Sergei Eisenstein

As a teenager, Sergei Eisenstein signed his drawings with "Sir Gay". Mark Rappaport sees clear signs of his sexual preferences throughout the Russian’s film oeuvre. Numerous asides illustrate how Hollywood productions likewise frequently played with nods and winks and typical motifs from gay culture.

The true story of Mei Lanfang, China's greatest opera star; a husband and father whose world-wide fame came from the portrayal of women. His fascinating life was the basis for the feature film Farewell My Concubine.

Eisenstein is celebrated either as the last Leonardo da Vinci of modernity or attacked as Faustus, Faustus who made a pact with the devil. Whichever is the case, neither friends nor foes are able to resist the powerful draw of Eisenstein's work. He was a person of complexity who was understood in very different ways, as a generous cosmopolitan and a stingy hermit, a cynic and yet a highly sensitive, vulnerable being. The film deals with a number of phases in Eisenstein's life, and tries to get away from the orthodox image of him by using new material to shed a different light on his biography.

Eisenstein shot 50 hours of footage on location in Mexico in 1931 and 32 for what would have become ¡Que viva México!, but was not able to finish the film. Following two wildly different reconstruction attempts in 1939 (Marie Seton's 'Time in the Sun') and 1979 (Grigori Alexandrov's '¡Que viva México!') Kovalov has here compiled another hypothetical version of what Eisenstein's film might have been.

Eisenstein shot 50 hours of footage on location in Mexico in 1931 and 32 for what would have become ¡Que viva México!, but was not able to finish the film. Following two wildly different reconstruction attempts in 1939 (Marie Seton's 'Time in the Sun') and 1979 (Grigori Alexandrov's '¡Que viva México!') Kovalov has here compiled another hypothetical version of what Eisenstein's film might have been.

Eisenstein shot 50 hours of footage on location in Mexico in 1931 and 32 for what would have become ¡Que viva México!, but was not able to finish the film. Following two wildly different reconstruction attempts in 1939 (Marie Seton's 'Time in the Sun') and 1979 (Grigori Alexandrov's '¡Que viva México!') Kovalov has here compiled another hypothetical version of what Eisenstein's film might have been.

A free film adaptation of the director's memoirs. In form, this is the "stream of consciousness" that attracted Sergei Eisenstein after getting acquainted with the experiments of James Joyce. The outer outline of the film is a long foreign trip of the director, which began in 1929, during which he recalls his past life and considers creative ideas. The film is constructed as a free alternation of reality, dreams, and fantasies. The material for it is fragments from the films of Sergei Eisenstein and his fellow contemporaries, documentary footage depicting the director and his time. The wide coverage of the faces and events reflected in the film shows the special role of Sergei Eisenstein in the culture of the twentieth century…

The Island of the Dead is a film about the demise of the Russian Epocha Modern. The symbol of this culture was the legendary Russian film star Vera Kholodnaya, who evoked a poetic image of the young urban woman on the silver screen. Her death in 1919, shrouded in tragedy and mystery, put a symbolic end to the pre-Revolutionary period. The Island of the Dead is composed of fragments from numerous films from this period, juxtaposed with other contemporary artistic expressions such as music and painting. Kovalov shows convincingly how the fragile beauty of the Russian Epocha Modern had to make way for the pressure of Futurism, Constructivism and other 'progressive trends', and how these '-isms' were then also relegated to the melting pot to be remoulded by totalitarian norms.

Begun in 1946, production was halted when the decision was made not to release the second film. After Eisenstein's death in 1948, all footage from the film was confiscated, but a 5 minute fragment exist.

Inspired by the social changes that the Revolution brought to our country and the admiration he felt for Mexican art, the Russian filmmaker Sergei M. Eisenstein traveled to Mexico with the intention of filming a film mosaic that culminated in the most beautiful non-existent film. The details of this odyssey are exposed in this episode of the classic television series Those Who Made Our Cinema.

Film en cuatro episodios, más un prólogo y un epílogo. El prólogo presenta imágenes alegóricas del México prehispánico. El episodio "Sandunga" recrea los preparativos de una boda indígena en Tehuantepec. "Fiesta" desarrolla el ritual de la fiesta brava, mientras que "Maguey" escenifica la tragedia de un campesino victimado por rebelarse contra su patrón. "Soldadera" muestra el sacrificio de una mujer revolucionaria. El epílogo, también conocido como "Día de muertos", se refiere al sincretismo de las distintas visiones que coexisten en México alrededor del tema de la muerte.

