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Eisenstein - The Sound Years (Ivan the Terrible Parts 1 & 2, Alexander Nevsky) - Criterion Collection Actor: Sergei Eisenstein Number of Items: 3 Picture Format: Academy Ratio Format: Black & White, Box set Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 292 minutes Studio: Criterion Collection Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-04-24 Buy from Amazon |
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From Amazon.com essential video A biography of the first czar of Russia was the final movie project of the great Sergei Eisenstein's life. It would be his undoing, as Stalin was not pleased with part II of this epic. But Ivan the Terrible, Part I still stands as a magnificent, rich, and strange achievement. This is a "composed" film to make Hitchcock look slapdash; every frame is arranged with the eye of a painter or choreographer, the mise-en-scène so deliberately artificial that even the actors' bodies become elements of style. (They complained about contorting themselves to fit Eisenstein's designs.) If you don't believe movies can be art, this could be (and has been) dismissed as ludicrous. But Eisenstein's command of light and shadow becomes its own justification, as the fascinating court intrigue plays out in a series of dynamic, eye-filling scenes. This is not a political theorist, but a director drunk on pure cinema. Part II continues with the struggle for power and the use of secret police, a controversial segment that caused the film to be banned by Stalin in 1946 (the film was not released until 1958). The predominantly black-and-white film features a banquet dance sequence in color. Obviously the two parts must be viewed as a whole to be fully appreciated. Many film historians consider this period in Eisenstein's career less interesting than his silent period because of a sentimental return to archaic forms (characteristic of Soviet society in the '30s and '40s). Perhaps it was just part of his maturity. Alexander Nevsky (1939), Eisenstein's landmark tale of Russia thwarting the German invasion of the 13th century, was wildly popular and quite intentional, given the prevailing Nazi geopolitical advancement and destruction at the time. It can still be viewed as a masterful use of imagery and music, with the Battle on the Ice sequence as the obvious highlight. Unfortunately, the rest of the film pales in comparison. A great score by Prokofiev was effectively integrated by the Russian filmmaker, but stands on its own merit as well. From Description Sergei Eisenstein, long regarded as a pioneer of film art, changed cinematic strategies halfway through his career. Upon returning from Hollywood and Mexico in the late 1930s, he left behind the densely edited style of celebrated silents like Battleship Potemkin and October, turning instead to historical sources, contradictory audiovisuals, and theatrical sets for his grandiose yet subversive sound-era work. This trio of rousing action epics reveals a deeply unsettling portrait of the Soviet Union under Stalin, and provided battle-scene blueprints for filmmaking giants from Laurence Olivier in Henry V to Akira Kurosawa in Seven Samurai. |
 "Nevsky DVD"I'm only telling you about the Nevsky DVD here - my local library has a copy of it, and that was all i got to see. Terrific transfer - firstly. The film's look, like with Ivan, is its greatest attribute - and here it looks incredible. The images are just so clear, i couldn't believe it. You can fully appreciate the brilliance and purity of Eistenstein's cinema. Sound quality was good. Special features were particularly good (as usual). Audio commentary and tidbits from film historians and critics. Most interesting was a reconstruction from stills and titlecards of Eistenstein's unfinished/lost pastoral film Bezhin Meadows. This is the only place you'll get to see this. And i was quite impressed by it. There are some striking images in there, similar to some compositions from Nevsky. Unlike Ivan (which i have seen Part I of, but not on this DVD) in my opinion, Nevsky does not suffer from a creaky plot, but has good unity and good progression to the climax of the battle of the ice. Part love triangle, part battle epic, Nevsky feels wearisome in places for how very much it is soviet propaganda. In both films, the performances are unusual, because they are more like silent performances, which would have been poetic in a silent, but definitely look quirky in a sound movie. If i had any complaints it would be these: one for Eisenstein, for his sound engineer, for the terrible job he did of constructing the sound for the battle on the ice. I could hear the foley artist literally clanking a whole lot of swords together rhythmically. Very distracting indeed. one for Criterion: i would not have subtitled every line of the singing. Nevsky and Ivan are both part Eisenstein movie, part Prokofiev opera. But the lyrics of the songs the people/army are constantly singing in the background of Nevsky get very repetitive, because its the same verse over and over. Continually reinforcing this propagandising message of unity. And i'm sure its the same for Ivan, but the release i saw of Ivan didn't continue to subtitle every line of song, which is why i know this was a much better option. Otherwise, a beautiful DVD edition (of Nevsky) with an incredible image and good special features.  "Excellent box set. Thank you Criterion!"This box set is one of the Criterion Collection's best releases yet. In this set are 3 films. Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible (Ivan Grozny) parts 1 and 2. Alexander Nevsky is based on the true story of 13th century Prince Alexander Nevsky who helped fend off Teutonic (German) soldiers out of what is now Russia. The film has an excellent score composed for the film by Sergei Prokofiev. The acting in the film is also very good also. The film was very popular and was temporarily banned by Stalin after Germany signed a nonagression pact with the Soviet Union. The film is on disc 1 and has the following special features. Ivan the Terrible parts 1 and 2 are the first two parts of an unfinished trilogy. Several scenes of part 3 were filmed but only one scene is known to survive today. The film follows the life of Tsar Ivan Vassilivich also known as Ivan the Terrible (Ivan Groznyy). He is credited with uniting the people of Russia into a single nation. The first film covers his coronation and a battle that was fought to reclaim lost territory. The film is also very famous and has music by Prokofiev. The first part on disc 2 has the folloving special features: Part 2 covers the time where Tsar Ivan roots out the traitors who helped poison his wife and executes them. The film has an excellent Color sequence cofering much of the last 30 minutes of the film. The Agfacolor film stock was captured from the Germans during WWII and was used for this film. The cinematography is really gpood and there is a flashback sequence from the deleted prologue of part 1 Disc 3 also contains an audio essay by Yuri Tsivian on the stunning cinematography of the film. The set is well worth the $79 if you are a fan of Russian Cinema like I am. This set remains one of my favorites and it is really worth looking into.  "Eisenstein's sound films"If the definition of a great film was that it reflected the society in which it was made, Sergei Eisenstein's sound films -"Ivan" parts 1 and 2 plus "Alexander Nevsky" (1938)- would probably be voted the best films ever in perpetuity. However, this is not the case: a film which reflects the society in which it was made is often merely a soiological work. Or a historical artifact, if you prefer. The works of Eisenstein made during the terrible years of the Stalinist Great Terror and the ensuing war are merely that: grotesque displays of how bent out of shape Russia had become. All lowering camera angles, charioscuro lighting, absurdly over-the-top performances, the film looks like an exercise in Stalinist aesthetics, made for a country which knew all about Uncle Joe first-hand. Nikolai Cherkassov's performance as tsar Ivan is much like the rest of the film: impossible to criticise in conventional cinematic terms. His character is a wild-eyed, glowering pantomime-like puppet, flailing around looking for some scenery to chew. There is absolutely no character development, not only with Ivan but with anyone; this fact alone disqualifies this film, in my opinion, from being ranked alongside even good films, let alone great ones. Besides this, continuity errors abound, and the sets look like they were made out of cardboard. Goodness knows how some critics could describe this film as a "visual opera": this isn't a tragedy but a farce. As for "Alexander Nevsky", I think this film has had a lot of unfair criticism over the years. I feel that the editing and camerawaork are far less overwrought than in "Ivan the Terrible", with a stronger sense of logic in the unfolding of the cinematic space in the film; the characters are correspondingly stronger than in the other films (although that isn't saying very much). However, "Nevsky" also has the faults -to us modern viewers- of its successor: a chilling message of the need for tyrrany by the oligarchy and terrible sacrifice by the underlings to save Russia; and weak character devlopment which again shows this film to be ostensibly a propaganda exercise. "A Review for Alexander Nevsky"This is a Russian film released in 1938, just before the start of World War II. Although the film features battle sequences between the Germans and Russians, it is not about World War II. It is set in the 13th century cities of Pskov and Novgorod. Alexander Nevsky is the prince and a famous war leader who previously defeated the Swedes when they tried to invade Russia. The film has very strong images (and songs) of Russian patriotism, and is probably one of the reasons it was so popular when it was released. Since the Russians were preparing to fight the Germans once again in WWII, this film was likely a morale-booster for the soldiers and the public alike. The opening sequences of the film feature beautiful cinematography. Alexander Nevsky and his men are fishing on a lake when a band of Mongols crosses their path. The Russians have just fought a war with the Mongols and so some fighting ensues as the Mongols pass by the Russians. Alexander Nevsky, irritated with this commotion as it is scaring the fish away, breaks up the fight. Some of the Mongol leaders recognize him as the man who defeated the Swedes and invite him to become a general in their army. He replies with an old Russian saying that it is better to die than to leave your homeland, giving yet another shot in the arm to Russian patriotism. After the Mongols depart, one of Alexander's men comes up to him and warns him that they may have to battle the Mongols yet again. However, Alexander brushes this warning aside and advises that the Germans will have to be defeated before the Mongols. Next, we move on to the city of Pskov. The Germans have already taken over this city and are holding the surviving Russians captive. The men are tied up in the center of the city while the women and children look on. The site of the German army is actually rather amusing. The Germans are dressed up in sheets, somewhat reminiscent of the garb members of the Ku Klux Klan are famous for wearing. Regular German infantry soldiers have buckets on their heads with cross cutouts allowing for them to see out. The German nobility also have buckets on their heads but they get specials horns and other decorative regalia. This is probably the most graphic and disturbing scene of the movie as the Germans then proceed to exterminate every surviving Russian, somewhat ominous as this is also what the Germans do in WWII. There are close-ups of a German soldier throwing children into a pit of fire as they are screaming out in fear. Everyone else is either burned to death or hanged. However, at least one man manages to escape Pskov and goes to warn