Sergei Eisenstein is arguably the most important single figure in the history of movies. He was certainly the most versatile. The director of the masterpieces Battleship Potemkin and Alexander Nevsky, Eisenstein also wrote ground-breaking essays on film art and taught classes on motion picture production. In this thoughtful, clear, and beautifully organized book, David Bordwell describes Eisenstein's development as a filmmaker, essayist, and teacher, demonstrating how each of his occupations comments upon and elucidates the other. Playing the role of Eisenstein's biographer, historian, interpreter, and critic, Bordwell has composed one of the clearest and most complete views available of this difficult but exciting genius.