Serge Eisenstein’s OCTOBER 1917

DVD REVIEW

OCTOBER 1917, SERGE EISENSTEIN, 1927

I have reviewed Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky’s definitive and extensive three volume work The History of the Russian Revolution elsewhere in this space. Trotsky’s work gives a grand literary expression to the same subject matter as that of the film under review. I noted in Trotsky’s case that it is partisan history at its best. One does not and should not, at least in this day in age, ask historians to be ‘objective’. One simply asks that the historian present his or her narrative and analysis and get out of the way. That same standard is also applicable to the overall value of the film director Eisenstein’s work to which he was commissioned in order to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the Russian Revolution in 1927. Although Eisenstein has taken the usual cinematic license in presenting his spic that one has come to expect from that medium and furthermore was working in the period of the Stalinist consolidation of political power it is no the worst political documentary produced in that era, not by a long shot.

Eisenstein was the master of montage, stage direction and reenactment of historical scenes. That skill does not fail him here. In scenes such as Lenin’s arrival at Finland Station from exile in April 1917, the brutal response of the Provisional Government during the “July Days’, the Petrograd proletariat’s response to the counter-revolutionary attempt by General Kornilov and the events surrounding the storming of the Winter Palace and the sitting of the Soviets that led to the seizure of power Eisenstein uses every trick of the cinematic trade. It shows in the faces of the actors used to portray the various participants. One may criticize this work as being too didactic in its portrayal of the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ guys but my friends that is what this film is all about. It is a propaganda film made in the 1920’s and reflects the state of the art and the state of working class politics. The hoary-handed Petrograd worker, the star-struck Siberian peasant and the steely-eyed Kronstadt sailor were not society’s ‘beautiful’ people. And that is exactly the point. The intent of the revolution was to turn that world upside down with the forces that the Bolsheviks had to work with, warts and all.     

I have endlessly pointed out that the October Revolution was the definitive political event of the 20^th century. The resulting change in the balance of world power with the demise of the Soviet Union in the 1990’s is beginning to look like a definitive political event for the 21^st century. In any I have urged those interested in the fight for socialism read, yes read about the Russian Revolution in order to take some lessons from that experience. Trotsky’s history is obviously a good place to start for a pro-Bolshevik overview. If you are looking for a general history of the revolution or want an analysis of what the revolution meant for the fate of various nations after World War I or its affect on world geopolitics look elsewhere. E.H. Carr’s History of the Russian Revolution offers an excellent multi-volume set that tells that story through the 1920’s. Or if you want to know what the various parliamentary leaders, both bourgeois and Soviet, were thinking and doing from a moderately leftist viewpoint read Sukhanov’s Notes on the Russian Revolution. For a more journalistic account John Reed’s classic Ten Days That Shook the World is invaluable. If, however, you need a quick overview and does so cautiously Serge Eisenstein’s masterpiece is not a bad place to start.