Film en cuatro episodios, más un prólogo y un epílogo. El prólogo presenta imágenes alegóricas del México prehispánico. El episodio "Sandunga" recrea los preparativos de una boda indígena en Tehuantepec. "Fiesta" desarrolla el ritual de la fiesta brava, mientras que "Maguey" escenifica la tragedia de un campesino victimado por rebelarse contra su patrón. "Soldadera" muestra el sacrificio de una mujer revolucionaria. El epílogo, también conocido como "Día de muertos", se refiere al sincretismo de las distintas visiones que coexisten en México alrededor del tema de la muerte.

Bezhin Lug (Bezhin Meadow) was to be a Soviet film about a young farm boy whose father attempts to betray the government for political reasons by sabotaging the year's harvest, and the son's efforts to stop his own father to protect the Soviet state, culminating in the boy's murder and a social uprising. Assigned to Soviet film-maker Sergei Eisenstein, the filming followed the same path as with his previous effort, "Que Viva Mexico", into cost overrun and over-shooting of footage. Furthermore, Eisenstein's usage of forbidden experimental film techniques outraged his government superiors, who ordered the film destroyed before it was even completed. All that survives are the first and last frames of each shot, preserved by Sergei Eisenstein’s wife, Pera Atasheva. The 1967 reconstruction, by Naum Kleiman of the Eisenstein Museum and Sergei Yutkevich of Gosfilmofond, places these frames in order, approximating the original film.

Bezhin Lug (Bezhin Meadow) was to be a Soviet film about a young farm boy whose father attempts to betray the government for political reasons by sabotaging the year's harvest, and the son's efforts to stop his own father to protect the Soviet state, culminating in the boy's murder and a social uprising. Assigned to Soviet film-maker Sergei Eisenstein, the filming followed the same path as with his previous effort, "Que Viva Mexico", into cost overrun and over-shooting of footage. Furthermore, Eisenstein's usage of forbidden experimental film techniques outraged his government superiors, who ordered the film destroyed before it was even completed. All that survives are the first and last frames of each shot, preserved by Sergei Eisenstein’s wife, Pera Atasheva. The 1967 reconstruction, by Naum Kleiman of the Eisenstein Museum and Sergei Yutkevich of Gosfilmofond, places these frames in order, approximating the original film.

Mientras Iván el Terrible intenta consolidar su poder estableciendo un ejército personal, sus rivales políticos, los boyardos rusos, se conjuran para asesinar a su zar.

Mientras Iván el Terrible intenta consolidar su poder estableciendo un ejército personal, sus rivales políticos, los boyardos rusos, se conjuran para asesinar a su zar.

Mientras Iván el Terrible intenta consolidar su poder estableciendo un ejército personal, sus rivales políticos, los boyardos rusos, se conjuran para asesinar a su zar.

Mientras Iván el Terrible intenta consolidar su poder estableciendo un ejército personal, sus rivales políticos, los boyardos rusos, se conjuran para asesinar a su zar.

A USSR documentary about the filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein

"Eisenstein journeyed to Mexico in late 1930 to begin shooting a film. With backing provided by Upton and Mary Craig Sinclair, the great Soviet auteur planned to make an epoch-spanning pageant of Mexico’s political history and cultural iconography, moving from the pre-Columbian era through colonization and, finally, revolution ... with the project running over budget the film was shut down. Sinclair eventually deposited the film materials at MoMA in 1953, at which point the scholar Jay Leyda assembled and annotated the shots, ordering them according to the filmmaker’s plans and presenting the images just as they had been shot, unedited ... here one is given the opportunity to attend to Eisenstein in an entirely different way, and aspects that might otherwise be overshadowed come to the fore: the way he works with nonprofessional actors, for example, or the striking mise-en-scène." - MoMA

Al inicio de su reinado, Iván el Terrible afronta la traición de la aristocracia e incluso de sus amigos más cercanos mientras busca unir al pueblo ruso.

Al inicio de su reinado, Iván el Terrible afronta la traición de la aristocracia e incluso de sus amigos más cercanos mientras busca unir al pueblo ruso.

Al inicio de su reinado, Iván el Terrible afronta la traición de la aristocracia e incluso de sus amigos más cercanos mientras busca unir al pueblo ruso.

