Alexander Nevsky
Dir: Sergei M. Eisenstein
1938
*****
Sergei Eisenstein’s 1938 drama depicts the attempted invasion of Novgorod in the 13th century by the Teutonic Knights of the Holy Roman Empire and their defeat by Prince Alexander, known popularly as Alexander Nevsky. Co-written with Pyotr Pavlenko, Alexander Nevsky was the first and most popular of Eisenstein's three sound films and in 1941 Eisenstein, Pavlenko and actors Andrei Abrikosov and Nikolai Cherkasov were awarded the Stalin Prize for the film. The film begins with the Teutonic Knights invading and conquering the city of Pskov with the help of the traitor Tverdilo and massacre its population. In the face of resistance by the boyars and merchants of Novgorod (urged on by the monk Ananias), Alexander Nevsky rallies the common people of Novgorod and in a decisive Battle of the Ice (on the surface of the frozen Lake Peipus or Chudskoe) they defeat the Teutonic knights. The story ends in the retaken Pskov, where the ordinary foot-soldiers are set free, the surviving Teutonic knights will be held for ransom and Tverdilo is swarmed over by the vengeful people and torn to pieces. The main story throughout the historical battle film concerns Vasili Buslai and Gavrilo Oleksich, two famous warriors from Novgorod, friends who become commanders of the Novgorod forces and who engage in a contest of courage and fighting skill throughout the Battle on the Ice in order to decide which of them will win the hand of Olga Danilovna, a Novgorod maiden whom both of them are courting. Vasilisa, the daughter of a boyar of Pskov killed by the Germans, joins the Novgorod forces as a front-line soldier, and she and Buslai fight side by side which makes a strong impression on Buslai - she also personally slays the traitor Ananias. After both Gavrilo and Buslai have been seriously wounded, Buslai publicly states that neither he nor Gavrilo was the bravest in battle, instead, that honor goes to Vasilisa, and that after her came Gavrilo. Thus Gavrilo and Olga are united, while Buslai chooses Vasilisa as his bride-to-be. This was the first film Eisenstein had made in a decade, made during the Stalinist era, at a time of strained relations between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The film contains elements of obvious allegory that reflect the political situation between the two countries at the time of production. The film also conveys highly anti-clerical and anti-Catholic messages, the knights' bishop's miter being adorned with swastikas for instance. Pavlenko was brought in by producers to report any wayward tendencies on Eisenstein's part, a novelist himself, he conformed to socialist realist orthodoxy and the authorities knew they could reply on him. While shooting the film, Eisenstein published an article in the most popular newspaper entitled "Alexander Nevsky and the Rout of the Germans" where he drew a specific parallel between Nevsky and Stalin. As a result, the Kremlin requested an advance screening and, without Eisenstein being consulted, his assistants showed the footage to the dictator. During the process of this screening, one of the reels disappeared. Whether it was left behind in the editing room inadvertently or whether Stalin saw the footage and objected to it, the filmmakers decided to destroy the reel permanently, since it had not received Stalin's explicit approval. The chances were it was never seen, as Eisenstein not only won an award but also lived another ten years. Stalin wanted this film to be a propaganda tool to warn Soviet citizens to be wary of German aggression. However, it was rejected at first due to it being "too anti-German", as it came out shortly before the Soviet-German non-aggression pact of 1939 was signed. In 1941, the peace was broken and Stalin reportedly demanded that it be shown in every Soviet movie theater as a rallying cry against the invasion. Nikolai Cherkasov is phenomenal in the title role, a now iconic cinematic character. The rousing score by Sergei Prokofiev has been described as "the best ever composed for the cinema". By many including Valery Gergiev, the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and concert viewings remain popular to this day. Interestingly, the Battle on the Ice scene was somewhat inspired by Eisenstein’s love of D.W. Griffith’s film Way Down East which I also adore. The ice battle scene is also said to have influenced films as varied as Doctor Zhivago and The Empire Strikes Back. It’s an historical masterpiece, full of propaganda as you’d expect from an Eisenstein film but certainly one of his most popular. You could call it his most mainstream film, I’ll always consider Battleship Potemkin his greatest achievement but Alexander Nevsky is his rousing epic.