Sergei Eisenstein

Essay # 53687

Film > Artist

Sergei Eisenstein

An analysis of the importance of Sergei Eisenstein, theorist, artist, and filmmaker, to the cinema.

2,744 words () | 9 sources | MLA | 2004 Canada

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the contribution of Sergei Eisenstein to the cinema industry. The first part shows the evolution of Eisenstein's original theories and practice into a total theory of art, which shaped his later films. Also included is an examination of the topic of male domination in his films. The second part delves into his cultural impacts and perceptions in Russia and overseas, particularly in the United States and England. The final part traces the troubled history of the films' production, shedding light on the manner in which Stalinist politics maneuvered Eisenstein's creative endeavors, and the eventual tension that arose between the two. It then seeks to promote a greater analytical fascination and appreciation of Sergei Eisenstein.

From the Paper:

"Eisenstein's theory of film derived from a variety of sources: through drawing or set design, film projects, and theater production. His analytical manner emerged from psychology and psychoanalysis, anthropology and etymology, linguistics, mathematics and geometry, literature, theater, art and music theory. In addition, his experimental practice, which served as a form of elaborating theory, sought to examine the basic material and the possibilities of film --the illusion of movement, the specific qualities of the film image, the relationship between the seen and the unseen. Eisenstein developed his theoretical projects in two unpublished and unfinished books that attempted to define the phenomena of all the arts."