Sergei Eisenstein changed the way films were made as early as the 1920s.

Google Doodle tribute: Sergei Eisenstein changed the way films were made as early as the 1920s.

If a Google Doodle is the best way to rediscover Sergei Eisenstein, so be it.

The pioneering avant-garde Russian filmmaker was born 120 years ago, on January 22, 1898, and died on February 11, 1948. He was only 50 when he succumbed to a heart attack. His legacy is rich, complex and, in many ways, immeasurable. Eisenstein’s politically loaded films galvanised the cinema of the former Soviet Union and beyond with their bold narrative approach, stylistic flourishes, dramatic use of cinematography, editing and music, and marriage between ideology and the craft of filmmaking. Here are six clips that demonstrate Eisenstein’s genius, his contributions to the art of editing through his theories on montage, and his ability to transcend propaganda to create enduring art.

Strike (1925) Eisenstein’s first-full length feature, made as a silent film, and depicting a workers’ protest at a factory in pre-Communist Russia in 1903. The film is divided into six chapters, draws heavily on metaphorical imagery (comparisons are drawn between dead animals and the slaving workers) and includes rousing images of the labourers gathering to defeat their exploitative capitalist overlords.

Film montage -- an editing technique that pieces together series of frames to form a continuous sequence - is used in popular films like Fight Club, The Karate Kid, The Godfather and Citizen Kane to name a few. The film editing technique that is used at several defining moments in films dates back to 1898. Sergei Eisenstein - known as the father of montage - was a Soviet artist known for films like Battleship Potemkin, Strike and The General Line which are relevance event in today's time. Today's doodle celebrates the man who brought about the art of montage, Sergei Eisenstein's 120th birthday. 

Sergei Eisenstein was the one to create a new form called 'montage of attractions' - in which images are chosen and then carefully placed sequentially not in chronology, but in a way that would create larger psychological impact thus communicating his idea to the audience. Along with his work on defining motion picture, director Sergei Eisenstein contributed to 'realistic' filmmaking depicting the struggle of downtrodden workers against the ruling class.