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The fantasy universe of Sergei Eisenstein’s ‘October’ – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay


Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

The people of Russia, except few rickety events, remained indifferent to the centenary of the 1917 Revolution and spent the November 7th 2017 like a normal day. According to a survey commissioned by the Communist Party, 58% of the Russian population was unaware of the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution (1).

Whereas Nov. 7th was a holiday celebrated by big ceremonies, during the Soviet era.

The editor of the independent Russian TV channel, documentary filmmaker Mikhail Viktorovich Zygor proclaimed that he was very surprised by the fact that the Russian press remained indifferent to the centenary of October Revolution (2).

The Russian President V. Putin, four days prior to Nov. 7th (in November 3, 2017), said that the October Revolution was a complicated episode of their own history and that these course of events should be treated with respect in an unbiased way (3).
Continue reading “The fantasy universe of Sergei Eisenstein’s ‘October’ – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”

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Eisenstein’a Amerika’dan gönderilen “yoldaş” – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

Bu makale daha önce yayımladığımız “Sergei Eisenstein’ı anlamak” başlıklı ana makaleye ikinci ektir. Ana makalenin Türkçe versiyonunu teknik bir arıza nedeniyle sunamıyoruz, İngilizce’siyle idare edin.


“Avant-garde dedikleri bu mu?”

“ya da Ortaçağ keşişinin modern versiyonu mu ?…”

Eisenstein’ın 1933’te depresyon tedavisi için akıl hastanesine kapatıldığını ifade eden Marie Seton, bu depresyonun nedenini Meksika projesini tamamlayamamış olmanın üzüntüsüne yorarken yine gerçeğin sadece bir kısmını – yarattığı Eisenstein efsanesiyle uyumlu, kitlelere yedirip yutturabileceği kısmını – dile getirmektedir. Biz ise Eisenstein’ın Meksika’dayken eşcinselliğinin ifşa olması nedeniyle hastaneye kapatıldığını düşünüyoruz, çünkü Stalin dönemi devlet bakışı eşcinselliği hastalık olarak görmektedir. Upton Sinclair‘ın projeyi durdurması ve Eisenstein’ı kovmasının nedeni ise, aylar boyu yaptığı çekimlerde 61 km negatif yakmasına rağmen izlenebilir bir ürün çıkaramaması, üstüne üstlük rehberiyle ilişkisinin ifşa olması ve Sinclair’den hortumladıkları parayla ekibin böyle bohem bir hayat sürmesinin Upton’ın eşi Marie Craig Sinclair‘in sabrını taşırmasıdır. Continue reading “Eisenstein’a Amerika’dan gönderilen “yoldaş” – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”

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The “comrade” sent to Eisenstein from USA – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

2nd Appendix to our article “Understanding the prodigy of Sergei Eisenstein”


“or Middle Ages monk ?…”

Marie Seton relates the depression of Eisenstein to not being able to complete Sinclair’s project in Mexico. Marie Seton’s evaluation, however, expresses only some part of the truth – the part that is compatible with the Eisenstein myth she created, making it convenient to be told to the masses. The reason why Upton Sinclair stopped the project and fired Eisenstein was the exposure of Eisenstein’s relationship with his guide. This disclosure was the last drop. Upton’s wife, Marie Craig Sinclair got off at half-cock seeing Eisenstein’s bohemian life without being able to produce any piece of viewable film having spent months for burning thousands of meters of negatives. Continue reading “The “comrade” sent to Eisenstein from USA – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”

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“Bejin Çayırı”, Shumyatsky ve Babel’i idama götüren bir test miydi? – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

Bu makale daha önce yayımladığımız “Sergei Eisenstein’ı anlamak” başlıklı ana makaleye birinci ektir. Bu ana makalenin Türkçe’sini teknik bir arıza nedeniyle sunamıyoruz, İngilizce’siyle idare edin.

Sergei Eisenstein + Grigory Alexandrov ikilisinin Potemkin Zırhlısı filmi 1925’te ilk kez gösterime girdiğinde sadece Moskova’da tek bir sinemada ve sadece bir hafta oynatılır. Halktan ilgi görmez. Bolşevik hükümet de kendi siparişleri olmasına rağmen filmi desteklemez. Film depoyu boylar. Ardından Mayakovsky’nin araya girmesiyle negatifler depodan alınır ve Berlin’e gönderilir. Ünlü Alman yönetmen Piel Jutzi tarafından 45 km’yi bulan negatifler baştan aşağı yeniden trim edilir ve 1.7 km uzunluğunda izlenebilir bir film oluşturulur. Uluslararası bir PR çalışmasıyla Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Mary Pickford gibi zamanın Hollywood ünlülerinin, elçilerin, konsolosların katılımıyla film 17 Aralık 1926’da Berlin’de gösterilir. Berlin’deki galayı izleyen günlerde Amerikan ve İngiliz basınının da eşgüdümlü parlatmasıyla film bir sanat başyapıtı olarak, Sergei Eisenstein da bir deha olarak dünyaya tanıtılır. Continue reading ““Bejin Çayırı”, Shumyatsky ve Babel’i idama götüren bir test miydi? – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”

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Was “Bezhin Meadow” a test bringing Shumyatsky and Babel to execution? – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

1st Appendix to our article “Understanding the prodigy of Sergei Eisenstein”

In 1925 The film Potemkin Battleship of Sergei Eisenstein + Grigory Alexandrov was only shown in Moscow in just one cinema and only for a week. People were not interested. The Bolshevik government did not support the film even though it was its own orders. The film was removed to storage. Then, with the intervention of Mayakovsky, the negatives were taken from the depot and sent to Berlin. The famous German director Piel Jutzi was commissioned to re-trim the 45 km long negatives to reform a viewable 1.7 km movie. With an international PR work, the film was shown in Berlin on December 17, 1926 with the participation of Hollywood celebrities like Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Mary Pickford and embassies, consuls from various countries. In the days following this glaze in Berlin, the film was introduced as a masterpiece of art and Sergei Eisenstein as a genius all over the world, with the coordinated publications of the American and British press. Continue reading “Was “Bezhin Meadow” a test bringing Shumyatsky and Babel to execution? – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”

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Understanding the prodigy of Sergei Eisenstein – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

Tamiji Naito, Boris Pasternak, Eisenstein, Olga Tretyakova, Lilya Brik, Mayakovsky…


Note: This study is being elaborated by revisions and appendixes. The Log of revisions is located at then end of the article.

Known for his leftist identity, Ken Livingston’s victory in London municipal elections in 2000 created excitement in the left circles in the UK as well as around the world. One detail that escaped from the eyes was that Ken Livingston participated the municipal elections as an independent candidate from the party, even though he was a member of the Labor Party. Simple tactical explanations were invented to explain this strangeness. We can, however, try to better understand this tactical choice through Eisenstein’s story we present below, within the framework of deep decomposition on the left, whose roots go back to 1908 and 1916.

Continue reading “Understanding the prodigy of Sergei Eisenstein – Ali Polat, Engin Kurtay”