The Russian Revolution (2017) User Reviews

Not the best...

[SyoKennex · 5/10 · 27 October 2017]

When I saw this, I thought it would be a good show to sit and watch. It was going to be a good documentary, highlighting the Russian Revolution and the fall of the Romanovs. I settled down, expecting to further my knowledge on the subject, really looking forward to it, only to find that it tried to cover too much on the subject in only a short 46 minutes. The Russian Revolution is a large topic, and not easily covered in a two hour lesson, let alone a single 46 minute documentary.

I found this to give the very basic information, and only that. The documentary seemed very rushed. There was no time to digest information, and there was no real time to get the gist of what was going on. There was just too much being covered so quickly, that it just didn't go right. This special could have been done so much better in a few parts, each detailing a specific part of the revolution in more detail, allowing viewers to get a more substantial amount of knowledge from the documentary.

Nothing special, very basic knowledge and I wish I had skipped this and watched something else instead.

Educational but short doc

[Calicodreamin · 7/10 · 14 April 2020]

A look into the underlying causes of the Russian revolution and its key players. The experts called to interview provide relevant information and the documenters present the timeline well. The documentary is quite short and cuts off quite abruptly. But educational.

Expected more content

[sanket_cp · 7/10 · 12 December 2018]

Good compilation, but i think they tried to put events of almost 45 years in 47 minutes documentory so it wasn't quite detailed. Should have created documentary with at least 3 parts.

an introduction

[Kirpianuscus · 8 October 2017]

it is not more than a reasonable introduction to a phenomenon who is too complex to be exhausted in 46 minutes. but it is real useful for a history student for understand a part of connections, causes - effects relation, sketches for the lead personalities and the context. yes, it has many sins. first - the use of clichés. and colors in the place of nuances. superficial definitions. and the Anglo-Saxon perspective about events. but it is strange to expect more. short, a nice documentary. as first step to the study of a large, profound complex root of our time.

spoilers - doc on russian revolution history

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 15 April 2021]

SPOILERS... it's a shorty, at only 47 minutes. Cal Seville wrote and directed the story describing the lead up to the show down in 1917 that took the Romanov family off the throne. Interviews with various expert authors on russian history discuss Lenin's influence, and the lead up to Josef Stalin. Beginning the story in 1881, Jonathan Kydd narrates the long running history of discontent of the ruling family and the assassination attempts. They removed Alexander II, but the family was still in power, so Alexander III takes the throne. And was a little more appreciated by the people. Some Great old footage of russia. One downside is that netflix uses white captions on white backgrounds, so for anyone depending on captions will miss quite a bit of it. It doesn't end well for the Romanov family. Good stuff. Although it ends quite abruptly; the next interesting chapter could be the rise and fall of the soviet union, post revolution.

OK as a general overview.

[apjc · 8/10 · 11 September 2017]

For the amount of time it runs this is a very good overview of the events. It would take hours to give an in depth account of all events. So I give it 8, just misses the importance of the White Army and Western interventions failures during the civil war. Then fails to show the internecine conflict among the revolutionaries themselves.

Anti-USSR Propaganda for the 21st century

[aishahmad · 1/10 · 13 February 2018]

This documentary is so ahistorical, misleading and, at points, a collection of outright lies that i cannot believe it was made and is widely accessible via Netflix. Kids, I'm not going to tell you what to believe but I will say this: this film is propaganda. There are many critiques of Bolshevism and the USSR that are absolutely warranted but to essentially paint the revolution as a cynical maneuver for power with no popular support is just...a lie. If you want to learn about the Revolution, watch something else or, preferably, read about it. China's Meiville's 'October' is a good place to start.

WISH IT WAS LONGER

[lanaliliya · 8/10 · 10 July 2019]

A well done documentary, but I wish it was a little longer. I feel like they rushed a lot of important details. But, other than that I liked it. I have watched so many movies and documentaries about the Romanovs and I really enjoy seeing some new information that I haven't heard before and this documentary didn't disappoint.

Misleading and extremely biased

[taylorpace · 1/10 · 15 October 2020]

I had read a few texts about the Russian Revolution already, and was hoping to get something new from this documentary. Unfortunately, from almost the first minute of the film I was surprised by some of the takes and things that were being said.

I found this documentary to be quite biased against the USSR and the Bolsheviks in general, while almost being sympathetic to the autocratic and despotic Romanovs. As other reviewers have said, everyone will agree that there are critiques and flaws that can be pointed out for the USSR, Bolshevism, the Revolution, etc. But beyond making any sound critiques or observations of the Revolution/USSR, I found this documentary to be almost flat out misleading and slanderous. Obviously biased and not an accurate nor objective account of what occurred and why.

Would not Recommend.

A Misleading Title

[iNickR · 30 January 2018]

"The Russian Revolution", in short: A 47-minute documentary on the end of autocratic rule, and the beginning of what later became known as the Russian Revolution.

