Battleship Potemkin (1925): watch the full film free, legally

Rotten meat aboard the Potemkin

Battleship Potemkin is a 1925 Soviet silent epic produced by Mosfilm and directed and co-written by Sergei Eisenstein. It dramatizes the 1905 mutiny in which the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers. The action begins in June 1905, while the Imperial Russian Navy vessel is anchored off the island of Tendra. Sailors Matyushenko and Vakulinchuk speak of the need for the crew to support the revolution under way in Russia.

An officer’s rough treatment of a sleeping sailor brings Vakulinchuk to the fore. He connects events ashore with the crew’s harsh conditions, particularly their maggot-infested rations. Captain’s doctor Fyodor Smirnov examines the meat and says the insects can be washed away before cooking. Although the crew objects, he declares it edible. Chief Officer Giliarovsky orders sailors away from the rotten meat, while even the cook questions its quality as he prepares borscht.

The men refuse the borscht and choose bread, water and canned goods. One sailor notices an inscription concerning daily bread on a plate and smashes it. Those refusing the meat are accused of insubordination, taken to the fore-deck and given religious last rites. A canvas is placed over them as a firing squad arrives. When the First Officer orders the squad to fire, Vakulinchuk appeals to the men, who lower their rifles. The sailors take control of the ship, though Vakulinchuk is killed during the uprising.

Odessa mourns a fallen sailor

The Potemkin reaches Odessa, where Vakulinchuk’s companions display his body in a tent. A sign on his chest reads, “For a spoonful of borscht.” Citizens are saddened by his death and stirred against the Tsar and his government by sympathizers. A man aligned with the government attempts to direct the crowd’s anger at Jews, but the people shout him down and beat him. The sailors gather for a farewell, praising Vakulinchuk as a hero, while Odessa’s citizens welcome the rebels and mobilize against the government.

The people support the ship by sailing out in boats or assembling on the Odessa steps. A detachment of dismounted Cossacks forms lines at the top of the stairs and moves against unarmed civilians, including women and children. The soldiers fire volleys, advance with fixed bayonets, and continue down the steps while disregarding pleas from the crowd. Government cavalry attacks people fleeing at the bottom of the stairs.

A compressed production in Odessa

The project formed part of celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the first Russian revolution. The commemorative commission of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee proposed a grand film with an oratory introduction, music and dramatic accompaniment. Nina Agadzhanova was asked to write the script, and 27-year-old Eisenstein was assigned to direct. Her original plan covered several events of the 1905 revolution, including the Russo-Japanese War, the Armenian-Tatar massacres from 1905 to 1906, events in St. Petersburg and the Moscow uprising.

Shooting began on 31 March 1925 in Leningrad. Eisenstein filmed material including a railway strike episode and a crackdown on Sadovaya Street before fog and worsening weather interrupted work. The script was not approved until 4 June, yet the film had to be completed by year’s end. Eisenstein therefore abandoned the planned eight-episode structure to concentrate on the Potemkin uprising, which had occupied only 41 frames in Agadzhanova’s script. He and Grigori Aleksandrov recycled and expanded that material, while scenes including the opening storm were added during production. Eisenstein used many non-professional performers, seeking particular types rather than famous stars.

Filming moved to Odessa, then a film-production center with access to a suitable warship. The first screening took place at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre on 21 December 1925, at a ceremonial meeting for the 1905 revolution anniversary. Its Moscow premiere followed on 18 January 1926 at the 1st Goskinoteatre, now called the Khudozhestvenny. In 1958, the film was voted onto the Brussels 12 list at the World Expo. In Sight and Sound’s 2022 critics’ poll, it placed fifty-fourth among the greatest films of all time.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Battleship Potemkin”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.