Two master Soviet artists united in vision Aug 4, 2009
EISENSTEIN S 1925 silent film The Battleship Potemkin is a powerful example of art s capacity to mix truth and lies with equanimity and passionate conviction. Adding Shostakovich s notorious double-coded music intensifies the aesthetic experience and complicates the ethical dilemma. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Taking mockery to new heights Jul 5, 2009
The classics - Albert Brooks' 1979 series "Real Life," the genre's "Birth of a Nation"; the 1984 rock mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap," its "Citizen Kane"; and "The Office," which one supposes would be the "Battleship Potemkin" of mockumentaries - are all comedies with the conceit of an ever-present film crew that the characters must navigate. They parody the documentary genre itself ("Real Life") or its subjects ("Spinal Tap") or simply present a sitcom in a new way - and all the performers... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Return to 'love, etc.' Apr 8, 2009
In addition to the studio albums, they've written a musical, "Closer to Heaven," and a soundtrack to Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 silent film classic, "The Battleship Potemkin.". For "Yes," the Pet Shop Boys worked with Xenomania, a production group known for collaborating with Cher and other pop stars. (CNN -- US)
'Selling Democracy' screens propaganda films of the Marshall Plan Mar 8, 2009
As regards film, that question usually gets posed in terms of totalitarian societies: Sergei Eisenstein's agitprop classic of Soviet cinema, "Battleship Potemkin," say, or Leni Riefenstahl's documentary "Triumph of the Will," about the 1934 Nazi Party rally at Nuremburg. What about when the propaganda is made by a democracy. (Boston Globe)
Car chases, chariot races Feb 13, 2009
Brian DePalma has some nerve: The Union Station gunfight between Eliot Ness and several of Al Capone's meanest is modeled on the Odessa Steps sequence from the 1925 Russian classic "The Battleship Potemkin" - right down to the runaway baby carriage. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998). (Boston Globe)
