October

film by Eisenstein [1928]

Also known as: “Oktyabr”, “Ten Days that Shook the World”

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June 17, 2026

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October is a 1928 Soviet silent historical drama film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Aleksandrov. The film was made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Eisenstein used vast resources, including the Soviet army and navy, for its production. The film is based on John Reed's book Ten Days That Shook the World. Eisenstein experimented with "intellectual montage," where conceptual relationships between shots create meaning. However, due to political shifts, references to Leon Trotsky were removed, and the film faced criticism for its "formalist excess".12

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Sergei Eisenstein
…a film entitled Oktyabr (October, or Ten Days That Shook the World), which in the space of two hours dealt with the shifts of power in the government after the 1917 Revolution, the entrance on the scene of Lenin, and the struggle between the Bolsheviks and their political and…
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…a film entitled Oktyabr (October, or Ten Days That Shook the World), which in the space of two hours dealt with the shifts of power in the government after the 1917 Revolution, the entrance on the scene of Lenin, and the struggle between the Bolsheviks and their political and…
Read More

History of film
The Soviet Union
Eisenstein’s next project, Oktyabr (October, 1928), was commissioned by the Central Committee to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Accordingly, vast resources, including the Soviet army and navy, were placed at the director’s disposal. Eisenstein based the shooting script on voluminous documentary material from the era and…
Read More
Eisenstein’s next project, Oktyabr (October, 1928), was commissioned by the Central Committee to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Accordingly, vast resources, including the Soviet army and navy, were placed at the director’s disposal. Eisenstein based the shooting script on voluminous documentary material from the era and…
Read More