The Routledge Companion to Vsevolod Meyerhold

1Vsevolod Meyerhold and Cinema

Anna Kovalova

DOI: 10.4324/9781003110804-4

In 1915, when Vsevolod Meyerhold’s career in cinema started, the leading Russian film periodical Sine-Fono welcomed his debut with great enthusiasm: ‘Let Meyerhold’s name in time present a new era in cinema art’ (Lur’e 1915: 62).¹ This prediction came true: Meyerhold’s influence on Russian cinema lasted for decades; he became a crucial point of reference in the history of the Soviet avant-garde film. Many prominent Russian film directors of the 1920s considered Meyerhold to be their mentor; Sergei Eisenstein, a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, was his closest pupil. Moreover, Meyerhold’s work in cinema greatly influenced his theatre projects and thus influenced ...