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.

Bezhin Meadow

Dir: Sergei M. Eisenstein

1937

*****

This is going to be something of a difficult review to write because Sergei Eisenstein’s controversial film Bezhin Meadow isn’t quite a film, rather a collection of stills. The 1937 Soviet film is famous for having been suppressed and believed destroyed before its completion. It tells the story of a young farm boy whose father attempts to betray the government for political reasons by sabotaging the year's harvest and the son's efforts to stop his own father to protect the Soviet state, culminating in the boy's murder and a social uprising. The film draws its title from a story by Ivan Turgenev but is based on the life of Pavlik Morozov, a young Russian boy who became a political martyr following his death in 1932, after he denounced his father to Soviet government authorities and subsequently died at the hands of his family. Pavlik Morozov was immortalized in school programs, poetry, music, and in film. The film was commissioned by a communist youth group and the film's production ran from 1935 to 1937, until it was halted by the central Soviet government, which said it contained serious artistic, social, and political failures. Some, however, blamed the failure of Bezhin Meadow on government interference and policies, extending all the way to Stalin himself. In the wake of the film's failure, Eisenstein publicly recanted his work as an error. Individuals were arrested during and after the ensuing debacle, making Bezhin Meadow one of the most notourous lost films of all time. However, it wasn’t quite lost. It was long thought that it had been lost in the wake of World War II bombings but in the1960s, cuttings and partial prints of the film were found; from these, a reconstruction of Bezhin Meadow, based on the original script, was undertaken. Rich in religious symbolism, the film and its history became the focus of academic study. The film was extensively discussed both inside and outside of the film industry for its historical nature, the odd circumstances of its production and failure, and its imagery, which is considered some of the greatest in cinema. In spite of the failure of Bezhin Meadow, Eisenstein would rebound to win Soviet acclaim and awards, and become artistic director of a major film studio. Several versions of the film were created after the Soviet government authorities repeatedly edited and re-shot it to satisfy themselves and the ever changing regime. The one I’m reviewing is the best known and most common version, the one that focuses on Stepok who is a member of the local Young Pioneers Communist organization. His father Samokhin, a farmer, plans to sabotage the village harvest for political reasons by burning down the titular meadow, but Stepok organizes the other Young Pioneer children to guard the crops. Samokhin grows progressively more frustrated by his son's actions and success. Eventually, Stepok reports Samokhin's crimes to the Soviet government authorities, and is in turn slain by his own father for betraying his family. The other Young Pioneers break into the local church, singing songs, and desecrate it in response to Stepok's death. The visuals of the film shift during the destruction of the church, with the villagers becoming that which they are destroying, the angry villagers, by the end of the set piece, are depicted as Christ-like, angelic, and prophetic figures. In other versions the church is converted into a clubhouse. The film was based in part on a story by Ivan Turgenev, a 19th-century Russian scholar and novelist, but was adapted to incorporate the folk story of Pavlik Morozov, a supposed Young Pioneer glorified by Soviet Union propaganda as a martyr.Turgenev's original short fiction titled "Bezhin Meadow" or "Bezhin Lea" was a story about peasant boys in the 1850s, in the Oryol region, discussing supernatural signs of death, while they spend the night in the Bezhin Meadow with a lost hunter. Eisenstein would later remove any direct references to Turgenev's fiction, aside from the title, from the film. The film also draws influence from the story of Pavlik Morozov, whose life and death in the village of Gerasimovka in the Ural Mountains, has no connection with Turgenev's literary work. Morozov was a 13-year-old boy who denounced his father, a kulak, to the Soviet government authorities, and was in turn killed by his family. It was a Soviet morality tale, opposing the state was selfish and reactionary, and the state was more important than family.The most popular account of the Morozov story is that he was born to poor peasants in Gerasimovka, a small village north-east of Sverdlovsk. He was a dedicated communist who led the Young Pioneers at his school, and supported Stalin's collectivization of farms. In 1932, at age 13, Morozov reported his father to the political police (GPU). Morozov's father, the Chairman of the Village Soviet or Selsoviet, was alleged to have been forging documents and selling them to the bandits and enemies of the Soviet State. The elder Morozov, Trofim, was sentenced to 10 years in a labor camp, and later executed. However, Pavlik's family did not approve of the young boy's actions. In September of that year, his uncle, grandfather, grandmother and a cousin murdered him, along with his younger brother. All of them except the uncle were rounded up by the GPU, convicted, and sentenced to execution by a firing squad. The Morozov story was developed into compulsory children's readings, songs, plays, a symphonic poem, a full-length opera and six biographies. There is very little original evidence related to the story; much of it is hearsay provided by second-hand witnesses. In Bezhin Meadow, the child is named Stepok, departing from the original historical lore and information. Among the ironies of Bezhin Meadow's history were that Pavlik Morozov may not have even been a member of the Young Pioneers. Morozov had been called a "disturbed young boy" who was unaware of the consequences of what he was doing and turned his father in to the authorities for having abandoned his mother for a younger woman, rather than for political reasons. A final cut of the film does not exist but it is clear from what there is that survived, it would have been a masterpiece. Message aside, what is left is visually stunning. I believe that Eisenstein could have directed a version of the film that would have been balanced and not quite the opportunistic piece of propaganda it was intended as but, as much as I’d love to see it, it is probably for the best that it wasn’t completed. Certainly of its time, it sends a chill down my spine just thinking of it. The surviving stills are hauntingly real, bringing this sorry tale to life in both a beautiful but disturbing manner. A must for historians, those with political interest, film makers and photographers.

Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot

Dir: Sergei M. Eisenstein

1946

*****

Probably the most overlooked sequel of all time. Ivan the Terrible is a two-part historical epic film about Ivan IV of Russia commissioned by Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, who admired and identified himself with Ivan, to be written and directed by the filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. Part I was released in 1944. Part II was not released until 1958, as it was banned on the order of Stalin, who became incensed over the depiction of Ivan therein. Stalin loved the first film and even awarded Eisenstein the prestigious Stalin Prize but the second film angered him and was subsequently banned and unreleased until both men were dead. Eisenstein had developed the scenario to require a third part to finish the story but, with the banning of Part II, filming of Part III was stopped; after Eisenstein's death in 1948, what had been completed was destroyed. Part II opens in the court of King Sigismund of Poland, to whom Kurbsky swears allegiance. Sigismund promises to make Kurbsky ruler of Ivan's territories, once he exploits the tsar's absence by conquering them. The plan is foiled when an emissary announces that Ivan has returned to Moscow. Ivan begins by reforming the land distribution, he takes the boyars' lands, then has them reinstalled as managers, increasing his own power at their expense. His friend Kolychev, who is now the monk Philip, rejoins him after a heated debate, and agrees to become metropolitan of Moscow on the condition that Ivan gives him the right to intercede for condemned men. This is mutually agreed upon but as soon as it is settled, Ivan, propelled by his lieutenant Malyuta Skuratov, finds a way around this by executing condemned men quickly, before Philip can use his right. In this way he has three of Philip's kinsmen executed. Fyodor Basmanov, the first of the Oprichniki, helps Ivan figure out that the Tsarina was poisoned and both suspect Efrosinia of poisoning the cup of wine. Ivan orders Fyodor not to say anything about it until he is certain beyond doubt of her guilt. The boyars, close to desperation, plead their case to Philip and eventually win him over. He vows to block Ivan's abuse of power, and confronts him in the cathedral while a miracle play is being presented. As the argument heats up, Ivan proclaims that he will be exactly what the boyars call him - terrible - and has Philip seized. This is when the film really gets good. The boyars now decide that their only option is to assassinate Ivan, and the novice Pyotr is selected to wield the knife. Ivan, now certain of Efrosinia's guilt, invites Vladimir to a banquet with the Oprichniki. Ivan gets Vladimir drunk while the Oprichniki sing and dance around them, Vladimir mentions that there is a plot to kill Ivan, and he is to replace him as Tsar. Fyodor Basmanov notices the assassin leaving, and signals Ivan, who, pretending surprise at Vladimir's revelation, suggests Vladimir try being Tsar for a while, and has the Oprichniki bring throne, orb, scepter, crown and royal robes, and they all bow down to "Tsar Vladimir." Then Ivan tells Vladimir to lead them to the cathedral in prayer, as a Tsar should lead. Hesitantly, Vladimir does. In the cathedral, the assassin runs up and stabs the mock Tsar and is immediately seized by Fyodor and Malyuta. Ivan orders them to release Pyotr and thanks him for killing the tsar's worst enemy. Efrosinia arrives, jubilant at the apparent death of Ivan, until she sees Ivan alive; rolling the corpse over, she realizes it is her own son. Ivan sentences her proclaiming that all his enemies within Moscow are vanquished and he can turn to those outside. The score for both films was composed by Sergei Prokofiev. Eisenstein remarked that Prokofiev was able to grasp the emotional mood, rhythm and structure of a scene immediately and have the score ready the next day. The score complements the film perfectly. The direction is beautifully composed and although most of the film was shot in black and white, there are color sequences in the second part, making this one of the earliest color films made in the Soviet Union. Ahead of its time in many respects and a template for many a historical epic to come. Peter Weller even admitted he based his physical actions while playing RoboCop on Cherkasov's performance of Ivan the Terrible, which is interesting as each character is depicted as a different animal in the way they move. Ivan is portrayed as a bird with his robes acting as his wings, the constant thrusting and tilting of his head, and the feathery like nature of his hair and beard. The bird symbolism will shift from prey to predatory throughout the films. Efrosinia is portrayed like a snake, to reinforce her evil nature and her camera shots always have her coming from the floor up, much like a snake coils up to attack. Alexei is portrayed as a dog to emphasize his loyalty. His hair is designed to mimic a dog's long, floppy ears, as well as his general mannerisms. One wonders what animal RoboCop was, but I digress. It’s a great shame that Part III never saw the light of day, while a few stills and a script exist, it remains one of the greatest lost films of all time. With Stalin’s volatile nature though we must be grateful we have what we do, I guess two out of three ain’t bad.

