Sergei Eisenstein Mexican Fantasy
by Oleg Kovalov
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alexandra Scheff, David Liceága, Grigori Aleksandrov, Martín Hernández, Sergei M. EisensteinDirector: Oleg Kovalov
Writer: Sergei M. Eisenstein
Cinematographer: Eduard Tisse
Writer: Oleg Kovalov
Producer: Hunter S. Kimbrough
Producer: Kate Crane Gartz
Producer: Mary Craig Sinclair
Producer: Otto Kahn
Producer: S. Hillkowitz
Producer: Sergei Selyanov
Producer: Upton Sinclair
Producer: Vladimir Khaunin
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Russian (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-04-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of Sergei Eisenstein Mexican Fantasy
Movie Review: Strikingly beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
I just watched this compilation of footage shot in Mexico around 1930 by Eisenstein, and I was completely unprepared for the striking quality of these images, some of the most beautiful black and white cinematography I've seen. As I understand it, this footage, which Eisenstein was compelled to abandon, has been compiled and edited into a sort of travelogue by the Oleg Kovalov, who gets director credit for this film. This is a travelogue in a more old-fashioned sense - not a survey of resorts, hotels, casinos and airports, but an impression of the time, place, people and atmosphere of old Mexico. It has been edited per notes left by Eisenstein, along with a degree of interpretation guided by Kovalov's knowledge of Eisenstein's style and intentions. However far it might have strayed from those original intentions, it is a remarkably beautiful film in its own right.Early on in the film, the compositions look like Gaugin paintings come to life, as the provincial Mexicans strike the iconic poses that Eisenstein set up, surrounded by tropical foliage. In one particular shot, two young woman hold their pose under some palm leaves, but the one on the left repeatedly breaks into giggles, possibly over the strange attitude that the crazy Russian has asked her to hold. Really charming. Many of the scenes with the local people are moody, or even a bit spooky, some involving symbols of death. Others are more festive, but still with a dark quality to them. A Russian is a Russian, I guess.
A stereo soundtrack has been added which consists of various ethnic music (not just Mexican), more modern, avant-garde music, and ambient sounds and sound effects that are so apt and well-timed to the film, they give you an eerie sense of being there. This is one of the best things I've seen in a long time, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
In Excess: Sergei Eisenstein's Mexico (Cinema and Modernity)by Masha Salazkina
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 2009-04-15; Hardcover; Book
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