Alexander that the Germans are advancing. When the escapee relates his message to the famed prince, Alexander is deeply disturbed and begins planning how to seek revenge on the Germans. He forms a company of troops and even orders the peasants to join in. One exceptionally brave female also joins the army. They then march to the city of Novgorod to gather more troops. Although some at Novgorod initially refuse to fight, more patriotic speeches are made and everyone agrees the Germans must be stopped. Once the battalion is formed, they begin marching towards Pskov and run into some German troops. Although the German troops appear to win this minor battle, Alexander regroups and forms a plan for attack set for the next morning. The attack is staged on an ice-covered lake and while some of the men are worried the ice may give way, Alexander advises them that if it does, the Germans are likely to go in first since their armor is heavier... so, all the better. The lake battle is really quite spectacular for its time, although it would probably be considered cheesy by today's standards. Some of the more hilarious images involve the German soldiers getting conked on the top of the head with an axe and then their buckets crumple up, presumably squishing their heads. As it is mainly a sword battle, there are images of several soldiers getting played out from swinging their heavy swords and having to lean upon their teammates in order to remain standing. The Russians begin to chase the Germans away, seemingly towards areas of thin ice as the next scene is that of the remaining German troops falling through the ice into the piercing cold lake beneath them. The rest of the film is rather anti-climatic as the Russians return to Pskov and prove their moral superiority over the Germans by releasing the captured foot soldiers and holding the captive nobility for ransom, rather than executing everyone as the Germans were notorious for doing. Then, some brave soldiers choose wives and Alexander declares that everyone should celebrate. All in all, this is a decent film worth watching. "Nevsky: Great Film? Maybe. Great Propaganda Film? Absolutely"I'll let others debate just how great a film Alexander Nevsky is; I don't know. But it certainly is one great propaganda film. It was made in 1938 when Stalin and Hitler were thinking about dancing on each other's grave. The story is how the Order of the Teutonic Knights invaded Russia in the 13th century and were defeated by the bravery of the Russian people under the inspired leadership of Prince Alexander Nevsky. The heart of the movie is the great battle to defeat the Germans; everything before the battle really is prologue, and everything after is a quick tidying up. The knights are menacing and scary: armored men on big armored horses, wearing white, flowing robes with crosses and featureless helmets. They look like merciless automatons. The Russians are brave people of the soil, determined to protect Mother Russia and wanting only inspired leadership. They find this in Prince Nevsky. The great battle between these two forces, held in the depth of winter, is the movie. The battle goes on and on, but you never get lost and never get bored. Eisenstein moves from masses of hacking, slashing soldiers to the actions of individuals in the melees, individuals whom we've come to know. He sets up the battle by having Nevsky explain clearly to his commanders (and to us) exactly what he wants them to do...let the charging wedge of knights penetrate his main force, then hold them at whatever cost, while he attacks from both flanks. At the start of the battle the Russians are massed with long pikes awaiting the knights. In the distance across the snow we see a long line of mounted knights, all with their white robes flowing in the wind. They gradually move faster and faster, growing larger and larger on the screen, until they crash into the pikes. The Russians give way in places creating corridors within their ranks where the knights are forced, and then all hell breaks loose. The fighting is brutal, and not just with pikes, swords and arrows. Long hooks are used to yank the knights from their horses, then foot soldiers attack with heavy axes to smash through the armor. There are no great gouts of blood and spilled intestines, and this is long before Computer Generated Overkill, but there is no doubt about how brutal the fighting is. At one point Prince Nevsky engages in one-to-one sword combat with the Master of the Teutonic Knights, humiliating him with his skill and then defeating and capturing him. The priests who accompanied the knights are all shown as venal opportunists, and all are slaughtered by the Russian fighters when the knights' camp is overrun. The Germans retreat, the Russians break through, and the remains of the German knights gather for a last stand on the ice. This is one of the great scenes in movies. As the Germans gather, the ice begins to break. The knights and their foot soldiers slip and crash into the water, some try to hold onto the ice and are overturned, some try to flee but the cracking ice catches them. We see helmeted men sinking below the surface, and then just their flowing white robes trailing behind them out of sight. It's something to see. Throughout the movie Eisentstein creates great visual images. Some are vistas of snow and mountains, some gatherings of soldiers around a camp, some corpses strewn on a battlefield, some just two or three people talking. By modern standards this might sound arty, but I quickly became immersed in this style. It gave a kind of dignity and weight to the movie. Eisenstein had Sergei Prokovief, one of the great composers of the 20th century, write the score for the movie. It is hugely effective, in my view. Is this a great movie? I really don't know. But I'll bet Goebbels hated it. The DVD is from Criterion's Eisenstein: The Sound Years which includes Ivan the Terrible parts I and II. The transfer looked great. There are several extras which I haven't listen to yet. |
