Product Description

The remarkable story of the revolution that changed the world forever. Cold, hungry and disillusioned, the Russian factory workers of Petrograd staged a demonstration about a lack of bread during the winter of 1917. Incredibly, this protest for bread proved the catalyst for revolution and brought about the subsequent abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, ending years of imperial rule. Following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II the people of Russia rushed to form self governing Soviet councils and a temporary Provisional Government was created, promising elections. However, a charismatic revolutionary by the name of Vladimir Lenin was keen to make the revolution his own. With the help of the sailors of Kronstadt, a mighty force at the time, Lenin swept aside the Provisional Government in a second revolution that gave power to his Bolshevik party. Once he had secured control Lenin closed the democratic assembly and created a police state and that was just the beginning! The Russian Revolution uses dramatised and colourised archive material to tell the astonishing story of one of history s most extraordinary social movements

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5982 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-28
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 94 minutes

Synopsis
Chronicles the events leading up to the infamous revolution of 1917 with startling archive colour footage.

Customer Reviews

Gives A Real Flavour Of The Times As It's Both Very Informative And Visually Extremely Effective.
If you're like me and you spend a lot of time reading history books, and especially books on the subject of the Russian Revolution, this two DVD set is a real pleasure to behold because with the aid of colourised original footage and tasteful reconstuctions it is possible to gain a greater understanding of the period of time in question, without the need so much in having to rely on your own imagination, which can be the one drawback when reading, without the use of visual aids (as in film).

The story is pretty much told from the perspective of the Kronstadt sailors who were a major force in helping the Bolsheviks to achieve power, but who would later feel betrayed by the Bolsheviks and would turn against them. The background to the Revolution is told in a clear an concise manner, especially with regard to the Russian situation in the first world war, where for various reasons, especially through ill preparation, things were very bleak on the battleline and at home. Lenin is portrayed very clearly in the accounts given by the various historians, as are many of the other leading players in the turn of events - Tsar Nicholas, the workers, the provisional government, and the Kronstadt sailors themselves. The story is taken up to the Russian civil war battle between the red army and the whites, and the consequence of the Bolshevik (Communist) victory, especially with regard to the change in loyalties of the Kronstadt sailors after realising Lenin and his party had pretty much become a dictatorship.

As i wrote previously the reconstructions are very tastefully acted out - they are certainly not done in a sensationalised way, and the documentary is extremely informative generally. However, this documentary perhaps works best in conjunction with reading matter on the subject because they compliment each other so well. The DVD supplies very much the visual feel of the events, and also a detailed outline of the most important features, while books (especially the more comprehensive ones) fill in on some of the finer points, which a standard documentary could ill afford to go into for practical reasons.

All in all, a very good purchase and (at the time of writing) for a very reasonable price.

Gives a very superficial view of the Russian Revolution
This DVD Chronicles in the form of Real footage and Docu-drama the period leading upto and the after the October Revolution of 1917.
Its strong point is that continuity in a fluid and complex situation, is maintained by keeping the story based on the Kronstadt ( sailors )Naval forces. Their involvement was in supporting the initial Revolution, and then weighing in behind the Bolsheviks to push through the second Revolution that saw Lenin and all ascend to power with their muscle.
It provides an interesting insight into St Petersburgs social turmoil and , then follows up with some account of the sailors involvement in fighting off the White Army. It depicts a fascinating feverish atmosphere of excitement people had for the real possibilities of Democratic process. The Sailors emerge as an interesting mix of intellect and muscle.
Too late they foresaw the Bolshevik monster they had assisted, and were themselves ultimately destroyed by the Red Army.
There is little mention of Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin who were in different ways so active and instrumental in this phase of overturniong the Tsarist state. There is very little analysis of the forces that lead to a weakening of the Tsarist system, nor much analysis of the social situation that precipitated such a Revolutionary atmosphere.
Ultimately an interesting CD, but falling far short of doing justice to this massive, important and world changing event. It would be a good view for young School students starting a Historical study of the Russian Revolution.

The Russian Revolution in colour.
An excellent factual presentation that uses both original footage and dramatisation to tell the story of the Russian Revolution over two, hour long DVD's. Roughly a 50/50 split of original to modern day footage with the latter used to create a fluid and seamless film that follows the accurate chronological narration. In contrast to what I was expecting it follows more of the actions of the Kronstadt sailors and the men on the street than the political background though a fundamental understanding of the latter is incorporated leaving scope for "further reading". This was in no way a dissappointment, far from it, instead it demonstrates the escalation of the uprising and subsequent betrayal of the Kronstadt sailors from their perspective whilst remaining objective throughout.