STRIKE

Eisenstein's first film is a work of precocious brilliance, brimming with flashy effects and an exuberant energy that trumps the story's tragic outcome. Based loosely on real events that took place in 1903, it tells of a factory uprising triggered by the suicide of a worker wrongly accused of theft. The performances (especially the zesty caricatures of capitalist pigs and their lumpen stooges) are highly theatrical, but the techniques (especially the dynamic editing and grittily beautiful cinematography) are already thoroughly cinematic. 35mm. (MR)

Silent film with live piano accompaniment by David Drazin on Sunday; recorded music score on Wednesday.