 arrive to crush the
rebellion on the sandstone Odessa Steps, one of the most famous and most quoted film
sequences in cinema history is born. The film is cut into five parts. The first few are
pretty compelling, and with the help of an orchestra in the background, it was pretty
intense. Eisenstein features some really incredible shots, especially considering the
time. It even includes one of the most famous scenes in cinema history, the Odessa steps
scene.
THE MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA
In his Kino Eye manifesto of 1923, director Dziga Vertov declared, “I am an eye. A
mechanical eye. I am the machine that reveals the world to you as only the machine can
