October

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Tony S It is pretty apparent from the get-go that Eisenstein knew that within a decade it would be seen as nothing but a piece of history. The finale of the agitation trilogy, where the main character, "the people," finally arrives at the culmination of all the hard work. The Soviets finally take power. And despite the fact that a bloody civil war was on the horizon and anyone watching it in 1927 knew that, it's just omitted from the narrative. Not that the director wanted that. He was, of course, explicitly told to wrap it up by cutting a lot of footage. Along with erasing from the narrative a certain Trotsky, despite him being in the thick of things in February. Oh well. Just Stalin things.  Either way, the scope is to be admired. The dramatization of the Winter Palace storm and July days is excellent. When you have the whole city under your control, it sure results in a pretty picture, since you can do anything. They even threw a horse from a bridge. Eisenstein's montage theory is used to its fullest. presenting a very blatant yet quite artistic galore of symbolism, contrasting the ideas and propaganda with just a few words and a lot of cuts. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/31/22 Full Review William L All the Eisenstein hallmarks are there - the fast pace, the intimately framed shots, the angles, the violence, the Soviet Party-sanctioned storylines, and of course no shortage of frequent edits and montage style that the director is credited with pioneering. It's sweeping, large scale, and has plenty of creative imagery that you wouldn't expect in a cut-and-dry propaganda rehash of the founding of a nation in defiance of centuries of class conflict; the state clearly opened plenty of doors for the director to take advantage of plenty of practical resources that a conventional filmmaker of the period would not have had. But it is still a propaganda docudrama and feels like it all too much at times, relying on the kindred spirit of a proper son or daughter of the Revolution to carry itself, as well as a particular knowledge of some of the secondary conflicts of the period that would have been fresh in the minds of Soviet citizens a decade on, but just don't hit as well a century and half a world later (which is perfectly alright; I was not the target audience). October is absolutely not a boring film, clearly maintaining a distinctive style and a rapid pace, it's just a bit more academic. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/21 Full Review Audience Member Not as impressive as the stairs scene of Potemkin, but the strength of images, and reflection about an historical time, also impact. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. Another socialist propaganda piece. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A touchstone of biographical filmmaking, Eisenstein's re-creation of the Russian revolution is beautifully intense and intensely beautiful. With early-form jump cuts, overlapping frames, and subtly stunning performances (the faces of scared soldiers), it works as both a straight historical account and as an ahead-of-its-time experiment. Would be easier to follow and (therefore) easier to engage with if I only knew more about the uprising, yet it still found its way into my psyche. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member If you are not exceptionally familiar with the Russian Revolution you might find yourself lost sometimes in names and events. Nevertheless the movie is quite interesting, not even for historical reasons, but for taking lessons in film montage! Eisenstein's October must have been more exciting and thrilling that the actual October of 1917. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews

October

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