9780394412627 / 0394412621

Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of production photos and film stills as well as Eisenstein's own notes and sketches, Eisenstein at Work offers a rare behindthe-scenes look at one of this century's most creative filmmakers - Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948). Written and compiled by Jay Leyda, Eisenstein's lifelong friend and associate and a leading authority on his life and work, Eisenstein at Work is the definitive study of this innovative filmmaker's revolutionary career. Bringing together Eisenstein's own notes, sketches, and letters with film stills and original photos of Eisenstein instructing his actors and production crews and setting up his shots, Leyda and co-author Zina Voynow have created a startlingly original montage, a book that goes beyond biography to present a director's sketchbook of visions, themes and methods. From Eisenstein's earliest theatrical work, the book moves film by film through his masterpieces - Strike, Battleship Potemkin, October, Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible - to the legendary projects he never completed, such as An American Tragedy and Que Viva Mexico! Drawing on the collection of the Eisen-stein Committee in Moscow and of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, it presents a wealth of visual material that will change forever the way Eisenstein's films are viewed.