Al inicio de su reinado, Iván el Terrible afronta la traición de la aristocracia e incluso de sus amigos más cercanos mientras busca unir al pueblo ruso.

Al inicio de su reinado, Iván el Terrible afronta la traición de la aristocracia e incluso de sus amigos más cercanos mientras busca unir al pueblo ruso.

Archive footage from Potemkin (1925), with English dialogue dubbed in by American actors, is combined with new footage to tie together the brave stand of Odessa Russian guerrilla bands of the 1940's against German forces with the similar situation of 1905 when Odessa citizens aided in the revolt against the Czar as depicted in Eisenstein's classic Potemkin (1925).

Archive footage from Potemkin (1925), with English dialogue dubbed in by American actors, is combined with new footage to tie together the brave stand of Odessa Russian guerrilla bands of the 1940's against German forces with the similar situation of 1905 when Odessa citizens aided in the revolt against the Czar as depicted in Eisenstein's classic Potemkin (1925).

In 1941, a group of the Soviet Union's most prominent Jewish writers and artists, including Solomon Mikhoels, Peretz Markish, and Sergei Eisenstein, signed an appeal to Jews throughout the world, asking them to join the Soviet people in fighting against fascism.

Second attempt to create a feature film out of the 200,000-plus feet of film which Soviet film-maker Sergei Eisenstein shot during 1931-32 in Mexico for American socialist author Upton Sinclair, his wife and a small company of investors. The projected film, to be called "Que Viva Mexico", was never completed due to exhaustion of funds and Stalin's demand that Eisenstein return to the USSR (he had been absent since 1929). The first attempt at editing the footage, in the USA, resulted in "Thunder Over Mexico", released in 1934. In 1940, Marie Seton, from the UK, acquired some of the footage from the Sinclairs in an attempt to make a better cutting according to Eisenstein's skeletal outline for the proposed film. This film has apparently been lost.

Second attempt to create a feature film out of the 200,000-plus feet of film which Soviet film-maker Sergei Eisenstein shot during 1931-32 in Mexico for American socialist author Upton Sinclair, his wife and a small company of investors. The projected film, to be called "Que Viva Mexico", was never completed due to exhaustion of funds and Stalin's demand that Eisenstein return to the USSR (he had been absent since 1929). The first attempt at editing the footage, in the USA, resulted in "Thunder Over Mexico", released in 1934. In 1940, Marie Seton, from the UK, acquired some of the footage from the Sinclairs in an attempt to make a better cutting according to Eisenstein's skeletal outline for the proposed film. This film has apparently been lost.

Siglo XIII. Relato épico sobre el príncipe Alexander Nevsky, que defendió victoriosamente el norte de Rusia del ataque de los teutones: la batalla se libró sobre la superficie helada del lago Peipus. También tuvo que hacer frente a la invasión de Rusia por el ejército mongol dirigido por Gengis Khan.

Siglo XIII. Relato épico sobre el príncipe Alexander Nevsky, que defendió victoriosamente el norte de Rusia del ataque de los teutones: la batalla se libró sobre la superficie helada del lago Peipus. También tuvo que hacer frente a la invasión de Rusia por el ejército mongol dirigido por Gengis Khan.

Siglo XIII. Relato épico sobre el príncipe Alexander Nevsky, que defendió victoriosamente el norte de Rusia del ataque de los teutones: la batalla se libró sobre la superficie helada del lago Peipus. También tuvo que hacer frente a la invasión de Rusia por el ejército mongol dirigido por Gengis Khan.

During his adventure in Mexico, Sergei Eisenstein made footage of a Mexican "Death Day" celebration for inclusion in his "Que Viva Mexico!" film project. When the 200,000-plus feet of film he eventually exposed in Mexico was first attempted to be made into a feature film, "Thunder Over Mexico", the producers excluded the Death Day material for subsequent compilation as an independent short subject. Silent with music track and explanatory English intertitles.

The story of Russian director Sergei M. Eisenstein in Mexico trying to film his unfinished ¡Que Viva Mexico! - Da zdravstvuyet Meksika! (1979).

As was common in Diaz's Mexico, a young hacienda worker finds his betrothed imprisoned and his life threatened by his master for confronting a hacienda guest for raping the girl. This film is the first of several attempts to make a feature-length motion picture out of the 200,000-plus feet of film shot by Sergei Eisenstein, on photographic expedition in Mexico during 1931-32 for Upton Sinclair and a cadre of private American producer-investors. Silent with music and English intertitles.

