In 1927, there was a critical examination going on among intellectuals and film-makers that looked at the relationship between working classes and the people who were felt to control the so-called “means of production.” Communist theory of the day used that relationship to great effect, and it was genuinely believed among many people who may not have even had any sympathy for the idea of Communism...

1925’s silent movie classic, The Battleship Potemkin, which was director Sergei Eisenstein’s second film-making effort, stands the test of time as a cinematic tour de force, though its original intent at its release was to be more of a Soviet Communist Party propaganda film designed to win sympathy and understanding for the first so-called “Russian Revolution.” Kicked off in 1904 by...