For example, in painting the form arises from abstract elements of line and color, while in cinema the material concreteness of the image within the frame presents - as an element - the greatest difficulty in manipulation.

In his initial films Eisenstein did not use professional actors. All footage from the still incomplete Ivan The Terrible Part III was confiscated and most of it was destroyed (though several filmed scenes still exist today). Film theorist
Eisenstein was a pioneer in the use of montage a specific use of film editing.

He is noted in particular for his silent films Strike (1924) Battleship Potemkin (1925) and October (1927) as well as the historical epics Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (1944 1958).