Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925)
It is very clear why this movie is one of the most important silent films ever made. It was easy to take the side of the sailors with the way the movie was filmed. Eisenstein made it very clear that the audience was suppose to sympathize and support the sailors with the way the characters were dressed. In the Soviet Union they supported the working class and thats exactly how the sailors were portrayed. Furthermore, the captains looked well kept and snobby which automatically allowed the audience to dispise them. This idea was only supported by the fact that they were trying to force the sailors to eat meat that had maggots on it. After the sailors took over the ship, a militia came to break up the celebration. It was frightening how well Eisenstein portrayed these men as the enemy. They murdered innocent people, even children. It is so easy to have a strong hatred for those who kill children. Finally, there was a clear political point being reached in this movie. The red flag waving, and the rise of the proletariatan is clearly propagandistic message, as well as the disreguard for religion. These idea's are all very Soviet.
Furthermore, this movie was brilliantly filmed. The were many different camera angles which is something we haven't experienced in the other silent films. This made the movie more interesting instead of just having a standard shooting angle. Moreover, the scenes switch so often it was easy to get involved in the movie. Unlike Bauer's films, Eisenstein had a way of creating a montage of scenes that allowed the audience to get lost in the movie rather than lose interest. There was also way more movement in this movie which also again kept my interest more. The director played with light, well it was suppose to be a sad moment the lighting dimmed and allowed us to feel gloomy. All in all, this movie was filmed well, had a good entertainment level, and got its propogandistic message across.