Synopsis
Eisenstein drew on history, Russian folk narratives, and the techniques of Walt Disney to create this broadly painted epic of Russian resilience. This story of Teutonic knights vanquished by Prince Alexander Nevsky’s tactical brilliance resonated deeply with a Soviet Union concerned with the rise of Nazi Germany. Widely imitated—most notably by Laurence Olivier’s Battle of Agincourt re-creation for Henry V—the Battle on the Ice scene remains one of the most famous audio-visual experiments in film history, perfectly blending action with the rousing score of Sergei Prokofiev.
Cast
| Prince Alexander Nevsky | Nikolai Cherkasov |
| Vasily Buslai | Nikolai Okhlopkov |
| Gavrilo Olexich | Andrei Abrikosov |
| Ignat, Master Armorer | Dmitri Orlov |
| Pavsha, Governor of Pskov | Vasili Novikov |
| Domash Tverdislavich | Nikolai Arsky |
| Amelfa Timofeevna, Mother of Buslai | Varvara Massalitinova |
Credits
| Director | Sergei Eisenstein |
| with the collaboration of | Dmitri Vasilyev |
| Screenplay | Sergei Eisenstein and Pyotr Pavlenko |
| Cinematography | Eduard Tisse |
| Editing | Sergei Eisenstein and Esfir Tobak |
| Original music by | Sergei Prokofiev |
| Lyricist | Vladimir Lugovskoi |
| Production Design | Isaac Shpinel and Nikolai Solovyov |
| Costume design | K. Yeliseev |
| Sound | Vladimir Popov and Boris Volsky |
Disc Features
- Gorgeous new digital transfer, with extensive image and sound restoration
- Audio essay by film scholar David Bordwell, author of The Cinema of Eisenstein
- Russell Merritt’s multimedia essay on the Eisenstein-Prokofiev collaboration
- A reconstruction of Eisenstein’s unfinished film Bezhin Meadow by the Eisenstein Museum’s Naum Kleiman, plus scholar Jay Leyda’s photos and documents from the set
- Drawings and production stills
- Restoration demonstration
- New English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
From the Current
Alexander Nevsky
by Apr 23, 2001Released in late 1938, Alexander Nevsky was not only the first sound film to be directed by Sergei Eisenstein, but the director’s political comeback as well. This most famous of Soviet artists had not completed a movie since The Old and the New
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