Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Film - The Battleship Potemkin
Review: Last night at my Media A Level Class in Manchester, I had the opportunity to watch this film from start to finish. The Battleship Potemkin is a very emotive film. It is pro-Lenin and very much anti-Christian and Czar. The images that are used are very powerful and ones that I shall remember for the rest of my life: the Odessa Steps sequence was very emotive and had empathy for the characters who were slain. All the way through the film the music gave us an idea of the emotion of the time and we were able to feel just how passionate the Revolution was at that time. This film was the first of its kind to use a large number of extras. This was especially so in the scene where the people of Odessa were filmed snaking down to the quay to support the sailors of the Potemkin. With such a limited amount of equipment invented at that time, I was astounded at the way the Director, Sergei Eisenstein had succeeded in making a wonderful film. I would recommend people to buy this piece of timeless history. It may be nearly 100 years old but it still has the ability to hold the audience. I know that I will watch this film again.
Rating:
Summary: .............
Review: If you are a lover classic films, or just films in general, and you don't have this movie on your list of favorites,well I seriously suggest you do some reavaluating. Lets put it this way, unless your favorite film was made before 1925, without Bronenosets Potyomkin it probably would not be around today, period. No other film next to Citizen Kane have ever influenced the medium so greatly. In retrospect, viewing the film today might leave you wondering what all the fuss is about. Today much of the impact is lost due to our peace of time and development of technique. In fact many of the films scenes may seem, if nothing else, cheesy (the preacher waving his cross in all his stereotypical glory). But there are still just enough moments of sheer power (the Odessa steps, maggots in the meat) to lift it to a new level of intesity. But regardless of wether it is one of the "best," Potemkin will always be one of the greatest, and thats based on impact alone!
Rating: 
Summary: Massacre at the Odessa Steps.
Review: Whenever the subject of Sergei Eisenstein's "The Battleship Potemkin" comes up, it is virtually impossible not to immediately think of the amazing Odessa Steps sequence, but there is so much more to admire about this landmark film in addition to that legendary moment. It takes only one look to realize that it still maintains all of the emotional power and technical brilliance that it possessed all those decades ago. The crew of the Battleship Potemkin returns home after its battle against Japan. A mutiny erupts onboard after the crew is given contaminated rations and soon news of their rebellious movement reaches shore. The sympathetic townspeople near the ship send them food and water but they are soon fired upon by troops sent to deal with the mutineers. The Russian fleet is then dispatched to destroy the Potemkin and put an end to the uprising. "The Battleship Potemkin" is a propaganda product that has exceeded its original purpose to become something much more significant. When it was first made, the film was more important for its commentary on class struggle but it is now more renown for its innovations in cinematic storytelling. Eisenstein's use of juxtaposed images was the origin of the modern film montage and his editing techniques gave rise to a faster and more energetic narrative style that was much more satisfying than the start-and-stop, jarring method that characterized other films of the era. The expert craftsmanship typical of so many films made today owe "The Battleship Potemkin" a debt of gratitude for influencing their look and feel. Clearly this is one ship that has not sailed into the sunset to be forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: A Cinematic Landmark, Still Astonishing!
Review: This is the film that defined film grammar for decades to come. Also reinvented the editing process by the juxtaposition of images. Besides being a cinematic landmark, it is also a gripping account of the massacre at Odessa. You get the feeling that the film is in constant motion, Eisenstein used more than 1300 separate shots in Potemkin's short running time of 70 min. Still has the power to enthrall anyone, exciting, gripping and still admirable. The 'Odessa steps' sequence, probably the most famous sequence in movie history, is nothing short of brilliant, it has been copied many times, most notably in Depalma's 'The Untouchables'. Without a doubt one of the most influential pictures of all time. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 10!
Rating: 
Summary: Good film, terrible DVD
Review: Most of the reviews posted here unfortunately review the film, not the product for sale. Little else can be said about Battleship Potemkin, Eisenstein's masterpiece and one of the crown jewels of cinematic history. With all this positive karma, one would think that such a film would get a decent DVD release.
Unfortunately, Battleship Potemkin does not. Granted, the film itself is wonderful, and one of my all time favorites, but this DVD transfer does not do it justice. The famous musical score, banned in many countries at the time of its release, is absent, replaced with a tinny, bombastic score composed thirty years after the fact. The Odessa Steps sequence has also been severly mangled, omitting many of the shots which stuck in my mind the first time I viewed this film so long ago. Do yourself a favor and buy a good VHS copy of this film until a good DVD comes along, hopefully from a big-name group like Kino Video or Criterion.
Rating: 
Summary: Only if you can get it cheap. No special features.
Review: The movie: 5 stars.
