The Secret Life of Sergei Eisenstein (1987)

An autobiographical film, in English throughout, telling the story of film director Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) from his childhood in Riga, Latvia to receiving the 'Stalin Prize' in ... See full summary »

Director:

Gian Carlo Bertelli

Writer:

Gian Carlo Bertelli

Stars:

Juan Antonio Gálvez, Paul Vaughan, Josephine Baker

Cast

Credited cast:
Juan Antonio Gálvez	...	Narrator
Paul Vaughan	...	Narrator (english version)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Josephine Baker	...	Herself - Sings Song Mon pays c'est Paris (archive footage)
Charles Chaplin	...	Himself - Waves at Fans (archive footage)
Sergei M. Eisenstein	...	Himself - in England, in Holland, Anti-Anti-Semitism Speech in English (archive footage)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself - Salutes Parade (archive footage)
Mikhail Kalinin	...	Himself - Handshake with Eisenstein (archive footage)
Solomon Mikhoels	...	Himself - Signs Declaration with Other Celebrities (archive footage)
Sergei Prokofiev	...	Himself - at Piano with Eisenstein (archive footage)
Eduard Tisse	...	Himself - with Eisenstein (archive footage)
August von Mackensen	...	Himself - Salutes Parade Beside Hitler (archive footage)

Storyline

An autobiographical film, in English throughout, telling the story of film director Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) from his childhood in Riga, Latvia to receiving the 'Stalin Prize' in Moscow. Based on his own writings, the film uses actual film clips of Eisenstein at various points of his life as well as photographs, illustrations and archival film of a variety of locations around the world. Eisenstein's talent as a satirical cartoonist and later an artist is particularly highlighted with many photographs of his work. Films discussed include "Strike", "Battleship Potemkin", "Oktober", "The old and the new", "Alexander Nevsky" and "Ivan the terrible". There is a detailed account of Eisenstein's world tour during which time he met and worked with other leading film-makers, writers and personalities including Einstein, James Joyce, D. W. Griffith and Walt Disney. Includes anecdote on his visit to High Table at Trinity College, Cambridge and its inspiration for a scene in 'Ivan the ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Details

Country:

Switzerland

Language:

Italian

Also Known As:

Eisenstein - La vida es espectaculo

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Dnevnik Glumova (1923)

User Reviews

Full of surprises

... For me anyway. I obviously haven't been doing my reading.

I had always assumed Eisenstein was a working-class Russian Jew. And a heterosexual obviously. With Einstein hair.

Now he turns out to be a professional class German from Riga, and a homosexual. Sheesh. But he did know Einstein, as well as every other famous early 20th century name.

Time to reassess that body of work.

Eisenstein directed Wagner's Die Walküre on stage. The video doesn't mention it, but Riga being an old Hanseatic city, Wagner had resided there amongst the Germans at one time.

If there's any deficiency in the documentary, it's an absence of politics. Purges? What purges? We don't need no stinkin' ...