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Battleship Potemkin

Play trailer Poster for Battleship Potemkin 1926 1h 7m History Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 51 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
When they are fed rancid meat, the sailors on the Potemkin revolt against their harsh conditions. Led by Vakulinchuk, the sailors kill the officers of the ship to gain their freedom. Vakulinchuk is also killed, and the people of Odessa honor him as a symbol of revolution. Tsarist soldiers arrive and massacre the civilians to quell the uprising. A squadron of ships is sent to overthrow the Potemkin, but the ships side with the revolt and refuse to attack.
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Battleship Potemkin

Battleship Potemkin

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Critics Consensus

A technical masterpiece, Battleship Potemkin is Soviet cinema at its finest, and its montage editing techniques remain influential to this day.

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Critics Reviews

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Wilella Waldorf New York Post Oct 8, 2020
Potemkin tells, with a good deal of striking detail and with considerable pictorial effectiveness, a stern narrative of mutiny and revolt. Go to Full Review Pamela Hutchinson Guardian Mar 18, 2020
Because Battleship Potemkin is an appeal to fellow-feeling and collective action, it is only right that the restoration work creates a more immersive film, one that places no barriers between a 21st-century audience and its monumentally powerful imagery. Go to Full Review Robert Herring Guardian Dec 12, 2015
The thing that matters is that Soviet [cinema], while being propagandist, contains a use of all the different branches of film-making which is recognised and practised in no other country. Go to Full Review Joanne Laurier World Socialist Web Site Dec 12, 2025
4/4
... captures the brutality of the regime that the workers and sailors tried unsuccessfully to overthrow in 1905 ... This complex revolutionary process is captured in some of the most stunning and iconic images ever committed to film. Go to Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com Sep 1, 2025
5/5
...the 2025 version from the BFI with a Pet Shop Boys score is certainly the best version of The Battleship Potemkin that I’ve seen to date, with a modern score bringing the film to vibrant life; it’s a radical but respectful take on a cinematic classic. Go to Full Review Rich Cline Shadows on the Wall Aug 20, 2025
5/5
This is simply a ripping, thrilling movie. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
Battleship Potemkin

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Cast & Crew

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Sergei M. Eisenstein

Director

Aleksandr Antonov

Grigory Vakulinchuk

Vladimir Barskiy

Commander Golikov

Grigoriy Aleksandrov

Chief Officer Giliarovsky

Mikhail Gomorov

Militant Sailor

Repnikova

Woman on the Steps
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Battleship Potemkin

The Battleship Potemkin (1925) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When they are fed rancid meat, the sailors on the Potemkin revolt against their harsh conditions. Led by Vakulinchuk, the sailors kill the officers of the ship to gain their freedom. Vakulinchuk is also killed, and the people of Odessa honor him as a symbol of revolution. Tsarist soldiers arrive and massacre the civilians to quell the uprising. A squadron of ships is sent to overthrow the Potemkin, but the ships side with the revolt and refuse to attack.
Director
Sergei M. Eisenstein
Producer
Jacob Bliokh
Screenwriter
Nina Agadzhanova, Nikolay Aseev, Sergei M. Eisenstein, Sergei Tretyakov
Distributor
Amkino Corporation, Reel Media International [us], Grapevine Video, Image Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
Goskino
Genre
History, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Russian
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 5, 1926, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$51.0K
Runtime
1h 7m
Aspect Ratio
Academy (1.33:1)
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