The Secret Life of Sergei Eisenstein

In addition to creating great cinema, Russian director Eisenstein also wrote extensively about his life and craft. Here an Italian filmmaking team uses selections from these autobiographical works as the narrative text behind still photos and clips from Eisenstein movies to produce a definitive, if uncritical, docu-bio. Best bit: Bolshevik Eisenstein’s comments on his Hollywood interlude, under contract to Paaamount and living in Beverly Hills luxury. Worst: the title — The Secret Life of Sergei Eisebstein. Eisenstein’s life was anything but ”secret.” B+