Battleship Potemkin : from the series "The year 1905"

Summary: Sergei Eisenstein was commissioned by the Soviet government to make a movie commemorating the failed uprising of 1905, a mere 20 years after the actual incident. Eisenstein duly hails as heroes the people whose actions were regarded as traitorous in 1905. It began when sailors on the Potemkin protested that the meat they were being fed was maggot infested. In response, the commander ordered that ten random sailors to be executed by firing squad, at which the crew turned on the officers and killed them all. The oppressed people of Odessa joined the revolt to show their rejection of the czarist regime--which sent Cossack troops--who then mowed down both rioters and innocent citizens without mercy. The film was banned at various times in the US and France, and for a longer time than any other film in British history; even Stalin banned it, at a time when mutiny was against the party line. It remains remarkable for the way it builds tension over a brisk 69 minutes, and in the right setting with the right audience, can still reveal its inflammatory power.