Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein ([Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн Sergej Mihajlovič Ejzenštejn]; January 23, 1898 – February 11, 1948) was a Soviet Russian movie director and movie theorist. He was known mostly for his silent movies Strike, The Battleship Potemkin and October. He was also known for his historical epics Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible. His work had a major impact on early movie directors because of his creative use of and writings about montage.