Despite his untimely death in 1948 at the age of fifty, Sergei Eisenstein's status as a colossus of world cinema was assured with films ranging from the emotionally powerful 'dynamic montage' of OCTOBER and THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, to the baroque magnificence of IVAN THE TERRIBLE. From the last days of Tsarist Russia to the oppressively dark Stalinist years, Ronald Bergan's biography sheds new light on the great director's complex relationship with his homeland and struggle against authority and on his films that, in their enduring unity of narrative and style, displayed a passionate and profound grasp of art and science, philosophy and religion. **'A lively and engaging introduction to the director's life and films, always interesting and well-informed ...fascinating' Orlando Figes, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH **'Well-researched ...It is to Bergan's credit that he brings to us in all his complexity a man he clearly admires and places his work in its historical context as a way of explaining rather than apologising for it' Philip French, OBSERVER