Battleship Potemkin + Shorts
When:
—
Venue:
Birkbeck 43 Gordon Square
Sergei Eisenstein’s mesmerising foundational stone of cinema — a century old yet still freshly arresting in its stunning compositions and revered editing style.
In the Soviet Union 1925 was an anniversary year. It was one of the duties of the appointed jubilee committee to assign and supervise the production of films to celebrate the 1905 Revolution. One of the approved scripts, Year 1905, was assigned to Sergei Eisenstein. Eisenstein’s only completed feature film at this point was Strike, which had not yet been released. The scenario of Year 1905 covered the Revolution from the Russo-Japanese War to the armed uprising in Moscow. When filming began, however, Eisenstein decided to make the mutiny aboard the Potemkin the central episode of 1905. In the cutting-room it became apparent that this single episode contained all that was typical of the whole revolution. In the final cutting, all material but Potemkin was dropped, and thus evolved what has been called the most perfect and concise example of film structure. The importance of cutting and editing as a creative process was perhaps the most widely recognised revelation of Battleship Potemkin. The sensations of fear on the quarter-deck, panic and machine-like murder on the Odessa steps and tension on the waiting ship could only have been communicated by this revolutionary cutting method, which remains a yardstick for visual storytelling today.
The film, which represents the longest association with any film for Contemporary founder Charles Cooper (he admired and handled it for the whole of his adult life), will be accompanied by two British shorts that were directly inspired by it: Bread from 1934, made by the Kino group of which Cooper was a driving force, and Oh Odessa!, an homage made in 2002.
After the screening Soviet film expert and writer Ian Christie will discuss the enduring legacy of the film, along with the directors of Oh Odessa!, Bev Zalcock & Sara Chambers.
Programme:
BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN / Sergei Eisenstein / USSR / 1925 / 69 mins
OH ODESSA! / Bev Zalcock, Sara Chambers / UK / 2002 / 5 mins
BREAD / Kino group / UK / 1934 / 12 mins
Contact name: Matthew Barrington
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