walt disney was a huge fan of sergei eisenstein

by the way, mickey was only two when that photo was taken… in the early 1930’s, eisenstein left the USSR with his assistants, embarking on a state-sanctioned trip to the west so that he’d learn more about sound film. his stay in the U.S. was a bust; no studio accepted his projects. after shooting a film in mexico that he’d never edit, he returned to the USSR.  in hindsight, it’s actually funny that anyone expected him to find common ground with the big american studios, but when eisenstein arrived in the US he was feted by the press and given the star treatment — or something resembling star treatment, cut to size for a communist director. and yet, although hollywood did nothing but confirm eisenstein’s hatred of capitalism, some pictures suggest that he still had fun… by xy