Ivan Groznyy I (1944)

Director:

Sergei M. Eisenstein

Writer:

Sergei M. Eisenstein (writer)

Release Date:

8 March 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Biography

Plot:

During the early part of his reign, Ivan the Terrible faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people.

Plot Keywords:

Power | Exile | Coronation | Russia | Tartar

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Nikolai Cherkasov	...	Czar Ivan IV
Lyudmila Tselikovskaya	...	Czarina Anastasia Romanovna
Serafima Birman	...	Boyarina Efrosinia Staritskaya
Mikhail Nazvanov	...	Prince Andrei Kurbsky
Mikhail Zharov	...	Czar's Guard Malyuta Skuratov
Amvrosi Buchma	...	Czar's Guard Aleksei Basmanov
Mikhail Kuznetsov	...	Fyodor Basmanov
Pavel Kadochnikov	...	Vladimir Andreyevich Staritsky
Andrei Abrikosov	...	Boyar Fyodor Kolychev
Aleksandr Mgebrov	...	Novgorod's Archbishop Pimen
Maksim Mikhajlov	...	Archdeacon
Vsevolod Pudovkin	...	Nikola, Simpleton Beggar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pavel Massalsky	...	Sigismond - King of Poland
Sergei Stolyarov

Also Known As:

Иван Грозный (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Ivan the Terrible, Part One (USA)
Ivane Mriskhane, natsili pirveli (Soviet Union: Georgian title)

Runtime:

103 min | USA:95 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/6 | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Company:

Mosfilm

Trivia:

One of the films included in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Lowell.

Goofs:

Continuity: Amount of coins in the bowls that are showered over Ivan at the end of the coronation scene.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le fantôme d'Henri Langlois (2004)

Eisenstein's Baby

Ivan the Terrible was Sergei M. Eisenstein's pet project for years and was to be a trilogy. Viewed alone, part 1 is a pretty good film. Part two is better. But only viewed together do they achieve true greatness. The over-stylized first part may be overwhelming at first but if you follow the whole saga, you'll understand one of the more subtle underlying themes: Eisenstein wanted the actors to evolve physically, their mannerisms resembling those of wild beasts (Ivan is an eagle, his bodyguard a bear...), the corruption of power, turning men into beasts. The character of Ivan at first seems far too romantically portrayed, but we later discover that it is the result of his romantic view of himself. As some of his past and his darker side are revealed, he seems by turns pitiful and paranoid, even cruel, but this is all so well written and played out (in a very unusual way, relying on Silent-era expressionism, though perhaps that was a fortunate "mistake" Eisenstein made, rather that a carefully thought plan), that it makes Ivan the Terrible one of the most human monsters ever to be put to film (Stalin even feared it for he found Ivan to resemble him far too much!). The wars and the intrigues are mostly subplot material, and the picture is mostly a psychological journey. One might also add that it is one of the very best of its kind!