Battleship Potemkin (1925)

How about a silent film? Normally I post something saying I'm about to watch a movie and then I watch it. This is a little different...

I DID IT! I watched a silent film. I'm going to get ready for bed and then I'll post a review. This film is known as Bronenosets Potyomkin for those who speak Russian.

Okay...

First of all, this is the first silent film I've ever seen so it's hard to judge it compared to other silent films since I've never seen one.

Normally I talk about the dialogue but since this was silent that doesn't really apply here. Some of the text on the title cards was pretty good so I guess that counts as dialogue. As for the acting, I don't think this movie had any real stars (not that I know of any 1920s Russian silent film stars) but that doesn't matter. The acting here is not like that of a talking film so I'm not really sure how to judge this either. There is good and bad silent acting but since this is all I've ever seen I don't know where this lies on the spectrum.

There are a few things I can comment on. First, the musical score was very well done. The music really enhanced some of the more dramatic scenes so that's a plus. Also, the plot itself was very good. Despite the handicap of not being able to talk, I still knew what was going on the whole time. My biggest fear with a silent film was I'd be confused and unable to follow along. This was not the case at all. I also like to talk about the themes or qualities that will make a lasting impression. This film is being reviewed 83 years after its release so clearly it did something right. Even someone such as myself with no training in film analysis has very little difficulty in noticing some of the themes in this film. The film is about poorly treated sailors and their mutiny and rebellion against government officials. I'm not really able to explain it all that well, but the red flag that the crew had was kind of cool, too. Normally you don't expect color in a black and white film but that flag was colorized and significant in some way which I'm not able to explain well so I won't try.

As a final thought, I would like to say the Odessa Staircase sequence was phenomenal. It must have cost a fortune to produce such a scene. Even more impressive, despite the fact that this film is based on actual events, this sequence is entirely fictional. The music here was at its peak and the message was loud and clear. This was a propoganda film and this sequence was nearly perfect.

Overall, I'd have to say I liked this...a lot. After watching Citizen Kane I lost my fear of black and white and this film has led me to no longer fear a film just because it's silent.

92/100
A-

UP NEXT: Let's try something way different. This film was very short (about 70 minutes) so let's try an English-speaking, color, long, love story - Gone With the Wind

I just saw this...My first silent film.

Wow! This was better than I thought it would be. Like catbox mentioned, it's hard to explain some of the concepts here. But the musical score was really well done, and that set the tone of the whole movie.

94.5/100

Silent films are better than you'd think!

ooo...good score!