|
|
|
Battleship Potemkin
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (25th September 2025). |
|
The Film
 "Battleship Potemkin" (Броненосец «Потёмкин») (1925) English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys have consistently been at the top of the worldwide pop and electronic charts. Songs like "West End Girls" and "It's a Sin" are staples of 80s pop, their 90s work like "Go West" and "New York City Boy" continued their evolution with electronic music, and they have continued to be relevant into the 2000s. Their most recent album "Nonetheless" was their first to be released on the Blu-ray format with Dolby Atmos audio, and they continue to perform at sold out shows four decades since their debut. In 2003, the duo received an offer that was quite different from anything that they had done so far, and it was to create a new musical score for the 1925 silent Soviet feature "Battleship Potemkin". They had experience in film and stage before, with their music from their first two albums being used for the feature "It Couldn't Happen Here" as a long form music video and the 2001 stage musical "Closer to Heaven" featured newly composed tracks by the duo specifically for the production. But this would not be a track by track construction to bridge different sequences together, but a continuous work to last for the entire feature film. "Battleship Potemkin" director Sergei Eisenstein stated that he wanted updated scores to be made for the film to have the film stay relevant to future audiences. The original score was composed by Edmund Meisel. For the 25th anniversary in 1950, a new score was composed by Nikolai Kryukov. For the 60th anniversary, Eric Allaman created an electronic score. There have also been a number of unofficial scores such as ones found on some public domain DVDs that have generic scores or copied and pasted classical music library tracks. The Pet Shop Boys score would commemorate the film's 80th anniversary. The Pet Shop Boys' music had been largely free of traditional instruments, with keyboards, synthesizers, and programming by Chris Lowe and the vocals and lyrics by Neil Tennant, though there have been examples of guest vocals and musicians collaborated with. For this project, they looked at going bigger and grander than what they had ever done, and that meant expanding their sound with an orchestra. The composed score was a collaboration with the Dresdner Sinfoniker, conducted by Jonathan Stockhammer and orchestrations by Torsten Rasch. Classical and electronic music have had notable collaborations in the past, such as electronic musicians Wendy Carlos or Isao Tomita experimenting with electronic instruments covering classical compositions in the 1970s, and many examples of classical works being sampled in electronic music in the 90s and 2000s. For this, it would be an actual collaboration rather than being a cover or being sampled. The score was composed for a 55 piece orchestra. For the new score, Lowe and Tennant received a copy of the film on DVD and they decided to watch it in silence without the included score so they would not be influenced by it. Instead they wanted to create all new pieces for each sequence that would fit the themes. The opening sequence which introduces the ship feels close to a traditional film score with the strings being the main focus as it rises like the waves the ship is sailing on. With the introduction of the sailors, electronic pulses are mixed with traditional piano cues. The revolt sequence has a pulsating trance like vibe that is fitting with the fighting on screen, along with strings to accompany the rhythms. Tennant is not entirely absent, as some cues have echoed samples of his vocal sounds, and three cues have lyrics. The tracks "No Time for Tears" which plays during the citizens of Odessa rising up at the port and "After All" which plays during the Odessa steps sequence have lyrics and vocals by Tennant that are fitting with the on screen actions. "For Freedom" which plays as the finale also has some powerful vocals by Tennant on display. There are examples of instruments and effects being synchronized with what is on screen. A trumpet being played by a sailor on screen would have a trumpet being played. Gunshots would feature gunshots as part of the score. The score premiered on September 12th, 2004 as a free concert event in Trafalgar Square in London, with a projection with the Pet Shop Boys and the Dresdner Sinfoniker performing the music live. The location was chosen as it was also a place that was known for political demonstrations and would be fitting with the theme of the film being an uprising amongst the people. A crowd of 25,000 people gathered in the rain for the event and was a major success, and further outdoor screenings took place around the world in locations that would fit the theme, including