AllMovie

Sergei Eisenstein was the most widely acclaimed and influential filmmaker the Russian cinema has ever produced, and his best known films (The Battleship Potemkin and Oktyabr) are still regarded as among the finest works in the history of world cinema. This documentary celebrates Eisenstein's life and art on the centennial of his birth. It incorporates highlights from his films, clips from the works of his contemporaries (and the many filmmakers he's influenced), and glimpses at Eisenstein's own notes and memoirs. It also provides rare footage of the director himself, and shows several contemporary interviews that trace the director's rise to prominence after the Soviet Revolution and his fall from grace during Stalin's reign of terror.