Eisenstein (2002)

Synopsis: Chronicling the life and work of the great Russian filmmaker Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein from 1921 through his death in 1948, this detailed, artistic film portrays a frenzied artist with strong... Chronicling the life and work of the great Russian filmmaker Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein from 1921 through his death in 1948, this detailed, artistic film portrays a frenzied artist with strong political views rivaled only by an even stronger will to create beautiful films. Eisenstein, portrayed by a deft Simon McBurney as a wild-haired, wide-eyed, exuberantly passionate man, is a former Red Army engineer drinking in the revolutionary spirit of post-Lenin Moscow in 1922. He becomes a student of the influential theater director Vsevolod Meyerhold (Jonathan Hyde) and furiously sketches the costumes for a film he is writing, quickly gaining a reputation among his avant-garde artist friends as a genius. When he receives a commission to make a film about the 1905 revolution, Eisenstein is shown tossing an orange back and forth with his friend (and possible lover), Grisha (Raymond Coulthard) as he envisions the Odessa Steps sequence of his monumental 1925 film THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, which catapulted him to the forefront of filmmaking. Later, Eisenstein achieved Hollywood fame, signing a contract with Paramount, then returning to Russia after attempting an unfinished project in Mexico. EISENSTEIN paints a portrait of a man who was loved his country, but hated fascism. He stifled his political views and his creative impulses to avoid government persecution. He betrayed his homosexuality in a marriage of appearances to friend and journalist Pera (Jacqueline McKenzie). But in the end he used his art--tremendous films like IVAN THE TERRIBLE and ALEXANDER NEVSKY--to both salute and criticize Russia. [More]

Starring: Simon McBurney, Raymond Coulthard, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jonathan Hyde

Starring: Simon McBurney, Raymond Coulthard, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jonathan Hyde, Barnaby Kay, Leni Parker, Bernard Hill

Director: Renny Bartlett

Director: Renny Bartlett
Screenwriter: Renny Bartlett

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