Program Notes
The Battleship Potemkin
Film by Sergei Eisenstein
Music by Dmitri Shostakovich
The Battleship Potemkin was restored to its original 1925 scenario and the Shostakovich Score simultaneously created for the restored version in 1975-76 with the participation of The State Film Fund of the USSR and the Sergei Eisenstein Museum
Principals of the 1975-76 USSR Restoration team:
Supervisor: Sergei Yutkevich
Director: D. Vassilyev
Scientific consultant: Naum Kleiman
Music Editors: A. Kliot and A. Lapisov
Principals of the U.S.A. Restoration and Production team:
President & Executive Producer: Sheldon M. Rich
Artistic Director: Alicia Schachter
Director of Technical Services: David B. Griffith
Associate Producer: Rodney Olson
Score Editors: Dmitry Atovmyan, Roger Bergs
Film Historians: Anna Kagarlitskaya and Naum Kleiman
Film Credits
CAST
Vakulinchuk: A. Antonov
Chief Officer Gilyarovsky: Gregori Alexandrov
Capitan Golikov: Vladimir Barsky
Petty Officer: A. Levshin
A sailor: Mikhail Gomarov
Sailors of the Black Sea Fleet of the Red Navy
Citizens of Odessa
And members of the Prolekut Theater
Scenario by Nina Agadzhanova and Sergei M.
Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein
Photographed by Edward Tisse
Filmed primarily in the city of Odessa. Some scenes filmed in Sevastopol
Special Thanks
Sheldon M. Rich & Associates, Inc. and Harmony International express their deep appreciation to A.N. Medvedev, Chairman of the Committee for Cinematography of the Russian Federation for his invaluable assistance in making the presentation of The Battleship Potemkin possible. We also express our sincere thanks V.N. Dostal, Executive Director, Mosfilm Studio and B.S. Malishev, Executive Director of the Russian Film Archive, for their generous cooperation.
The Battleship Potemkin score by Dmitri Shostakovich © 1993 Sheldon M. Rich and Associates, Inc. 271 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-3020, USA
The Battleship Potemkin
Historical Context
Sergei Eisenstein was commissioned to produce the The Battleship Potemkin by the Soviet communist leadership of the 1920’s to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the unsuccessful 1905 revolution, which was a precursor to the successful Bolshevik revolution twelve years later. The broad contours of the events depicted in the film are true. The main deviation from fact is that no massacre actually took place on the Odessa steps, although many innocent citizens of Odessa were killed by Czarist troops throughout the city. Eisenstein’s condensation of these events for dramatic purposes is no more egregious a deviation from historical fact than what has been done in many other films depicting stories based on historical events.
In 1956, The Battleship Potemkin was voted the best film ever made. Although it no longer possesses quite that degree of lofty stature, an esteemed place in cinematic history is firmly assured. It is most important for having introduced editing techniques that have been mimicked ever since and which are utilized to one extent or another in nearly every film you watch. This movie also features arguably the single most famous individual scene in film history – the scene at the Odessa steps. It too has been widely imitated, most notably in Brian DePalma’s The Untouchables. The Battleship Potemkin is currently listed as the 161st most popular film according to the Internet Database top-250 poll, which makes it 19th among non-English language films. It is the 2nd oldest foreign film in the top 250.
Great Britain, France, and the United States banned this film at various times in history. These governments feared the capacity of Eisenstein’s film to evoke powerful emotions or to incite violent uprisings. Initially, The Battleship Potemkin was seen in America only by small audiences composed of either film aficionados or labor activists. Ironically, even Stalin temporarily banned this film from viewing by Soviet audiences during a time when there was fear of rebellion against his own regime.
This re markable film gained both fame and cautious respect for Eisenstein. The fame that he derived from it won him a degree of insulation from overt harassment by the Soviet government but the awe invoked by the power of his film also earned him the constant attention of authorities. During portions of his career, Eisenstein worked in the West, but found the environment there barely more conducive to his creative talents. While in the Soviet Union, he was restricted by the political agenda, but in the West (the United States and Mexico), he was equally restrained by the commercial agendas of the studios. Ironically, both his native country and the West, each in its own way, demanded of him films that would cater to the needs of the masses – mindless entertainment for the American masses but politically correct propaganda for the Soviet masses. Eisenstein ultimately suffered a nervous breakdown from the pressures that were imposed on him. Eisenstein not only left behind a marvelous film legacy, but also a large body of theory and writings about cinema that is as extensive as for any great filmmaker.
Originally shown with a score by Edmund Meisel, the official version of the film has been scored with music by Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
Shostakovich proved a powerful moral influence on his contemporaries. During the hard and cruel era of Stalinism, he had the courage to express in his music the misery of his people by means of an extraordinary dramatic feeling, and to denounce the hidden forces which were then eliminating millions of human lives. His music became a moral support for all who were persecuted. Belief in the final victory of justice, instilled through his works, transformed his music into a powerful stimulus to the spirit of resistance and freedom which mirrors the theme of the movie.
The score for the film features excerpts from Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 8, 10, and 11.
