 Eisenstein 's Bezhin Meadow has had a rich legacy of responses and criticism since its original production . In the wake of Shumyatsky 's statements in Pravda , which diminished Eisenstein 's reputation in the Soviet Union to the lowest point in his career , others soon weighed in . Some criticism of the film was that it was too abstract or formalist , echoing Shumyatsky 's views . Ilya Vaisfeld called the film and Eisenstein 's methods " profoundly hostile to socialism " , and faulted Eisenstein for presenting enemies in a possibly favorable light . According to Nikolai Otten , Eisenstein 's failure was due to filming an emotional scenario , thinking it freed him from studio control . Boris Babitsky , the chief of Mosfilm Studio ( the producers of the film ) , took responsibility for the production 's failure , and for not controlling Eisenstein 's work or halting filming earlier ; Babitsky was later arrested for this . Ivan Pyryev felt that Eisenstein did not want to be a " Soviet person " , giving this as a reason for the failure of the film . David Maryan , another director , blamed Eisenstein for looking down on others , taking no pleasure in the achievements of others , and for being a loner . Eisenstein 's political status came under attack as well due to the film . G. Zeldovich , of the Principal Directorate for the Cinema , questioned whether Eisenstein should be free to work with film students due to his political unreliability . 
