Happy Birthday to Two Great Film Directors - Sergei Eisenstein & D. W. Griffith

Sergei Eisenstein

Happy Birthday to Two Great Film Directors! 

Just a quick note… today it is the birthday of two great and early film Directors: Russian Director Sergei Eisenstein born in 1898 and American Director D. W. Griffith born in 1875. 

Eisenstein is best remembered (at least by me) for his 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin and especially for the best known sequence of that film set on the Odessa steps. I suggest you watch the entire film but if you only watch one sequence watch the Odessa steps sequence. 

If you watch any part... watch the Odessa steps sequence.

Here is a link to it: http://www.bing.com/videos/searchq=sergei+m.+eisenstein+steps&view=detail&mid=6A18839F11E0CF8587556A18839F11E0CF858755&FORM=VIRE1

D. W. Griffith

D.W. Griffith sometimes called the  "Inventor of Hollywood", was an American film director who pioneered modern film-making techniques. He is mostly remembered for the groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, as well as its sequel Intolerance(1916). Birth of a Nation is very racist and caused riots at the time of its release. Griffith filmed it for $110,000 and it returned millions of dollars in profits, making it, perhaps, the most profitable film of all time. Griffith was pioneer of film and film making techniques. He founded United Artists, together with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks.

I remember watching both The Battleship Potemkin and The Birth of a Nation in film school. I was mesmerized by Eisenstien’s Battleship Potemkin, but I must admit that I was mostly bored by Birth of a Nation (groundbreaking or not). 

Funny Story… (at least to me). I had to watch Intolerance on my own (instead of in class). To do that (way back in ancient days before the invention of the VCR) I had to go to the library and check out the film (three huge reels - the film is 197 minutes long!) along with a 16mm Projector on a cart and then wheel it to a viewing room which as I recall was like a big closet.

So I set up shop in the viewing room, turned off the lights and began watching and taking notes. If I remember correctly I was writing a paper comparing and contrasting Intolerance andBirth of a Nation, so I was making notes and filling up notebooks all afternoon. At some point (with great relief) I realized that I only had one more reel to go! I put it on, threaded the projector and once again started watching and scribbling away, not really paying attention to anything but the screen and my notebook. Finally the credits began to roll and I sat back, sighed, yawned, stretched and reached behind me while still watching the screen (albeit lazily…) and turned on the lights. Kind of at the same time, I started to recall that the projector had had a slightly different sound during that last reel. What had that sound been?

I turned my head, looked at the projector, stared at two empty reels instead of one empty and one full, looked at the floor, looked at the entire floor… and saw where the film had actually gone. The projector had not worked correctly! In fact it had not worked at all!

Finally the credits began to roll and I sat back, sighed, yawned, stretched and reached behind me while still watching the screen (albeit lazily…)

The last reel of Intolerance all 65 minutes of it… had unraveled all over the floor including covering my feet! I just sat there for a minute trying to figure this thing out and what to do about it. I was terrified that someone would walk in and see this classic priceless film in its current shape. Finally I decided to reverse the projector and then sat there for another 65 minutes or so while the projector did its work and I carefully guided D. W. Griffith’s film with my fingers. (I have always been hands-on with film and video since then.) Later I nonchalantly wheeled everything back and the trusty Librarian was none the wiser.

Anyway, two great and ancient directors were born today. Take a look at their films but watch your feet!

Producer/Director/Editor Robert Hanley

Want to jump start your own video and film career? Ready for a second or third career? What to be in the video production business? Call me. I can help. 

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May the Force be with You. 

Robert Hanley

Producer/Director/Editor

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