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SERGEI M EISENSTEIN

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The Grand Guignol itself is a holdover from the “theatre as scaffolding” (Evreinov’s<br />

term for the connection between the theatre and execution). 165 The first<br />

surrogate of real executions were the scenes of martyrdom of saints in mystery<br />

plays.Thenaturalismofthesescenes.ThenaturalismoftheGrand Guignol.<br />

Grand Guignol and “tough style”*, the newest kind of pictures from America and<br />

England, as opposed* to the melodramatic romanticism and the sentimentality of<br />

thepicturesoftheGriffithera.<br />

2. Funambules and Deburau. 166<br />

Farceandfairy-taleplay.<br />

Méliès(directly)<br />

FromDeburau{<br />

CharlieChaplin(in principle).<br />

Elevationofthelowergenres(low-brow*).<br />

JulesJaninandDeburau(LeThéâtreàQuatreSous).<br />

Thisisrepeatedin[cinema]:GilbertSeldesandtheearlyChaplin(TheSevenLively<br />

Arts, 1924. The book’s meaning and the protest of “popular arts”* against “gentile”<br />

art.“TheGreatGodBogus”–amanifesto 167 ).<br />

Méliès had only [quatre sous] in his old age, but on the whole his post-mortem<br />

“ascension” came through the agents of the Cinemathèque Francaise. [Georges]<br />

Sadoul,theauthorofamonographonMéliès. 168<br />

3. Boulevard attractions.<br />

Nickelodeon,Ventriloquists,Panoptikums. 169<br />

Bytheway,alsothephotographers[inthestreets](“Cannoneers” 170 ).<br />

“Theatre was born on the public square” (Pushkin)<br />

0. The meaning for the development of the theater of folk performances and<br />

games on the fair grounds.<br />

Commediadell’arte.<br />

The renewal of the theatre, coming out of the lowest popular entertainments.<br />

Thedemocraticfairground theatreversusofficialtheatre.Theirbattle.<br />

174 sergei m. eisenstein

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