Eisenstein's epic film of the October revolution is an outstanding and underrated film. The scale on which it was produced is very impressive, at times staggering. It is nearly a hundred times superior to the better-known Battleship Potemkin, and it is a shame it is that rickety film that is shown in all film classes and not this one. No, it is really a crime. The editing techniques that Eisenstein was hinting at in Strike, and exploring in Potemkin, are skillfully mastered with this picture. His choice of actors, with their grotesque (and yet beautiful) faces and distinctive mannerisms. If anyone was good at finding an average and yet not-so-average 'type' of person to focus a camera on, and to tremendous effect, it surely was he. So forget that movie with the ship and the stairs and the baby carriage. This is, by far, not only a better film, it was probably his best.
