Length: 82 minutes
Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein
Cast: Grigori Aleksandrov, Aleksandr Antonov, Yudif Glizer, Mikhail Gomorov, I. Ivanov, Ivan Klyukvin, Anatoli Kuznetsov, M. Mamin, Maksim Shtraukh, Vladimir Uralsky, Vera Yanukova, Boris Yurtsev
Eric's Impressions: This is film on speed and if you blink even once you might miss something. Director Sergei M. Eisenstein has plenty of entries in the book and though I probably won't end up ranking any of them very high on my all-time favorite movie list it's hard not to admire such a visionary filmmaker. Part dramas, part political propaganda statements, his films make you think and they're never dull. If you've got a weak stomach, be prepared because P.E.T.A sure would've been protesting this movie when it hit theaters 85 years ago.
Natalie's Impressions: This is the first Eisenstein film in the book, followed by The Battleship Potemkin, made in 1925 and October, made in 1927. It was the first of his films I saw and although it didn't leave the same impression as Battleship, the montages in this film are as memorable, especially the one at the end with juxtaposition of animal slaughter with human slaughter, which is something Eisenstein does again to great effect in October. It is as if seeing the slaughter of animals is the only way to get the necessary reaction to human slaughter. The effect is very disturbing because the animal slaughter is almost more frightening and shocking than the human slaughter.
COUNTDOWN: Just 983 movies to go!
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