What I think: Less like a documentary on the Russian Revolution and more like a mini-biography on Alexander II, III, Nicholas the Bloody, and the prophetic Rasputin. It should be renamed to "The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty" because that's about 95% of this film's content. When there's 10 minutes left only then do we start to hear how Stalin, Lenin, and to a lesser degree Leon Trotsky, "inspired" a leaderless nation (Nicholas II stepped down after a disastrous reign) to "embrace" Bolshevism and turn away from autocratic rule after nearly three centuries.

This doc merely skims the surface of a major turning point in Russian history. So much is missing. "The Russian Revolution" could have been an awesome multi-part series. It's just a mess the way it is now. Pity.

Two things you'll LIKE about "The Russian Revolution:" 1) Good visuals (although most seem to be picked from the internet) and editing. 2) Good voice work by Jonathan Kydd. Soothing and commanding.

Two things you'll DISLIKE: 1) It moves quickly, too quickly. Blink and you may miss something. 2) There's no new information or pictures.

Fascinating

[oxfordpictionary · 10/10 · 3 May 2019]

I wish there were more episodes to follow this one. It was riveting and fascinating, but I felt it was not long enough.

A documentary focusing on Tsarist Russia whilst only giving a brief overview of the revolution and reasons for it.

[ellacarley · 2/10 · 24 February 2021]

This documentary mainly focuses on the path to the revolution rather than the reasoning behind it, criticising harshly many key members of the revolution it undermines the underground working that went on for many years before. Focusing mainly on Tsarist Russia this documentary only briefly explains the need for a revolution and the many attempts to achieve this. A rather biased account automatically undermining Stalin and his role and also leaving humongous gaps on the many different stances held by revolutionaries toward how the revolution should have been carried out, giving only brief clips of information on Trotsky and Stalin whilst completely leaving out other highly significant revolutionaries such as Kamenev and Zinoviev. Focusing mainly on Lenin and Lenin alone during the brief part in which the documentary actually focuses on the revolution years.

An informative Russian documentary ... but where are the Russian historians?

[ReviewingHistory · 8/10 · 7 June 2020]

This was an informative and well-discussed documentary on the Russian Revolution. Among its advantages, this documentary went beyond the iconic year of 1917 the October Revolution, and brought forth the early days of the Ulyanov family and the backdrop to the Romanovs since the 1880s. Further, it also commented on important biographical information of Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, Rasputin, and the Romanovs. Also, on the plus side, producers invivted knowledgeable interviewees and chose on-point archival footage, thus giving voice and image to the people of Russia of those days.

However, the documentary felt at times as another example of the all-too-many Russian things discussed by non-Russians exclusively. That is, the Russian experience was researched, discussed, and talked about in depth by non-Russian commentators. And so the attentive viewer may wonder: what would Russian historians add to these historical events as experienced by their own ancestors? But still with this minor point, the documentary, all in all, is sure to be informative and interesting.

Nazi Propaganda

[jaysonpullen · 1/10 · 19 April 2018]

What's to say of such a burning pile of rubbish such as this film? Pure lies are told and stories are exaggerated beyond belief. The film portrays the Soviets as brutal monsters from the beginning, completely ignoring the oppressive and murderous monarchy that preceded before.

I'd say this film is on par with lies told in The Black Book. When they discussed for five minutes the "brutal and horrific murders of the poor, poor children" of literal tyrants, I decided it was time to stop watching. The only redeeming quality of this documentary was turning it off.

Did you know that the White Army would have no doubt allied with Hitler 20 years later if the Red Army fell due to their anti-Semitic beliefs? If it weren't for the Soviets, chances are you'd either be goosesteping to Hitler's grandson or taking a Zyklon shower.

If you believe lies such as "Stalin murdered 800 million people just for the lulz" or love bootlicking over narcissistic right wing fascist millionaires then this is a film for you. You people are being fed lies from the rich and powerful to keep you content with your pathetic existences and your petty bourgeois lifestyles. Be inspired by the few that rose up to dismantle a seemingly impossible enemy. No government is too powerful or oppressive for the people to overthrow! Throw away your consumerist lifestyle before the Earth cannot recover and dies! Rise up!

Fascinating and gripping

[njboden · 9/10 · 2 June 2021]

This documentary punches above its weight for such a short programme, as it's packed with interesting and important information. We learn of the various coup and assassination attempts against the Tsars, including the assassination of Tsar Alexander I by the organisation known as 'People's Will' (or whatever that is in Russian) and the later involvement of Lenin's brother with the organisation, the subsequent execution of his sibling having a formative effect on the character of the young future leader. The single most amazing thing of which I was unaware is that when Lenin was exiled to Siberia for his revolutionary activities, he was actually under house arrest in a large house with stairs, under which he kept an exploited serf, who was locked in a cage and only paid 1 ruble a month! Such slavery of the proletariat by a supposed egalitarian and such lenience towards Lenin by the Tsar is staggering! The programme could be improved by mentioning the role of Kerensky and the White Russians, and ideally would elaborate on the roles of Stalin and Trotsky more, but then it is only just over 40 mins long. Recommended!

Absolute garbage.

[wavey_dave · 1/10 · 23 August 2021]

Not a documentary on the Russian Revolution but instead a hitpiece on socialist revolutionaries. Avoid this sensationalist garbage like the plague.