Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (Russian: Сергей
Михайлович Ðйзенштейн, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej
mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn], tr. Sergey Mikhaylovich
Eizenshteyn; 22 January [O.S. 10 January] 1898 â€" 11 February 1948)
was a Soviet film director and film theorist, a pioneer in the theory
and practice of montage. He is noted in particular for his silent
films Strike (1925), Battleship Potemkin (1925) and October (1928), as
well as the historical epics Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the
Terrible (1944, 1958). In its 2012 decennial poll, the magazine Sight
& Sound named his Battleship Potemkin the 11th greatest film of all
time.Sergei Eisenstein was born on 22 January 1898 in Riga, Latvia
(then part of the Russian Empire in the Governorate of Livonia), to a
middle-class family. His family moved frequently in his early years,
as Eisenstein continued to do throughout his life. His father, the
famous architect Mikhail Osipovich Eisenstein, was born in Kiev
Oblast, to a Jewish merchant father, Osip, and a Swedish mother.The
family had converted to the Russian Orthodox Church. His mother, Julia
Ivanovna Konetskaya, was from a Russian Orthodox family. She was the
daughter of a prosperous merchant. Julia left Riga the same year as
the 1905 Russian Revolution, taking Sergei with her to St. Petersburg.
Her son would return at times to see his father, who joined them
around 1910. Divorce followed and Julia left the family to live in
France. Eisenstein was raised as an Orthodox Christian, but became an
atheist later in life.At the Petrograd Institute of Civil Engineering,
Eisenstein studied architecture and engineering, the profession of his
father. In 1918, he left school and joined the Red Army to serve in
the Russian Revolution, although his father Mikhail supported the
opposite side. This brought his father to Germany after the defeat of
the Tsarist government, and Sergei to Petrograd, Vologda, and Dvinsk.
In 1920, Sergei was transferred to a command position in Minsk, after
success providing propaganda for the October Revolution. At this time,
he was exposed to Kabuki theatre and studied Japanese, learning some
300 kanji characters, which he cited as an influence on his pictorial
development.
Михайлович Ðйзенштейн, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej
mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn], tr. Sergey Mikhaylovich
Eizenshteyn; 22 January [O.S. 10 January] 1898 â€" 11 February 1948)
was a Soviet film director and film theorist, a pioneer in the theory
and practice of montage. He is noted in particular for his silent
films Strike (1925), Battleship Potemkin (1925) and October (1928), as
well as the historical epics Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the
Terrible (1944, 1958). In its 2012 decennial poll, the magazine Sight
& Sound named his Battleship Potemkin the 11th greatest film of all
time.Sergei Eisenstein was born on 22 January 1898 in Riga, Latvia
(then part of the Russian Empire in the Governorate of Livonia), to a
middle-class family. His family moved frequently in his early years,
as Eisenstein continued to do throughout his life. His father, the
famous architect Mikhail Osipovich Eisenstein, was born in Kiev
Oblast, to a Jewish merchant father, Osip, and a Swedish mother.The
family had converted to the Russian Orthodox Church. His mother, Julia
Ivanovna Konetskaya, was from a Russian Orthodox family. She was the
daughter of a prosperous merchant. Julia left Riga the same year as
the 1905 Russian Revolution, taking Sergei with her to St. Petersburg.
Her son would return at times to see his father, who joined them
around 1910. Divorce followed and Julia left the family to live in
France. Eisenstein was raised as an Orthodox Christian, but became an
atheist later in life.At the Petrograd Institute of Civil Engineering,
Eisenstein studied architecture and engineering, the profession of his
father. In 1918, he left school and joined the Red Army to serve in
the Russian Revolution, although his father Mikhail supported the
opposite side. This brought his father to Germany after the defeat of
the Tsarist government, and Sergei to Petrograd, Vologda, and Dvinsk.
In 1920, Sergei was transferred to a command position in Minsk, after
success providing propaganda for the October Revolution. At this time,
he was exposed to Kabuki theatre and studied Japanese, learning some
300 kanji characters, which he cited as an influence on his pictorial
development.
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