Unedited film that Sergei Eisenstein, Grigoriy Aleksandrov and Eduard Tisse shot in Mexico 1931-32. This record only represents the 200,000-plus feet of unedited film that Sergei Eisenstein, Grigoriy Aleksandrov and Eduard Tisse shot in Mexico 1931/32 for Mary and Upton Sinclair and three American co-financiers. It was Eisenstein's vision to end up with movie about Mexico in six parts called "Calavera", "Sandunga", "Maguey", "Fiesta", "Soldadera", and "Epilogue". The project was canceled before it was completed due to cost overruns and months-delayed completion, and the producers refused to let Eisenstein attempt to edit anything from the material he had finished after Iosif Stalin called him back to the USSR. From this footage the following pictures were subsequently edited by other hands: Thunder Over Mexico (1933), Eisenstein in Mexico (1933), Death Day (1934), Time in the Sun (1940), and Que Viva Mexico (1979).

A German reporter visits Hollywood and is escorted through the MGM Studio by a German nobleman, who is working there as an extra. They meet and speak to several actors, primarily Buster Keaton, John Gilbert, Joan Crawford and Heinrich George. Then they meet Adolphe Menjou, who rehearses a long scene in German. A final scene shows stars arriving at a film premiere, including Jean Harlow, Norma Shearer and Wallace Beery.

Footage of the aftermath of the January 14 1931 earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Footage of the aftermath of the January 14 1931 earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Un breve film-ensayo en que las imágenes comentan una canción. (FILMAFFINITY)

Un breve film-ensayo en que las imágenes comentan una canción. (FILMAFFINITY)

Un breve film-ensayo en que las imágenes comentan una canción. (FILMAFFINITY)

This film shows contrasting views of women with problematic pregnancies and the outcomes resulting when they seek out a back-alley abortionist, a trained and licensed abortion provider in a clinic, or an obstetrician capable of performing a Caesarian Section. The full film appears to be lost, but shortened versions, including one with dialogue scenes added in Germany in 1935, can be found on the internet. Additionally, Eisenstein's role in making the picture remains unclear: did he direct some or all of it, just edit it, or merely leave it to Alexandrov and Tisse to make? Released in the USA 1930 in a 65 minute (5800 ft.) version with English intertitles and a music track under the title BIRTH.

This film shows contrasting views of women with problematic pregnancies and the outcomes resulting when they seek out a back-alley abortionist, a trained and licensed abortion provider in a clinic, or an obstetrician capable of performing a Caesarian Section. The full film appears to be lost, but shortened versions, including one with dialogue scenes added in Germany in 1935, can be found on the internet. Additionally, Eisenstein's role in making the picture remains unclear: did he direct some or all of it, just edit it, or merely leave it to Alexandrov and Tisse to make? Released in the USA 1930 in a 65 minute (5800 ft.) version with English intertitles and a music track under the title BIRTH.

This film shows contrasting views of women with problematic pregnancies and the outcomes resulting when they seek out a back-alley abortionist, a trained and licensed abortion provider in a clinic, or an obstetrician capable of performing a Caesarian Section. The full film appears to be lost, but shortened versions, including one with dialogue scenes added in Germany in 1935, can be found on the internet. Additionally, Eisenstein's role in making the picture remains unclear: did he direct some or all of it, just edit it, or merely leave it to Alexandrov and Tisse to make? Released in the USA 1930 in a 65 minute (5800 ft.) version with English intertitles and a music track under the title BIRTH.

A principios del siglo XX, una serie de adelantos técnicos transforma la vida de una comunidad campesina: el establecimiento de una granja-factoría para la cría de vacas y la llegada de un tractor favorecen el abandono de ciertas tradiciones seculares y la aparición de un nuevo tipo de sociedad.

A principios del siglo XX, una serie de adelantos técnicos transforma la vida de una comunidad campesina: el establecimiento de una granja-factoría para la cría de vacas y la llegada de un tractor favorecen el abandono de ciertas tradiciones seculares y la aparición de un nuevo tipo de sociedad.

Experimental documentary focusing on a day in the life of city workers, featuring montage sequences and repetition to emphasise the monotony of routine office work.

A farcical war between the forces of Commercial Cinema and Independent Cinema.

A farcical war between the forces of Commercial Cinema and Independent Cinema.