Desden, the hometown of the accompanying orchestra. The soundtrack album to "Battleship Potemokin" was released officially under Tennant/Lowe, though it still had the Pet Shop Boys name on the cover as well. The album was released by Parlophone on CD on September 5th, 2005 and peaked at #97 on the UK charts and #54 on the German charts. While there was praise for the music itself, there were detractors as well, stating that the music did not quite fit the tone of the film and the electronic rhythms were misplaced. The music certainly works well on its own with the 15 track album having some great cues ranging from quiet to impacting. The score certainly does not take away the power of the original film, which has become a milestone for film editing and being one of the most influential films of all time. But like any film with an alternate score, it is the preference of the viewer as well as how impactful it was on first viewing. A good example for my part would be another significant Soviet silent film that had numerous soundtracks created, "Man with a Movie Camera". My first viewing of the film was with the soundtrack by The Cinematic Orchestra, and even with other scores by notable composers like The Alloy Orchestra and Michael Nyman being alternatives, I always go back to the first that I had experienced it with. The same might be said for this Pet Shop Boys score. For audiences that first saw the film with this score, it might have a larger impact than others. I personally experienced it first with the Meisel score, but I didn't feel the score stood out quite as much. It is a fine score, but it felt quite generic in composition. The Pet Shop Boys score is uplifting as well as being dark in portions and is an interesting experiment and experience. Does it entirely fit the film? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. The CD is slightly different from the live performance score, as the live performance was for 74 minutes and the CD was abridged to 68 minutes, with some pieces being shortened and some cues being changed. For years, the only official way to experience the film with the Pet Shop Boys score was to attend a concert screening. Technically one could play the film on DVD or Blu-ray and play the CD at the same time, but it would be difficult to synchronize together. There are YouTube uploads of synchronized versions with the CD soundtrack but they are also unofficial. The film has had a number of DVD and Blu-ray releases over the years, but it has never had the Pet Shop Boys score as an option. For the film's centenary, the BFI have given the film a new Blu-ray release, exclusively with the Pet Shop Boys score for the first time on any home video format. Note this is a region B Blu-ray + CD set
Video
The BFI presents the film in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. The booklet states: Battleship Potemkin is presented in High Definition from a restoration undertaken by Transit Film, Germany with Omnimago Laboratories. The film runs at its original speed of 18fps within a progressive 24fps video presentation. First thing to note is that this is not a new restoration but an existing one. The BFI released the film previously on Blu-ray in their Blu-ray">“The Soviet Influence Volume 2” set which had the following note about its transfer: Battleship Potemkin is presented in High Definition from a 4K restoration undertaken by Transit Film, Germany with Omnimago Laboratories. The film runs at its original speed of 18fps within a progressive 24fps presentation. The “4K” is missing in the note from this new edition though it appears to be from the same source. Some questions arise with the runtime of the film on this Blu-ray. This 2025 BFI Blu-ray has a runtime of 75:06 while the previous BFI Blu-ray had a runtime of 69:49 (for the corrected disc – more information is on the Blu-ray comparison page). The film has had a troubled history of censorship and bans, with different countries receiving slightly differing versions. In 2007, the Deutsche Kinematek in association with Russia's Goskinofilm, the British Film Institute, Bundesfilm Archive Berlin, and the Munich Film Museum revealed a restoration in which missing shots were restored, Russian intertitles were recreated to specifications from Eisenstein's notes, and the original premiere orchestral score re-recorded. This restoration had the film speed at 18 frames per second with a runtime of 69 minutes. The US DVD from 2007, the UK Blu-ray from 2012 had this runtime. So why does the new UK Blu-ray have a longer runtime? This 2025 BFI Blu-ray starts with 35 seconds of introductory text about the score and has 1:23 of end credits and restoration credits in German, plus additional credits for the music. Excluding those portions there is still a discrepancy of about five minutes. The BFI informed me that the Pet Shop