October (Ten Days That Shook the World)

Rating:
Summary: Leave politics at the door...
Review: .. I won't go into the propaganda nature of this film. It's obvious &, to me, unimportant in enjoying this movie as entertainment. What I will say is that this picture has left a mark on my mind & it's not due to any inherent political nature- it's because it's a very entertaining film. The story of an indigenous man who gets placed in power (after almost being killed) by a group who attempts to use him to get what they want only to be overcome in the end by "the masses" is fantastically displayed in this silent film. The lack of vocals only seems to add to it's quality. This movie contains one of the funniest scenes ever put to film & it could've only been done in a silent film using font size- the 1st meeting w/ the reincarnation of the Dali Lama. Oh, my. I had to watch it 3 times in a row the 1st time I saw it. Plus the soundtrack that was added works perfectly. Sometimes this isn't the case w/ DVD/VHS releases of silent films.. Don't be afraid if you couldn't pick Eisenstein, Pudovkin or Kalatozov out of a line up. Buy it, rent it, whatever. Just watch it.

Rating:
Summary: A great film, but a terrible DVD
Review: A minimally adequate version of this film on DVD would be (1) in widescreen (2) with the original Russian title cards plus subtitles. This version of the film is "modified to fit your screen." The English titles -- with frequent typos -- are white on black with about 400% more contrast than the rest of the film. The result is unwatchable; as much as I love Eisenstein and this film's St. Petersburg settings, I've never watched more than ten minutes of this DVD. Hopefully it won't be too long before somebody (Criterion, hint, hint?) gives this another try. Until then, I suggest you wait.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly accurate documentary/propaganda movie
Review: Despite being a propaganda film created under the "overall" leadership of Joseph Stalin, this description of Lenin's rise to power is even-handed. Lenin is portrayed as a dedicated revolutionary, but not as a figure of a personality cult. While the Tsarist regime is criticized, it is not heavy-handed. Even Kerensky, the most memorable leader of the short-lived interim republic is portrayed in an honest way. Finally, Stalin appears only in a minor role, appearing as simply another of the band of core Bolsheviks.
From the historical perspective, the film is also surprisingly accurate. There are no outlandish tales of proletarian heroism, only the description of a political system that fell under the weight of an archaic feudal structure and the strain of a terrible war. Granted that there are some excesses in the tale and none of those of the Bolsheviks is mentioned, overall it is better than most documentaries. One wonders what Stalin had in mind when he allowed it to be made in this manner.
As a piece of film, the work is also first rate, given the state of the art at the time. Armed with a historical knowledge of the events, one cannot help but be caught up in the action. The backdrop adds to the power, as you are seeing it at the exact locations. Almost as if a film about the president of the US was shot in the oval office. It doesn't have the precise look of a movie set, but the realism more than makes up for it.
Lenin was one of the few people of this century who truly changed the world, although surprisingly, it didn't last the century. Much like the quiet way that the Tsarist state vanished, no one would have believed that after 60 years, the communist government in the Soviet Union was pass away so easily. It was ten days that shook the world, but from the viewpoint of long-term history it was a quick shake.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant, audacious film.
Review: Eisenstein's intellectual montage at its most brilliant and audacious. One of his most complete achievments - taking history as his raw material he remakes it in his own image. Genius is a rare commodity, Eisenstein possesed it like no other film-maker, before or since ... Kenneth Anger excepted...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for Silent film fans and History buffs!
Review: I was reluctant at first to write a review about Eisenstein due to the very hot political nature he is still regarded under...that being said I feel his first three films are absolute masterpieces of cinematic art. His ability to create tension through sequencing and visual narrative make him an uncanny choice for the greatest director of all time. He was making these films under very primitive conditions. However, Eisenstein has an incredible sense of knowing how strong the visual medium can be and is not afraid to go places in his directing where no one has gone to since.