Ivan the Terrible, Part I

Dir: Sergei M. Eisenstein

1944

*****

Ivan the Terrible is a two-part historical epic about Ivan IV of Russia that was commissioned by Joseph Stalin, who admired and identified himself with Ivan, to be written and directed by the filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. Part I was released in 1944 and begins with Ivan's coronation as Tsar of all the Russias, amid protest from the boyars. Ivan makes a great speech proclaiming his intent to unite and protect Russia against the foreign armies outside her borders and the enemies within - a reference to the boyars, who are already seen as discontented with his coronation. Shortly after, Ivan marries Anastasia Romanovna. This causes him to lose the friendship of his two best friends, Prince Andrei Kurbsky and Fyodor Kolychev. The latter receives Ivan's permission to retire to a monastery, while Kurbsky attempts to resume his romance with the Tsarina, who repels his advances. The marriage feast is interrupted by news of the burning of several boyar palaces, carried into the Tsar's palace by a mob of the common people who also complain that the Tsar is being led astray by the Tsarina's family (the Romanovs), the Glinskys and the Zakharins. Ivan calms the crowd, but is interrupted by envoys from the khanate of Kazan, who send him a ceremonial knife with the suggestion that he do himself a favor by using it to commit suicide. Ivan immediately proclaims that his kingdom is at war with Kazan. The siege of Kazan, in which Ivan's army digs saps underneath the city and fills them with gunpowder, is an epic piece of cinema, certainly one of Eisenstein’s finest. Kurbsky, nominally in command, is reprimanded by Ivan for senseless brutality (he ties Tartar prisoners to palisades within earshot of the walls of Kazan and tells them to shout to the city to surrender; the defending archers immediately shoot the prisoners). The city of Kazan soon falls to the Russian army. During his return from Kazan, Ivan falls seriously ill and is thought to be on his deathbed; Orthodox priests come to give him the last rites before he dies. Ivan sends for his relatives and orders them to swear allegiance to his son, the infant Dmitri, reminding them of the need for a single ruler to keep Russia united. They demur, with Ivan's aunt, Efrosinia Staritska, openly urging the others to swear allegiance to her son, Vladimir, instead. Emotionally overwrought, Ivan collapses and is thought dead. The relatives, celebrating, all begin to swear allegiance to Vladimir, the "boyar tsar" they have hoped for; meanwhile, Kurbsky is uncertain of his own loyalty, trying to decide between the two sides. However, when the Tsarina says, "Do not bury a man before he is dead," Kurbsky realizes that Ivan is still alive, and hurriedly swears his allegiance to Ivan's infant son, Dmitri. He is sent, as a reward, to the western border of the kingdom to defend against the Livonians and Poles. At the same time, Ivan dispatches Alexei Basmanov, a commoner he sympathizes with, to the south to take care of the Crimean border. The Tsarina now falls ill, and while Ivan is receiving bad news from all fronts, the boyars plot to kill her. Efrosinia comes into the palace with a cup of wine hidden in her robes, in which she has put poison. Just as the royal couple receive word that Kurbsky has defected to the Livonians, Efrosinia slips the cup of wine into the room and listens from behind a wall. The