Eisenstein’s influential masterpiece about the navy mutiny that sparked off the Russian Revolution has been newly restored by the Deutsche Kinemathek. Edmund Meisel’s original score is played by the 55-piece Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, conducted by Helmut Imig.

‘Eisenstein was worried that Meisel’s powerful music would overshadow the film, but Potemkin was already proving inspirational and few images remain as potent as a pram careering down a staircase as the climax of the massacre of Odessa’s civilians. Potemkin’s perennial freshness owes much to Eisenstein’s improvisation when he realised the potential of those steps, and of the battleship itself, and with Meisel’s music it’s as powerful as ever.’ (Ian Christie)

Battleship Potemkin is showing as part of Dublin’s Festival of Russian Culture and will be re-released in April. Preview courtesy of the British Film Institute.