Sadly time has been somewhat unkind to him. I also read that his last years were very unhappy and he was shadowed by the Stalin regime. As to Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible I am less defernetial...they are obviously not as close to Eisenstein's heart as the first three..Strike, October and Battleship P>

Rating:
Summary: Revolutionary in form and content
Review: October shows both the revolutionary nature of Eisenstein's cinematic style, and the revolutionary nature of the story told. His further use and development of montage (after "Strike" and "Potemkin") allow Eisenstein to discuss one of the most profound events of modern history, the Russian Revolution. Though the rise of Stalin obscured Eisenstein's ability to accurately depict the revolution, the original version stands out as one of the more detailed and accurate accounts (One note: the actual insurrection, the storming of the Winter Palace, resulted in less bloodshed and death than did the filming). Eisenstein portrays the tsar and his bureaucracy as corrupt, inept and cynical; and portrays the provisional government as a bunch of opportunistic liars, bound to the forces of domestic and foreign capital. The force which was able to defeat the old rulers thus became the mass of workers and peasants, led by the Bolsheviks (note: daringly enough, Stalin is accurately left out of the leadership of the Revolution, with Lenin, Trotsky, and the Party as the leadership of the Revolution). A must see for those interested in social change and the labor movement, cinematic and artistic brilliance, or a combination of the two.

Rating:
Summary: bread land and brotherhood
Review: ten days that shook the world is very good. this silent film is full of symbols and is also very chaotic. Eisenstein in this film creates chaos to reflect the state of mind of Russia and its people at the time. Eisenstein presents the Tsar and the provisional government as liars. they promised land, bread and brotherhood to the people but did not do anything. then lenin is presented as the savior. he is the one telling the truth according to Eisenstein. The filmmaker shows Lenin dominating the people and the people being very exited by his speech. in some ways this film is similar to triumph of the will

Rating:
Summary: Classic Eisenstein - one of the 7 wonders of Film
Review: This film is not available in wide screen. Why? Because wide screen technology was not available in Russia in 1927, therefore it is unable to be translated to this current DVD (we are all becoming so spoiled by this wide screen thing!). What was available was academy format, which, while having a significantly narrower ratio than wide screen, served to get the job done. I think it is amazing that a piece of film shot 75 years ago has survived into the next century, mostly intact, for us to watch and analyze while all around us bright shiny new pieces of wide screen film seem hardly worth the effort. I digress... Now, this particular offering of Eisentien also features a bit of history some film majors and industry people (because really, who else knows about this? Sad but true..) may not know. The storming of the winter palace DOES take place within the winter palace. Why is this strange? Because a lot of the props in the movie, and the sets themselves were either rescued from destruction or pilfering by Stalin, just so Sergei could benefit from a wealth of "accurate" material to move his camera through and over. Therefore this film is known for having an "accurate" portrayal of what the winter palace, sans about 75% of it's original glory (and inhabitants), appeared like during czarist Russia. Neat huh? Now as for the historic validity of "October".....no. Sorry. This is a propaganda film, and one of the world's finest by far, but this is most definitely, without exception, Stalin's view of the "glorious" revolution as portrayed by Sergei Eisenstien. Did Sergei support the revolution? If he wanted to get a film made he sure did, and Stalin could be counted on to be Sergei's WORST critic if something did not agree with Stalin's personal "version of history". I like Eisenstein. He is, after all, the father of "the dialectical theory of montage" (film school phrase for Film as dialogue) which I prefer to think of now as MTV.

Rating:
Summary: Seminal Eisenstein
Review: This movie is not exactly designed for casual enjoyment. It's no surprize that it was not very popular when it was first released. Eisenstein takes a fairly intricate, if not convoluted, episode in history and recreates it through a maddening pace of of montage intercut, while establishing no particular characters to build any story around. So the film must be appreciated almost solely for the technique of its brilliant director (along with an excellent Shostakovich soundtrack). Not a great date flick, this is an ideal DVD for students of film history to challenge themselves.