Alexander Nevsky (1938)

The story of how a great Russian prince led a ragtag army to battle an invading force of Teutonic Knights.

Directors:

Sergei M. Eisenstein (as S. Eisenstein), Dmitriy Vasilev (as D. Vasilyev)

Writers:

Sergei M. Eisenstein (as S. Eisenstein), Pyotr Pavlenko (as P. Pavlenko)

Stars:

Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Nikolay Cherkasov	...	Aleksandr Nevsky (as N. Cherkasov)
Nikolai Okhlopkov	...	Vasili Buslai (as N. Okhlopkov)
Andrei Abrikosov	...	Gavrilo Oleksich (as A. Abrikosov)
Dmitriy Orlov	...	Ignat - the Master Armorer (as D. Orlov)
Vasili Novikov	...	Pavsha - Governor of Pskov (as V. Novikov)
Nikolai Arsky	...	Domash Tverdislavich - a Novgorod Boyar (as N. Arsky)
Varvara Massalitinova	...	Amelfa Timoferevna - Buslai's Mother (as V. Massalitova)
Valentina Ivashova	...	Olga Danilovna - a Maid of Novgorod (as V. Ivashova)
Aleksandra Danilova	...	Vasilisa - a Maid of Pskov (as A. Danilova)
Vladimir Yershov	...	Von Balk - Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (as V. Yershov)
Sergei Blinnikov	...	Tverdilo - Traitorous Mayor of Pskov (as S. Blinnikov)
Ivan Lagutin	...	Anani - a Monk (as I. Lagutin)
Lev Fenin	...	The Archbishop (as L. Fenin)
Naum Rogozhin	...	The Black-Hooded Monk (as N. Rogozhin)

Storyline

It is the 13th century, and Russia is overrun by foreign invaders. A Russian knyaz', or prince, Alexander Nevsky, rallies the people to form a ragtag army to drive back an invasion by the Teutonic knights. This is a true story based on the actual battle at a lake near Novgorod.

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Plot Keywords:

female warrior | 1200s | famous score | prisoner of war | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

Original Symphonic Score by Sergei Prokofieff

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

22 March 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alexander Nevsky

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,226

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is included in "Eisenstein: The Sound Years", which is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #86.

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Goofs

Dietlieb, one of the Teutonic knights leaders, is shown as wearing a helmet with an open had on the top. A knight wearing this helmet is killed during the initial part of the battle, but the same knight is later seen together with the Grand Master and other leaders when the knights withdraw and regroup and is also seen to drown when the ice gives way.

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Quotes

Von Balk - Grand Master of the Teutonic Order: My brothers, you knights! King Alexander has dared to resist us, But God's hand has punished his impertinence. His advance guard is trapped in the forest, like a bear. I invite you all to hunt the Russian bear.

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Alternate Versions

A 109-minute version distributed by Janus Films and broadcast on the IFC channel in 2006 carries a 1986 date by Mosfilm, and has a lot more credited crew listed than is currently in the IMDb database. Most are untranslated and requires familiarity with the Crillic alphabet to read and a knowledge of Russian to translate. One significant translated addition is Vladinir Lugovskoi as lyricist (and he perhaps is Vladimir Lurovski). Of those names currently in the IMDb database, the following changes were noted: Sergei M. Eisenstein (as S.M. Eisenstein), Pyotr Pavlenko (as P.A. Pavlenko), Dmitriy Vasilev (as D.I. Vasilyev), Esfir Tobak (as E. Tobak),Iosif Shpinel (as I. Shpinel), Nikolai Solovyov (as N. Solovyov), Konstantin Eliseev (as K. Yeliseyev), Valentina Kuznetsova (as V. Kuznetsova), Boris Ivanov (as B. Ivanov), Nikolai Maslov (as Nikolai Maslov), Valeri Popov (as V. Popov), Boris Volsky (as B. Volsky), Nikolai Bolshakov (as N. Bolshakov), Sergei Uralov (as S. Uralov) and Elena S. Telesheva (as E. Telesheva).

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Connections

Referenced in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

User Reviews

I kinda want to beat up some Germans right now...

When I first saw this film around 6 months ago, I considered it interesting, but little more. But it stuck with me. That interest grew and grew, and I wondered whether my initial boredom and response had more to do with the actual VHS quality rather than the film itself. I purchased the Criterion DVD box set, and it turns out that I was right the second time. Alexander Nevsky is a great film. It is rousing, and I'm sure it succeeded in its main aim: propaganda against the Germans.

That is the most common criticism against this film, and against Eisenstein, that it is merely propagandist and nothing else. It's untrue. He is an amazing film artist, one of the most important whoever lived. By now, the world is far enough beyond Joseph Stalin to be able to watch Eisenstein's films as art.