Battleship Potemkin («Бронено́сец „Потёмкин“»)

74 minutes | 21 December 1925 | Soviet Union

‘Considered one of the most important films in the history of silent pictures, as well as possibly Eisenstein’s greatest work, Battleship Potemkin brought Eisenstein’s theories of cinema art to the world in a powerful showcase; his emphasis on montage, his stress of intellectual contact, and his treatment of the mass instead of the individual as the protagonist. The film tells the story of the mutiny on the Russian ship Prince Potemkin during the 1905 uprising.’

Director: Sergei Eisenstein
Producer: Jacob Bliokh
Writers: Nina Agadzhanova-Shutko, Sergei Eisenstein
Starring: Aleksandr Antonov as Grigory Vakulinchuk, Vladimir Barsky as Commander Golikov, Grigori Aleksandrov as Chief Officer Giliarovsky
Music: Vladimir Heifetz
Cinematography: Eduard Tisse
Editors: Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori Aleksandrov
Production Company: Mosfilm
Distributor: Goskino

Downloads (via Internet Archive): 512KB MPEG4, MPEG2, Torrent

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The Internet Archive, at archive.org, is a prominent source for moving pictures in the public domain or under a Creative Commons licence. This means that they are free to stream, and in many cases to download and utilise creatively. The Internet Archive holds a collection of more than 3,000 feature films, many but not all from the silent era, and from across world cinema.

Each month I will select an available film, typically courtesy of the Internet Archive, and present it here to watch and with links to download wherever possible. The following day I will publish an analysis of the film, based on my own viewing, alongside commentary from pertinent critics. Read Battleship Potemkin analysis at Culturedarm.