Watch this: Sergei Eisenstein’s Avant-Dada Short Film from 1923

In 1923, 25-year old Sergei Eisenstein, destined to change the art of film forever as director of BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN and other seminal works, was working as a stage director. On one production he had the idea to add a multimedia element, a filmed fantasia that would serve as an act break and a cover for changing sets. The resulting short film, which we call GLUMOV’S DIARY, is the master’s first cinema credit. It is considerably different from Eisenstein’s other work, and it’s weird. It also shows us his great flair for the medium, especially notable for one so lacking in film experience.

In tribute to Eisenstein on the 117th Anniversary of his birth we present it here: