This Thing of Darkness

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Sergei Eisenstein's unfinished masterpiece, commissioned by Joseph Stalin in 1941, was designed to justify state terror in both the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. This film's politics, style, and epic scope sparked controversy prior to its release. In her exploration, Joan Neuberger provides a comprehensive account of the conception, making, and reception of Eisenstein's work, intertwining his expansive thinking and experimental practice with a fresh perspective on artistic production under Stalin. Utilizing Eisenstein's unpublished production notebooks, diaries, and manuscripts, Neuberger's narrative details his personal, creative, and political struggles. She reveals how cinematic invention, artistic theory, political critique, and historical analysis were intricately linked in this complex film. Neuberger presents bold arguments and insights into Eisenstein's work during this period, demonstrating how he navigated Soviet artistic institutions to expose the cruelties of Stalin and challenge Soviet ideology. Through this film, she argues, Eisenstein emerges as one of the 20th century's greatest artists, using film art to delve into the psychology of political ambition, the history of violence, and the tragedy of absolute power.