Boys' score was recorded in synchronization with a DVD. Tennant recently stated in a Q&A that it was bought second hand, and while he mentions Tartan, which released the film on DVD in the UK, he could not have used the Tartan DVD for reference as their disc was released in 2010. The 1998 US DVD from Image Entertainment had a runtime of 74:06 in the NTSC format and their transfer was taken from a 35mm Russian preservation print - a differing older source. As the score was created in 2004, three years before the 2007 restoration, it is most likely that they used this DVD for the soundtrack creation. The Russian preservation print seems to be the uploaded version on the Mosfilm YouTube channel which has a runtime of 71:08. The shorter runtime seems to be due to speedup as comparing it to the 2025 Blu-ray is that the framerate is about 1 frame faster, in essence a "PAL speedup" transfer. There are also differences such as the Mosfilm logo at the start, stating the restoration was done in 1976, having different intertitles, and some missing frames resulting in jump cuts. There is also the US Kino Blu-ray edition from 2010 which has a runtime of 71:48, though this is a problematic one to compare to, as Kino were provided a master that transferred the film running at 18fps to a 25fps master. Unable to use this as North American players and monitors are not equipped for the framerate, the master was slowed down by 1 frame per second to play at 24p, so it runs at 17 fps rather than at 18fps, resulting in an elongated runtime in comparison to their own 2007 DVD and the UK 2012 Blu-ray. The BFI informed me that additional footage and titles that were not available in the 2012 HD master was incorporated into the master which was approved by the Deutsche Kinematek, though they could not provide the exact details or sources. I do not have the previous BFI Blu-ray so I cannot compare to find what was supposedly added, but it almost seems like the film itself was slowed down to 16fps in order to run in sync with the Pet Shop Boys score. If anyone has done a side by side comparison, it would be very helpful to know the exact differences. Our comparison page currently has it listed as this Blu-ray running at a speed of 16fps but if anyone can point to information about the framerate being different, please let us know. There is a great article entitled "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Potemkin?" by writer Michael Brooke on the framerate and runtime of the BFI's 2012 Blu-ray and the transfer method. For this release, the BFI painstakingly synchronized the HD master to the soundtrack and the result is excellent. Frames had to be repeated every few frames so it could keep the transfer progressive at 24p, though in motion there are only a few moments of notable jerkiness. The image is fairly smooth and fits the tempo quite well for the experience. As for the transfer itself, the restoration is far from perfect, as damage marks such as scratches and stains are still visible, though sharpness is excellent with film grain being visible and the black and white contrast being great throughout. There are some instances of rounded corners of the frame to showcase the full aperture without any zooming in and losing any edges of shots. There are some examples of jerkiness as it appears some shots were lengthened to accommodate the music cues, and some of the restored shots look a little off, as if they combined the top half from one print and the bottom half from another print, but one much use a sharp eye to catch the individual shots that have this odd effect. The restored version digitally adds one shot of color, with the flag of the ship being red. The effect is quite good, showcasing shading and grading without any particular color bleeding. The opening credits are in Russian as are the intertitles, which were recreated digitally for the restoration. The end credits as stated above are in German, which were also newly created with the restoration as it also includes restoration credits. The film's runtime is 75:06 with additional text credits at the start and the end.
Audio
Music LPCM 2.0 stereo The original in studio stereo mix is presented here in uncompressed form. It sounds excellent with great depth and clarity for the hard thumps, the soothing vocals, the beautiful strings, and every effect heard. Stereo separation is excellent and there are no flaws to speak of. Considering that it was recorded in studio with a full orchestra, it's a little disappointing that a 5.1 or Atmos mix was not created at the same time as the remastering. But the stereo mix does a great job and is well timed and synched with the image. There are optional English subtitles for the Russian intertitles. They are in a white font and are clear and easy to read without errors. There are no HoH subtitles to caption the song lyrics.
