{2jtab: Movie Review}

Sergei Eisenstein’s Strike is one of the few films ever made that absolutely deserves to be touted as a visual tour-de-force.  From its spirited beginning to its cattle-slaughtering end, the film’s moving camerawork and inventive editing supports the plight of the worker against the administration that keeps them suppressed in the factory and it does this with an in-your-face attitude that is both aggressive and artistic.

In a pre-revolution Russia, the bolsheviks are gathering their forces and planning a strike that no one will be able to ignore.  Factory workers, tired of being repressed and abused by the elite, begin to join in for the collective cause.  Yet, when one of their workers, Yakov, hangs himself after being unable to prove his innocence in the theft of a screw gauge, all hell breaks loose.  Labor ceases.  People take to the streets.  In a collective force against the wealthy, the people unite with fists in the air and, in a mass force, reclaim the land that was once theirs.

In the days that pass, the empty factory becomes home to birds and dust and not one factory worker could care.  They refuse to return to work until they are treated properly, so to hell with the place that feeds them.  Wolves roam the offices.  Even managers hide – albeit in swanky rooms far from the village - while they await the demands of the workers (8 hour work day, 6 hours for minors, more money, and equal treatment).  Children, swept away by the revolutionary spirit of their fathers, take to the street and reenact the march that brought their community attention.  But the fat men with their fat cigars and even fatter cigars will hear of no such thing and bring in a massive amount of soldiers to police the uprising and bring the upstarts to a swift justice.  And so begins the slaughter.

Their workers will obey!

The black-and-white imagers are violent and filled with an urgent rage.  Eisenstein is on the march.  His explicit and effective use of montage is, at once, beautiful and psychological affecting.  Strike is his first film; months before Battleship Potemkin; and only moments before his essay addressing the art of the montage and still it rings of confidence and swagger.  His artistic vision remains intact with panther-like poise.

The attack against the uprising is filled with moments that aren’t easily wrangled from the mind.  Here, the montage is used to cinematic acclaim.  Workers are mirrored with the true-life slitting and slicing of cattle’s necks and the violent matting brings home the theme of workers being used until they are considered worthless by their managers.  Yes, it’s unsettling but completely effective in striking a chord.  Obviously, Eisenstein was certainly an influence for filmmakers of the 1970s.  Apocalypse Now anyone?

Call them dirty rabble rousers.  Call them whatever you will.  These workers of Strike are united in bringing the revolution to Russia.  Divided into six sections, Kino International’s release of Eisenstein’s Strike is reason enough to celebrate the blu-ray format, comrade.

{2jtab: Film Details}

MPAA Rating: This film has not been rated by the MPAA.
Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein
Writer: Sergei M. Eisenstein, Grigori Aleksandrov
Cast: Grigori Aleksandrov, Maksim Shtraukh, and Mikhail Gomorov
Genre: Classic | Drama
Tagline: Strike
Memorable Movie Quote: ""
Distributor: Brandon Films
Home Video Distributor: Image Entertainment | Kino International
Release Date: 1961
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: August 30, 2011

Synopsis: In Russia's factory region during Czarist rule, there's restlessness and strike planning among workers; management brings in spies and external agents. When a worker hangs himself after being falsely accused of thievery, the workers strike. At first, there's excitement in workers' households and in public places as they develop their demands communally. Then, as the strike drags on and management rejects demands, hunger mounts, as does domestic and civic distress. Provocateurs recruited from the lumpen and in league with the police and the fire department bring problems to the workers; the spies do their dirty work; and, the military arrives to liquidate strikers.

{2jtab: Blu-ray Review}

Component Grades Movie Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray Experience

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - August 30, 2011
Screen Formats: 1.33:1
Subtitles: None
Audio: Russian: LPCM 2.0
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Playback: Region A

The 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer by Kino-Lorber has been faithfully restored by The Cinémathèque De Toulouse.  The image is resounding solid.  Much like what Kino did with Battleship Potemkin last year, Strike’s image is remastered from the best possible sources.  That being said, the film is over 90 years old so perfection should not be expected.  Occasional debris and dirt flecks across the screen and long moments of scratches do split the reel from time to time.  Yet, the film’s image remains relatively clean.  Nice job, Kino.  Since this is a silent feature, the soundtrack issued for this release is composed by Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None.  Considering the film’s political ties and influences, it is quite surprising that Kino hasn’t issued a commentary for this release.

Special Features:

Unfortunately, Kino has given us a release that is uncharacteristically not up to their supplemental standards.  There is one interview with Film historian Natacha Laurent concerning the historical importance of Eisenstein’s work when compared with Russian releases in the same years.  Saving the day, though, is the long-thought lost short film, Glumov’s Diary, directed by Eisenstein.  This five-minute short is where Eisenstein, carefree, started developing the emotional impressions of the montage.

• Glumov's Diary (5 min)
• Eisenstein and the Revolutionary Spirit (37 min)
• Battleship Potemkin Trailer

{2jtab: Trailer}

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