The dvd edition: 2 stars, okay picture, good score, no special features, average on the whole. A nice little DVD edition, if you get it cheap. Not worth the same price as a Criterion DVD for its lack of special features and general cheap-lookingness. Image was quite good, especially for a silent. The score, i believe, composed by Eistenstein collaborator Prokofiev, was wonderful. If this is your only way of seeing Battleship Potemkin, however, i couldn't recommend it highly enough. The main attraction of this DVD is the movie itself, which is more than worth the price of entry. No matter how many people tell you about the Odessa steps sequence, you'll still be impressed by it. The most moving single sequence in all of silent cinema - and one of my favourite sequences in all cinema. Such brilliant editing, such brilliant movement down the steps. And the imaginative little episodes as we move down the steps: the famous pram rolling down the steps, the little boy who gets shot and trampled on, his wailing mother who picks him up and marches up the steps towards the descending cossacks (this moment is pictured on the DVD cover). The movie is a very moving experience, and has become one of my favourites. If there is no Criterion edition or edition with special features, i'd say get this (but try not to pay too much for it - as i said, its pretty much just the movie).
Rating: 
Summary: Above-average presentation for a vital silent film
Review: The need for serious film-buffs to own this film is so obvious that I hardly need reiterate it. Too many have called it the greatest film ever, or nearly so. Seeing it again, I have to agree that it is a powerful and finely-crafted film, of huge historical importance thanks in part to its many innovations in technique. While I still squirm at some of its blatant propagandism, I can look past that enough to appreciate the film's excellence. Anyway, as to this DVD: the print is pretty good for a silent film, which means that you can make out what's going on about 90% of the time. Of course, the recent restoration of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" so completely spoils us now, with its incredible beauty and clarity, that it's hard to settle for anything less! But this printing of "Battleship Potemkin," from a 1976 Soviet restoration, remains quite respectable. My main reservation is the music. Austrian composer Edmund Meisel composed a score specifically for this film at the time of its original release. Even though the present DVD version is a "restoration," it does not use the original music. Instead, the score a patchwork of extracts from Shostokovitch's symphonies (the opening scene of waves crashing is the beginning of the 1st movement of the 5th symphony; the opening of "Odessa Steps" with the ships moving in the harbor is the beginning of the same symphony's Scherzo). Great music, yes, but often not well-matched to the action.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the effort.
Review: Remembering that the film was both a product and a tool of the Soviet political machine, the hatred of the Tsarists is evident throughout. It takes discontented masses and charismatic leaders to spawn a revolution. The seeds of discontent are graphically illustrated in this classic production. The charismatic leadership is not an issue in this movie, which is not surprising since they were no less evil then the Tsarists. The story is compellingly portrayed through the rapid transition of action sequences that should please even the short attention spans common in the MTV set. No Hollywood Pretty People in this movie, each is distinctive and right for the role. The grime on the faces, maggots in the food... the polished brass on deck, the bloodshed on the famous steps of Odessa... the story is a visual delight, though it was hard not to smile at the obvious propaganda promoting a classless society.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: With modern multi-million dollar blockbusters with computer effects, an OLD film like this can be difficult to watch. With the masterful scoring, it justs adds to the effect. Film School students have undoubtedly seen the "Odessa Step" sequence. It is a great source of semiotic analysis with editing cuts and cuts to shapes. Not to mention the diagonal lines. This scene, with the baby carriage incident, was used in "The Untouchables". The "Odessa Step" scene is the part I remember the most. The mother carrying her small son up to the soldier's after he'd been shot. They shot her, and walk over the body. Or the young mother with the baby in the carriage, you know the baby is going to go down the steps because that's what happens in every other movie.
Rating:
Summary: Eisestein's Genius is hard for modern audiences to watch
Review: Battleship Potempkin is an historic milestone, and is useful for future directors to watch, but the film itself shows too many flaws to be in itself entertaining. Eisenstein, Potempkin's director, tried just a little too hard on this film, he was a great director because he essentially invented montage and created geography- so he could make the film mostly in the editing room rather than having to follow a script. This shows up just a little too much in battleship Potempkin. In film I want characters. Maybe one's I can understand or even deprive horrid maniacle characters that make no sense. In Potempkin we get no characters at all, instead we get, in true comunist style, the masses shown as one mind going this way or that way all at once. I also like great performances by great actors. Eisenstein hired no actors (just extras) for his parts, and it shows. No performances stand out as even minutely expressive. No performance is close to noteworthy. Eisenstein thought the actors shouldn't even try. Rather, we get rapid cutting from face to face, with random violence too fast to be understood. Many have told me that this creates an empathatical confused and feargul feeling in the audience, but I just became apathetic. If you would like to see a more entertaining and equally artistic Russian film of this time, you should check out Mother. It is a beautiful story.
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