October

Film Title: October: Ten Days that Shook the World

Original Year of Production: 1928

Studio: Sovkino

Director: Grigori Aleksandrov, Sergei M. Eisenstein

Cast: Valdamir Popov as Aleksander Kerensky, Vasili Nikandrov as V.I. Lennin Layaschenko as Konovaloz      

October: Ten Days that Shook the World is a silent, dramatic feature film that was produced by the Soviet Government documenting the Russian Revolution of 1917.  This event is very similar to the events that have recent taken place in Egypt and Libya.  In both instances the people in those countries resorted to uprising because they are very dissatisfied with the monarchy and bourgeoisie style of government and wish to have more rights; desiring more democracy.  Russia in 1917 was lead by the Czar, Nicolas II.  The citizens were suffering both economically as socially.  Mass poverty was epidemic and people were recruited into the peasant army that did not pay.  The people could not get ahead financially.  “Conditions in rural areas were also grim, especially the enormous loss of agriculture man power due to the primary peasant army raised by the state.  Industrial workers were in too short supply in Russia to be sent to the front.  Because the economy was transformed to eliminate the production of civilian goods, peasants had little incentive to produce.” (Smith, 148)  The moral of the people was very low because Russia was involved with many wars both in Manchuria against the Japanese in 1905 and fought in WWI.  People were tired of war and wanted a positive change. “The breakdown in support for the war was most consequential in Russia, for it led to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the first dramatic series of collapses in monarchial rule across Europe.” (Smith, 147)

            The first uprising was successfully taken over by the provisional government which was headed by Kerensky.  However, Kerensky was unprepared to deal with the nature of Russia’s financial and social problems.  As a result, Lenin led the Bolshevicks into power over the Provisional government.  “Lenin’s agitation succeeded in tearing the fragile revolutionary coalition apart.  “We recognize that power must belong only to the people itself, i.e., to the Soviet Workers and Soldiers’ Deputies as the sole institution of authority enjoying the confidence of the people.” (Smith, 150)  The film, October, captures the power struggle between Lenin’s Bolshevik Group and Kerensky’s provisional government. 

There are many metaphors depicted in the film, October.  There are many scenes of the Bolshevicks tearing down huge statues of religious figures.  This is symbolic of the tearing down of the old monarchy/bourgeoisie and proletariat governments.  (clip of scene)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuBdQqemxPs&feature=related

“Through a reversal to focus on individuals, radical editing techniques (four times as many cuts as in the standard film of the time, and overt visual metaphors (a screen full of raised sickles represent the peasantry; raised riffles stand in for the army; turning wheels mean a motorcycle brigade; a statue being torn down indicates that fall of the Czar; the same statue reassembling itself suggests the provisional government has taken over the role of Czar.” (Rosenstone, 15)  These metaphors are similar to the “Omens” discussed in the article, Omen and Image; Presage and Sacrifice in Moravia’s La Ciociara. “In La Ciociar Moravia provides omens and premonitions throughout the narrative to prepare the reader for the tragedies to come for the mother and daughter protagonists Cesira and Rosetta.  At the same time and just consistently, he individualized the daughter metaphorically and through imagery both as a sacrificial lamb and scapegoat who is bound for tragedy (Kozoma-Southhall, 207) Another scene that used symbols and metaphors was the Bridge scene that had a white horse connected to it.  As the bridge slowly was raised, the dead white horse was hanging by a rope and then finally fell into the water below.  This dead white horse is symbolic of the failing government. (clip of scene below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCNTNnNFNHM

There are many invented scenes in the film, October.  This gives evidence that this film serves as a propaganda film.  “Three years later, his film to honor the tenth anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, October (1928)- for all its invented interludes such as the storming of the Winter Palace- stayed close to the details of the so-called Ten Days That Shook the World, even as it downplayed the contribution of both Lenin and his party.” (Rosenstone, 14)  Another clue that hints October as being a propaganda film is that it is much more focused on Kerensky and has a much stronger bias towards the Provisional Government.  These scenes showing the Provisional government being aggressively attacked and losing to a massive, mob-like group who are shown laughing horrifically as the city is being destroyed.  “Initially Sorin dismisses October as no more than propaganda.” (Rosenstone, 22)  Lenin’s involvement was highly downplayed in the film.

This movie, October produced by the Russian government had a very different perspective from the book October that was written by John Reed which is more biased towards the Communists.  Lenin comments on the book, “With the greatest interest and with never slacking attention I read John Reed’s Book, Ten Days That Shook the World.  Unreservedly do I recommend it to the workers of the world.  Here is a book which I should like to see published in millions of copies and translated into all languages.  It gives a truthful and most vivid exposition of the events so significant to the comprehension of what really is the Proletarian Revolution and the Dictatorship of the Proletariant.   These problems are widely discussed, but before one reject these ideas he must understand the full significance of this decision.  John Reed’s book will undoubtedly help to clear this question, which is the fundamental problem of the international labor movement.” (Lenin, 1)  This shows that history can be interpreted in several different ways depending on perspective.

In this way October is also an innovative film whose thesis is that people will resort to an uprising if they are not happy with their government.  Since the film came out on the tenth anniversary of the revolution, it’s as if the government is saying “look at how far we’ve come-the positive changes you fought for are here.” “One can also see innovative historical as part of a search for a new vocabulary in which to render the past on the screen, an effort to make history (depending on the film) more complex, inntorogative, and self conscious." (Rosenstone, 50)