In 1925 the Soviet authorities commissioned a series of films to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1905 revolution. However, during the making of the first part – a story of mutiny aboard the naval ship Potemkin – plans for a series were abandoned when the 27 year-old director, Sergei Eisenstein, became preoccupied with the cinematic possibilities offered by the Odessa Steps.

Halliwell comments, in the Filmgoer’s Companion:

‘Eisenstein, directing his second film, used the theme not merely as propaganda but as a means to develop his cinematic technique. The editing of the massacre sequence on the steps is justly famous and has frequently been copied.’