Dnevnik Glumova (1923)

Director:

Sergei M. Eisenstein

Genre:

Short

Plot:

Filmic insert to Eisenstein's modernized, free adaptation of Ostrovskiy's 19th-century Russian stage play...

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Grigori Aleksandrov	...	Glumov 2, Golutvin
Aleksandr Antonov	...	Joffre
Sergei M. Eisenstein	...	Himself (takes bow at end)
Mikhail Gomorov	...	Turusina
Junior Inkizhinov	...	Small child
Vera Muzykant	...	Mashenka, Mary McLack
Ivan Pyryev	...	Fascist clown
Maksim Shtraukh	...	Milyukov-Mamaev
Vera Yanukova	...	Mamaeva
Ivan Yazykanov	...	Glumov 1

Also Known As:

Дневник Глумова (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Glumov's Diary
Kinodnevik Glumova (Soviet Union: Russian title) (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

Russia:5 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Proletkult

Trivia:

Long assumed to be lost, this little debut film by Eisenstein (a year or two before "Strike") was re-discovered decades later, contained in a short newsreel compiled in 1923 by Dziga Vertov ("Spring Smiles of Proletkult").

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Secret Life of Sergei Eisenstein (1987)

Eisenstein's first?

This is presented as Eisensteins' first movie. It was probably directed by him, but considering it's a short movie and the emphasis is placed more on the editing than on anything else it's hard to acknowledge it as one of the masters'. However the movie is very impressive, and not only for its historical value. No matter what it shows you, it's the way it does it that's captivating: in a playful manner stimulating your fantasy. The editing, though not so philosophically relevant as in Stachka, Potemkin etc. is consciously ambiguous, you can place a meaning on the correlations between the shots but can never be sure what's real and what's not. Of course, since it's a movie about magic... Highly recommended if you come across it...