Stachka (1925)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Sergei M. Eisenstein

Writers:

Grigori Aleksandrov (writer)
Sergei M. Eisenstein (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

28 April 1925 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In Russia's factory region during Czarist rule, there's restlessness and strike planning among workers; management brings in spies and external agents...

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Cult Director | Water | Public Domain | Experimental Film

Cast

Maksim Shtraukh	...	Police Spy
Grigori Aleksandrov	...	Factory Foreman
Mikhail Gomorov	...	Worker
I. Ivanov	...	Chief of Police
Ivan Klyukvin	...	Revolutionary
Aleksandr Antonov	...	Member of Strike Committee
Yudif Glizer	...	Queen of Thieves
Anatoli Kuznetsov
Vera Yanukova
Vladimir Uralsky		(as V. Uralsky)
M. Mamin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Boris Yurtsev	...	King of Thieves

Directed by
Sergei M. Eisenstein

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Grigori Aleksandrov		writer
Sergei M. Eisenstein		writer
Ilya Kravchunovsky		writer
Valeryan Pletnyov		writer

Produced by
Boris Mikhin	....	producer

Cinematography by
Vasili Khvatov
Vladimir Popov
Eduard Tisse

Art Direction by
Vasili Rakhals

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Grigori Aleksandrov	....	assistant director
Ilya Kravchunovsky	....	assistant director
Aleksandr Levshin	....	assistant director (as A. Levshin)

Camera and Electrical Department
U. Khuatov	....	assistant camera
Vladimir Popov	....	assistant camera

Production Companies

• Goskino
• Proletkult

Distributors

• Alta Films (1977) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Moskwood Media (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Стачка (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Gapitsva (Soviet Union: Georgian title)
Strike
La grève (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) [fr]
A Greve (Portugal) [pt]
Grev (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
I apergia (Greece) [el]
La huelga (Spain) [es]
Lakko (Finland) [fi]
Sciopero (Italy) [it]
Strajk (Poland) [pl]
Streik (Germany) [de]
Strejke (Denmark) [da]
Strejken (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

82 min | Spain:81 min | UK:95 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18

Company:

Goskino

Movie Connections:

Edited into Ten Days That Shook the World (1967) (TV)

Interesting, With Some Memorable Imagery

Sergei Eisenstein's "Strike", like his more well-known films, is interesting and contains some memorable imagery. The story is worthwhile in itself, and it repays careful attention because of the considerable detail that is shown using Eisenstein's distinctive approach. It lacks any particularly interesting characters, but then, so did "Battleship Potemkin". Only an occasional lack of polish sets this apart from Eisenstein's later films.

The story starts with the situations that provoke the strike, and then follows developments on both sides of the dispute. It becomes surprisingly involved for what seems at first to be a simple confrontation. There is quite an assortment of situations, settings, and characters. On occasion, the images are overdone, occasionally even off-putting, but you can already see the creative use of imagery that Eisenstein would later use so effectively.

"Strike" will probably be of interest mainly to those who already appreciate Eisenstein's films, but it is worth seeing. It is really only a cut below "Potemkin", which itself, though generally the most-praised of his films, might actually be surpassed by some of his later works. In any case, "Strike" displays the same kind of style, and has several of the characteristics of the fine classics that were to come.