Extras
DISC ONE (Blu-ray) "Hochhaussinfonie" 2017 documentary (68:02) On July 20th, 2006, the Pet Shop Boys and the Dresdner Sinfoniker performed the score with the projected film in the orchestra's hometown of Dresden, Germany for the city's 800th anniversary. The screening was to be held at a large apartment complex on Prager Strasse, with one side of the building having the film projected in the center, while the apartment balconies on the left and right sides would each have a musician perform their cues, the conductor standing on a crane in front of the building and the Pet Shop Boys would perform on the roof. The event was called "Hochhaussinfonie" or "Skyscraper Symphony", and this documentary looked at the complex planning and the performance. The interviews with the elderly patrons of the apartment is interesting, as they discuss about what their lives were like in post war East Germany, about their current daily lives and families, plus there are candid conversations with the patrons and the orchestra musicians, rehearsal footage, the difficulty in planning, and some comments by the Pet Shop Boys as well. It's a fantastic behind the scenes look and a highlight of this set. The transfer is not a particular highlight though, as it seems to be an upscale from a standard definition source, so the image is not as sharp as it could have been. The burned-in German subtitles during the Pet Shop Boys portion is a bit blurry as well. Sound is good, with voices and music sounding excellent throughout. The documentary has also been embedded below, courtesy of the PSB Archive, in German without subtitles. in 1080i50 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in German/English LPCM 2.0 with optional English subtitles for the German portions and burned-in German subtitles for the English portions "Trafalgar Square Highlights" 2004 featurette (4:10) Presented here is footage from the Trafalgar Square performance in a montage footage of behind the scenes materials, crowd footage, on stage footage and of the film projected. in 1080i50 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles 2025 Theatrical Trailer (1:19) Presented here is the newly created BFI trailer for the centenary re-release of the film with the Pet Shop Boys score. Although the audio track is flagged as “Russian”, it is technically English considering the few lyrics being heard in the background score. The trailer has also been embedded below, courtesy of the BFI. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles DISC TWO (Soundtrack CD) The 15-track soundtrack album has been remastered and is included with the limited edition first pressing. Note Parlophone has also issued the soundtrack on vinyl for the first time, available separately. Booklet A 28 page booklet has been included for the first pressing. First is "A New Soundtrack" written by Neil Tennant for Sight & Sound in 2004 about the project. Next is "We wouldn’t normally do this kind of thing..." by Pet Shop Boys biographer Chris Heath in a detailed account of the production of the score. Then there is "The fact and fiction of Battleship Potemkin" by writer Michael Brooke on the differences between the dramatized events in the 1925 film and what really took place in Odessa in 1905. This is followed by film credits, restoration credits, music credits, special features information, transfer information, acknowledgements, and stills. As stated there have been many versions of the film on DVD and Blu-ray, with differing sources, runtimes, scores, and extras. None of the previous BFI Blu-ray extras are included here, nor is the excellent "Tracing Battleship Potemkin" documentary found on some other releases, as this 2025 release focuses on the music rather than the film itself. Other notable clips: Mark Kermode's introduction to the film for the BFI Player A 2004 interview with Tennant about the score A 2004 interview with Tennant and Lowe about the score A 2004 report on the performance Neil Tennant interviewed by Paul Tickell at the BFI Southbank recently discussing both "It Couldn't Happen Here" and the "Battleship Potemkin" score Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's music video for "Pandora's Box", a song about silent film star Louise Brooks and using clips from the 1929 film "Pandora's Box", melding synth-pop with silent film.
Overall
"Battleship Potemkin" continues to be one of the most powerful films ever made with its unique and influential visuals and storytelling style, and it is now finally available to watch with the long sought after soundtrack by the Pet Shop Boys from 2005. It may be an unusual pairing, but there are some great standalone cues and there are some scenes that work quite well with the electronic-classical score. The BFI's Blu-ray has a great transfer, synched to the 74 minute score with some great extras as well as including the remastered soundtrack album on CD. Fans of the film would lament that there are not enough extras focusing on the film itself, but this is a release that is centered on the Pet Shop Boys' score and in that sense comes as recommended. Amazon UK Link
|
|||||
|