MovieChat Forums > Stachka Discussion > Significantly overrated

Significantly overrated

posted 11 years ago by rgcustomer
1 reply | jump to latest

I saw Kino's 2011 release of this film with the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra soundtrack. I was ready to love this film, because I've loved the three other Eisenstein films I've seen. I actually liked the first three chapters. But chapters 4 and 5 nearly put me to sleep (and they DID put to sleep the person to my right). The film was SO tedious and boring, and the soundtrack by that point so repetitive, I was squirming in my seat trying to keep my eyes open. No doubt Eisenstein was innovative for his time, but I simply cannot care about that when I have to watch his work in 2013. It's no longer good. Film historians, and Soviet historians should study it, sure. But let's stop calling it great, resulting in hordes of disappointed people. It's not great.

I recommend these films with strikes as a theme, over this one:

I compagni (1963)
The Valley Of Decision (1945)

The documentary genre, and short film format also offer a number of good strike films, but you already knew that.

[–] bootblack987 11 years ago

I disagree that it's overrated in any way. To think that so early in the history of film that someone could have made a movie as epic and as profound as this astounds me. Plus it's amazing to see someone tackle such a socially important theme. That said, with a lot of older movies that I watch on DVD, I use the double-time (fast-forward) feature, so I can see a 90 minute movie in 45 minutes and not miss anything with the subtitles turned on. And that's what I did with this movie. That doesn't mean I think the movie was lacking, it's just that movie-making has changed so much...there aren't really words to explain how dramatically so.