Tsarina has a convulsion and Ivan, looking around for a drink to calm her, takes the poisoned wine and gives it to her. We then see the dead Tsarina lying in state in the cathedral, with Ivan mourning beside her bier. While a monk reads biblical verses over the body, Ivan questions his own justifications and ability to rule, wondering if his wife's death is God's punishment on him. However, he recovers and sends for Kolychev. At this point, Alexei Basmanov arrives, suggesting that Ivan surround himself with men he can trust - "iron men," the Oprichnina - and offers his unexpectant son, Fyodor, for service. Ivan accepts, and sets about recouping his losses. He abdicates and leaves Moscow, waiting until the people beg him to return, saying that he now rules with absolute power by the will of the people. A rousing finish that sets up part II of the story perfectly. Eisenstein was one of many Moscow-based filmmakers who were evacuated to Alma Ata, in the Kazakh SSR during World War II. There, Eisenstein first considered the idea of making a film about Tsar Ivan IV, aka Ivan the Terrible, whom Stalin admired as the same kind of brilliant, decisive, successful leader that Stalin considered himself to be. Aware of Eisenstein's interest in a project about Ivan, Stalin ordered the making of the film with Eisenstein as author-director. It was filmed between 1942 and 1944, and released at the end of that year. The film presented Ivan as a national hero, and won Joseph Stalin's approval and gained Eisenstein a Stalin Prize. The story show Ivan more as monarch than man, detailing his struggles to unite Russia and his difficulties in overcoming the traditional, boyar-run government. While not exactly sympathetic, Ivan is shown as having to fight fire with fire - having to be ruthless and brutal for the good of the country. In some ways, he is a victim of the boyars, especially during flashbacks to his childhood and early adolescence. The film also details Ivan's gradual slide into suspicion and paranoia. He is played superbly by Nikolay Cherkasov although Serafima Birman steals most of the film as Ivan's aunt Efrosinia, the real villain of the story who is willing to do anything to get her son Vladimir on the throne.

October (AKA October: Ten Days That Shook the World)
Dir: Sergei M. Eisenstein
1928
*****
The pen may be mightier than the sword but Sergei M. Eisenstein proved that film was just as powerful. Sergei M. Eisenstein is one of the most significant pioneers of modern cinema and October (or October: Ten Days That Shook the World as it has become more commonly known) is a perfect example of his use of montage (Intellectual montage to be precise), something that he argued was the very essence of cinema. The editing still surpasses most contemporary film and his use of symbolism has never really been matched (although very often copied). October is one of the most important, powerful and jaw-dropping films ever made, especially when you realise that most of the people in the film are actually playing themselves and were actually part of the October revolution that only happened 11 years prior. The scene with the horse dangling from the bridge is one of the most startling scenes in cinema history as far as I'm concerned. It would be wonderful to see a fully restored version that included the missing Trotsky scenes but unfortunately thanks to Stalin, this will never happen. Historically important and a masterpiece of cinema.