Oktyabr (1928)

Directors:

Grigori Aleksandrov
Sergei M. Eisenstein

Writers:

John Reed (book) and
Grigori Aleksandrov (writer)

Release Date:

20 January 1928 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

In documentary style, events in Petrograd are re-enacted from the end of the monarchy in February of...

Plot Keywords:

Counter Revolutionary | Menshevik | Petrograd | Soviet History | Month In Title

Cast

Vladimir Popov	...	Aleksandr Kerensky
Vasili Nikandrov	...	V.I. Lenin
Layaschenko	...	Konovalov
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chibisov	...	Skobolev
Boris Livanov	...	Terestsenko
Mikholyev	...	Kishkin
N. Podvoisky	...	Bolshevik
Smelsky	...	Verderevsky
Eduard Tisse	...	German Soldier

Also Known As:

Октябрь (Soviet Union: Russian title)
October 1917 (Ten Days that Shook the World) (UK) (DVD title)
Ten Days That Shook the World (USA)
Octobre (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Octubre (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Outubro (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Ekim (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Lokakuu (Finland) [fi]
October (Canada: French title) [fr]
Ohtovris (Greece) [el]
Október (Hungary) [hu]
Oktober (Germany) [de]
Oktober - ti dage, der rystede verden (Denmark) [da]
Ottobre! (Italy) [it]
Pazdziernik (Poland) [pl]

Runtime:

Finland:103 min | Sweden:104 min | USA:95 min | Finland:142 min (2007 restored version) | 127 min (20 fps) | Spain:115 min (DVD special edition)

Country:

Soviet Union

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Canada:G (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 (1965) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Sovkino

Trivia:

Eisenstein had to remove most of the footage featuring Trotsky. The re-editing caused the film to be reduced to a little over three quarters of its intended length.

Movie Connections:

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

An Exciting Portrayal of a Tumultuous Time

With detailed and interesting settings, carefully planned montages and other techniques, plenty of realistic action, and an obvious enthusiasm of the director for the subject, this is an exciting portrayal of a tumultuous time. It's well-crafted, and the pace never lags. Each scene is so realistic and interesting that it gives you a definite feeling of having been there in the summer and fall of 1917, watching history unfold.

The movie leaves no doubt as to its perspective, but aside from a few overstated opinions in the titles, it rarely seems forced or heavy-handed. This really was a time filled with many tensions, high emotions, and sudden changes, and its portrayal of these is thoroughly believable. If anything, it probably distorts and stylizes history rather less than do the vast majority of the 'historical' movies that are made in the present era. The film does also assume that you know a certain amount of the background to the events that it depicts (background that its intended audience would certainly have known well), and anyone who does not remember the main figures and issues would probably enjoy the movie more after a brief review of the history. But it would hardly be necessary to know everything, since the story is told with such skill and detail.

There are many specific details that could be praised, and many sequences that are especially absorbing. It's a movie that deserves to be seen, and not just by those of us who are interested in silent films and history. In terms of history, later events called into question many of the assumptions and motivations behind the events and characters depicted in "October". But in terms of cinema, it cannot be questioned that this is an excellent film.