A farcical war between the forces of Commercial Cinema and Independent Cinema.

Reconstrucción de los acontecimientos ocurridos desde Febrero hasta Octubre de 1917. Una película en la que, siguiendo la filosofía comunista, no había personajes principales. La habilidad de Eisenstein y su experiencia se ve en los rápidos movimientos y en el ritmo en el montaje, así como en la construcción de intensas secuencias que no fueron bien entendidas por las tempranas generaciones rusas. El estreno se retrasó hasta 1928 debido a la presión de algunos grupos influyentes y, además, se cortaron algunas escenas. Aparecen en el filme muchos de los protagonistas de la revolución: los Guardias Rojos, los soldados y los marineros.

Reconstrucción de los acontecimientos ocurridos desde Febrero hasta Octubre de 1917. Una película en la que, siguiendo la filosofía comunista, no había personajes principales. La habilidad de Eisenstein y su experiencia se ve en los rápidos movimientos y en el ritmo en el montaje, así como en la construcción de intensas secuencias que no fueron bien entendidas por las tempranas generaciones rusas. El estreno se retrasó hasta 1928 debido a la presión de algunos grupos influyentes y, además, se cortaron algunas escenas. Aparecen en el filme muchos de los protagonistas de la revolución: los Guardias Rojos, los soldados y los marineros.

Basada en hechos reales ocurridos en 1905, narra como la tripulación del acorazado Príncipe Potemkin de Táurida se cansan del tratamiento vejatorio e injusto de los oficiales. El detonante de la situación es la carne podrida que éstos quieren que los marineros se coman. Con este motín comienza el reguero revolucionario por Odesa y toda Rusia.

Basada en hechos reales ocurridos en 1905, narra como la tripulación del acorazado Príncipe Potemkin de Táurida se cansan del tratamiento vejatorio e injusto de los oficiales. El detonante de la situación es la carne podrida que éstos quieren que los marineros se coman. Con este motín comienza el reguero revolucionario por Odesa y toda Rusia.

Basada en hechos reales ocurridos en 1905, narra como la tripulación del acorazado Príncipe Potemkin de Táurida se cansan del tratamiento vejatorio e injusto de los oficiales. El detonante de la situación es la carne podrida que éstos quieren que los marineros se coman. Con este motín comienza el reguero revolucionario por Odesa y toda Rusia.

Basada en hechos reales ocurridos en 1905, narra como la tripulación del acorazado Príncipe Potemkin de Táurida se cansan del tratamiento vejatorio e injusto de los oficiales. El detonante de la situación es la carne podrida que éstos quieren que los marineros se coman. Con este motín comienza el reguero revolucionario por Odesa y toda Rusia.

Rusia zarista. Los obreros de una importante empresa están descontentos y, después de una reunión, deciden ir a la huelga. El director de la empresa informa de la situación a los responsables políticos y éstos envían a la policía para abortar la huelga. La tensión se dispara cuando un obrero se suicida al ser acusado injustamente de un robo.

Rusia zarista. Los obreros de una importante empresa están descontentos y, después de una reunión, deciden ir a la huelga. El director de la empresa informa de la situación a los responsables políticos y éstos envían a la policía para abortar la huelga. La tensión se dispara cuando un obrero se suicida al ser acusado injustamente de un robo.

Rusia zarista. Los obreros de una importante empresa están descontentos y, después de una reunión, deciden ir a la huelga. El director de la empresa informa de la situación a los responsables políticos y éstos envían a la policía para abortar la huelga. La tensión se dispara cuando un obrero se suicida al ser acusado injustamente de un robo.

Filmic insert to Eisenstein's modernized, free adaptation of Ostrovskiy's 19th-century Russian stage play, "The Wise Man" ("Na vsyakogo mudretsa dovolno prostoty"). The anti-hero Glumov tries to escape exposure in the midst of acrobatics, derring-do, and farcical clowning. Several members of Eisenstein's troupe at the legendary "Proletkult" stage theatre in Moscow briefly appear in this little film.

Filmic insert to Eisenstein's modernized, free adaptation of Ostrovskiy's 19th-century Russian stage play, "The Wise Man" ("Na vsyakogo mudretsa dovolno prostoty"). The anti-hero Glumov tries to escape exposure in the midst of acrobatics, derring-do, and farcical clowning. Several members of Eisenstein's troupe at the legendary "Proletkult" stage theatre in Moscow briefly appear in this little film.