Born: 10 January 1898 · Died: 11 February 1948 · Age: 50
Soviet director of Battleship Potemkin, whose Odessa Steps sequence pioneered montage editing, and of Alexander Nevsky
Did you know?His famous film Battleship Potemkin was so influential that it was once banned in the UK for fear it might incite riots.
Quick facts
Date of birth10 January 1898
Date of death11 February 1948
Age at death50
Cause of deathMyocardial infarction
NationalitySoviet
BirthplaceRiga, Latvia
Occupationfilm director, inventor, film editor
Editor's Take:
Sergei Eisenstein was one of the most influential filmmakers in history. He trained as an engineer and then worked in theatre. He developed the theory of montage, using sharp cuts to create meaning and emotion. Battleship Potemkin, with its famous Odessa Steps sequence, is studied in every film school. Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible followed. He often clashed with Stalin's censors. His ideas still shape how films are edited.
Key Milestones
1925: Strike – first feature
1925: Battleship Potemkin – Odessa Steps
1928: October – revolution film
1938: Alexander Nevsky – music by Prokofiev
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (22 January 1898 – 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage.