In particular, the eighth is one of Shostakovich’s great wartime symphonies, reflecting the anguish and pain the Russian people endured (1943). The tenth was written immediately after Stalin’s death, in which Shostakovich portrays Stalin as merciless. The eleventh is based on the same events as Potemkin-the 1905 revolt.
Cinematic Notes: The scale of this production was enormous and utilized thousands of extras (ordinary Russian people, for the most part). Eisenstein had a sizable chunk of the Russian fleet at his disposal during the filming. It is a testament to the power of this film that, today, many Russians actually believe that a massacre occurred on the Odessa steps as depicted in the film.
What is most important about The Battleship Potemkin is Eisenstein’s introduction of his theory of film montage. By rhythmic juxtaposition of images in rapid succession, he creates a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. He creates implicit argument and associations that arouse strong emotions. For example, he shows the impersonal brutality of the Cossacks, then immediately cuts to the impassioned face of a terrified mother or the hand of a child being crushed under the boot of a soldier. We see the brutal control being exerted by the soldiers; then suddenly a shot of the panic of the citizens. Eisenstein thus demonstrated for the first time the nearly unlimited manipulative potential of juxtaposing images to elicit audience responses – to stir them emotionally or to imply associations. In so doing, he changed the way films have been made ever since.
The Story: The Potemkin was a Russian battleship, cruising the Black Sea after returned from war with Japan. Russian pride was badly bruised by humiliating defeats at the hands of the Japanese and the country was in a state of unrest and isolated uprisings. The film begins on June 14th, 1905. The film is divided into five episodes, each introduced by a title frame.
The first episode is called “Men and Maggots.” The sailors on the Potemkin are aware of the ongoing revolt of Russian workers against their czarist employers and discuss it among themselves, although never within earshot of the officers or boatswain. They live in extremely cramped quarters, with only hammocks to sleep upon, and their rations are very poor. Maggots are crawling over the meat which they are to be served for lunch later in the day. When some sailors complain, the ship’s surgeon declares that there is nothing wrong with it and that the maggots should just be rinsed off with sea water. When the Borsch (Russian soup) is made using this meat, the sailors refuse to eat it and purchase food instead from the ship’s store.
In the second episode, “Drama on the Quarterdeck”, the Captain has been told of the action by the sailors and calls all hands on deck. He demands that all those who enjoyed their Borsch step forward. Only a few petty officers comply. The Captain then adds that all others will be hung from the yard arm. The sailors nevertheless hold firm. One rebellious group gets separated from the rest. The Captain singles them out for a disciplinary example and orders a tarpaulin to be tossed over the group. He calls out the guard, which is ordered to fire on the tarpaulin. As they prepare to fire, a sailor named Vakulinchuk (Alexander Antonov), who is a volatile rebel among the sailors, cries out, “Brothers! Who are you shooting at?” The members of the firing squad lower their guns. When one of the most hated officers tries to force them to shoot, full mutiny breaks out. The officers try to subdue the mutiny but are outnumbered. The ship’s priest (played by Eisenstein himself), an ignorant, bearded Rasputin-like fellow with wild long hair, sides with the officers as well. Although Vakulinchuk is killed by the Captain, his companions triumph in the end, and the officers and the priest are either killed or thrown overboard. When the ship steams into Odessa, it is completely in the control of the enlisted men.
The third segment of the film, “An Appeal From the Dead”, is set in Odessa. This is an ancient city in the Ukraine on the Black Sea. It is a circular shaped manufacturing city and seaport. It is especially well known for a re markable array of steps that stretch down to the sea. In Odessa, news of the uprising spreads among the people. They, too, are terribly repressed by the czar’s agents. Vakulinchuk is laid out on shore in a makeshift tent which quickly becomes a kind of hero’s shrine. The people from Odessa begin to line up to pay homage to Vakulinchuk and file past his corpse for hours. A sailor stands nearby and repeats to each visitor, “He died for a spoonful of soup.” Later, the citizens of Odessa provide supplies (food and water) to the Potemkin via a flotilla of skiffs. As they approach the great battleship, the citizens cheer the brave sailors in a show of respect and solidarity.
The climatic segment is the fourth one, called “The Odessa Steps.” The Czar’s Cossacks are called out and march down the long flight of steps, firing indiscriminately at the citizens – men, women, and children alike. A woman is shot while holding her child and pleading. A man is seen wearing glasses and later we see the glasses with a bullet hole through one lens. Another man without legs is seen trying to scurry away propelling himself with his arms. A woman pushing a baby in a pram is shot and the pram bounces down the stairs out of control. In response, the Potemkin turns its great guns on the Cossacks and their quarters in Odessa.
The last segment is entitled “Meeting the Squadron.” News of the uprising has reached the government and a Russian fleet of twelve destroyers is ordered to intercept the Potemkin. They make for Odessa. When they are spotted by the rebels on the Potemkin, the ship is readied for battle and steams out to meet the fleet. One destroyer from the fleet joins up with the Potemkin. The Potemkin signals the other ships, inviting them to join in the uprising. Although the other ships don’t respond or join them, the Potemkin steams through the flotilla without a single shot being fired by either side. The crews of the other ships cheer the Potemkin as it passes. (Later, the Potemkin crew sought asylum in Romania and the ship was returned to the Russians, but that is beyond the scope of the present film.)
