Republished for the first time since the 1980s, a legendary book on the cinema from one of the most important figures in the history of film

Vivid, eccentric, and free-ranging, this memoir is written in a style reminiscent of the brilliant visual effects of montage and dynamic progression of the legendary Russian director. Eisenstein wittily portrays his life in Russia from the time of the Revolution, his travels in the West, and his encounters with an amazing medley of people on both sides of the Iron Curtain, including Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich, and Man Ray. With 48 pages of illustrations from the author's own collection, including photos and personal sketches, this is the fullest picture possible of a man and his films, from one of the most iconic eras of the art form.

Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the Father of Montage. He is noted in particular for his silent films Battleship Potemkin, October, and Strike as well as the historical epics Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible I and II.