A rethinking of identity, politics, philosophy, ethics, and cultural practices

"Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948), creator of such masterpieces as Battleship Potemkin, Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible, was perhaps the greatest of all film directors. He wrote his autobiography in 1946, two years before his death, and it is a work of major importance in the light it sheds on his personality and mercurial genius. Vivid, eccentric and free-ranging, Immoral Memories is written in a style reminiscent of the brilliant visual effects of montage and dynamic progression that characterize its author's film-making technique. He recounts his life in Russia from the time of the Revolution, during which he served in the Bolshevik army as a volunteer, his travels in the West and his encounters with a remarkable medley of individuals during his long career. He gives us unique insights, too, into his triumphs and tribulations. His disappointments and despair were exemplified by the banning of the film Ivan the Terrible, Part II, which was not released until fifteen years after his death. And he never expected his autobiography to be published in Russia. Yet in answer to his query "Has there been life" he replied that there had been "life lived acutely, joyously, tormentedly, at times even sparkling, unquestionably colourful, and such a life that, I suppose, I would not exchange for another""--Publisher's description.