Sergei Eisenstein

Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (Russian: ?????? ?????????? ??????????, Latvian: Sergejs Eizen?teins) (January 23, 1898 – February 11, 1948) was a revolutionary Soviet theatrical scenic designer-turned-film director and film theorist noted in paticular for his silent films Strike, Battleship Potemkin and ', which vastly influenced early documentary and narrative directors owing to his innovative use of montage.

Europe and Hollywood

In the Fall of 1928, with "October" still under fire in many Soviet quarters, Eisenstein left the Soviet Union for a tour of Europe, accompanied by his perennial film collaborator Grigori Alexandrov and cinematographer Eduard Tisse. Officially, the trip was supposed to allow Eisenstein and company to learn about sound motion pictures and to present the famous Soviet artists, in person, to the Capitalist West. For Eisenstein, however, it was also an opportunity to see landscapes and cultures outside those found within the Soviet Union. He spent the next two years touring and lecturing in Berlin, Zurich, London and Paris where, in late April, 1930, he was approached by Jesse L. Lasky on behalf of Paramount Pictures to make a film in the United States. He accepted a short-term contract for $100,000 and arrived in Hollywood in May, 1930.

Related Topics:
Europe - Grigori Alexandrov - Eduard Tisse - Jesse L. Lasky - Paramount Pictures - United States - Hollywood

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unfortunately, this arrangement failed. Eisenstein's idiosyncratic and artistic approach to cinema was incompatible with the more formulary and commercial approach of American studios. Eisenstein proposed a biography of munitions tycoon Sir Basil Zharov and a film version of Arms And The Man by George Bernard Shaw, and more fully developed plans for a film of Sutter's Gold by Jack London, but on all accounts failed to impress the studio's producers. Paramount briefly suggested a film of The War Of The Worlds by H. G. Wells, and finally settled on a movie version on Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy. This enthused Eisenstein, who had read and liked the work, and had met Dreiser at one time in Moscow. Eisenstein completed a scenario by the start of October, 1930, with his two associates and the British author Ivor Montagu; but Paramount disliked it completely and, additionally, found themselves intimidated by the American fascist agitator Major Pease, who had mounted a public campaign against Eisenstein. Seventeen days later, by "mutual agreement", Paramount and Eisenstein declared their contract null and void, and the Eisenstein party were treated to return tickets to Moscow, at Paramount's expense.

Related Topics:
Sir Basil Zharov - Arms And The Man - George Bernard Shaw - Sutter's Gold - Jack London - The War Of The Worlds - H. G. Wells - Theodore Dreiser - An American Tragedy - Ivor Montagu - Major Pease

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eisenstein was thus faced with returning home an image of failure: he had failed to 'conquer Hollywood' as an artist, the Soviet was solving the sound-film issue without him, and his films, techniques and theories were becoming increasingly attacked as 'ideological failures' and prime examples of formalism at its worst by the Stalinists as the Soviet film industry came increasingly under their sway.

Related Topics:
Formalism - Soviet film industry

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~