• Dziga Vertov and Sergei Eisenstein: on the history of rivalry

УДК: 791.43.03

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2022-4-119-132

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Kirill L. Goryachok

Cand. Sc. in Philosophy, Researcher
The State Institute for Art Studies
Moscow, Russia
E-mail: goryachokk@mail.ru

Dziga Vertov and Sergei Eisenstein: on the history of rivalry

Abstract

The creative сompetiton between the main Soviet directors of the 1920s, Dziga Vertov and Sergei Eisenstein, played a decisive role in the development of Soviet cinema. The opposition between “documentary” and “fictional” gave birth to discussions the “truth” on the screen. Is it possible to express true “life by surprise” in a film, or it the viewer should be influenced politically in the new Soviet art, he should be involved in the historical process via screen performance, an artistic method. Directors were often compared and opposed to each other, and their rivalry often became the basis for their own theoretical and stylistic searches. The article deals with a number of episodes and motives of the conflict between two masters. Previously unpublished archival documents are introduced into scientific circulation, which complete the picture of their relationship. The author comes to the conclusion that many creative points, in particular, while working on the film Man with a Movie Camera, were caused by Vertov’s rivalry and jealousy for Eisenstein’s success. While for the director of Battleship Potemkin, addressing the experience of Cine-Eye played one of the key roles in the process of formulating his film editing theory.

Keywords

Dziga Vertov, Sergei Eisenstein, Soviet avant-garde, film history.

For citation

Goryachok K. L. Dziga Vertov and Sergei Eisenstein: on the history of rivalry. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2022, no. 4, pp. 119–132.

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2022-4-119-132

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Received: 01.11.2022

Revised: 12.11.2022

Accepted: 14.11.2022