Synopsis
Navigating the deadly waters of Stalinist politics, Eisenstein was able to film two parts of his planned trilogy about the troubled sixteenth-century tsar who united Russia. Visually stunning and powerfully acted, Ivan the Terrible charts the rise to power and descent into terror of this veritable dictator. Though pleased with the first installment, Stalin detested the portrait in the second film—with its summary executions and secret police—and promptly banned it.
Cast
| Ivan the Terrible | Nikolai Cherkasov |
| Boyarina Efrosinia Staritskaya | Serafima Birman |
| Vladimir Andreyevich Staritsky | Pavel Kadochnikov |
| Malyuta Skuratov | Mikhail Zharov |
| Alexei Basmanov | Amvrosi Buchma |
Credits
| Director | Sergei Eisenstein |
| Written and directed by | Sergei Eisenstein |
| Screenplay | Sergei Eisenstein |
| Producer | Sergei Eisenstein |
| Cinematography | Andrei Moskvin and Eduard Tisse |
| Editing | Eleonora Praksina and Esfir Tobak |
| Original music by | Sergei Prokofiev |
| Lyricist | Vladimir Lugovskoi |
| Production Design | Issac Shpinel |
| Costume design | M. Safonova |
Disc Features
- Multimedia essay on Eisenstein’s visual vocabulary by Yuri Tsivian, art history professor at the University of Chicago
- New English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition
From the Current
Ivan the Terrible, Parts I and II
by Apr 23, 2001A majestic synthesis of disparate forms, Sergei Eisenstein’s final film seems to be as much a ballet or an opera or a moving painting (or a mutant kabuki show) as it is a movie. As elaborately scored by the distinguished composer Sergei Prokofiev, the two-part Ivan the Terrible...
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