Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944)

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.

Director:

Sergei M. Eisenstein (as Sergei Eisenstein)

Writer:

Sergei M. Eisenstein (as Sergei Eisenstein)

Stars:

Nikolay Cherkasov, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Serafima Birman

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nikolay 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 Mikhaylov	...	Archdeacon
Vladimir Balashov	...	Piotr Volynetz
Vsevolod Pudovkin	...	Nikola, Simpleton Beggar
Semyon Timoshenko	...	Kaspar von Oldenbock, Livonian ambassador
Aleksandr Rumnyov	...	The Stranger

Storyline

In 1547, Ivan IV (1530-1584), archduke of Moscow, crowns himself Tsar of Russia and sets about reclaiming lost Russian territory. In scenes of his coronation, his wedding to Anastasia, his campaign against the Tartars in Kazan, his illness when all think he will die, recovery, campaigns in the Baltic and Crimea, self-imposed exile in Alexandrov, and the petition of Muscovites that he return, his enemies among the boyars threaten his success. Chief among them are his aunt, who wants to advance the fortunes of her son, a simpleton, and Kurbsky, a warrior prince who wants both power and the hand of Anastasia. Ivan deftly plays to the people to consolidate his power.

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Plot Keywords:

boyar | tzar | brutality | tyranny | czar | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

8 March 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ivan the Terrible, Part I

Filming Locations:

Alma-Aty, Kazhachstan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm, Tsentralnuyu Obedinyonnuyu Kinostudiyu (TsOKS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last movie directed and completed by Sergei M. Eisenstein.

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Goofs

In one scene Ivan is discussing his plan for the Livonian war, which started in 1558 and once scene later his wife Anastasia is dying from poison. Between these two scenes are two years.

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Quotes

Czar Ivan IV: Those who tore down the bells without Czar's permission, those by Czar's command get torn down the heads for not too long.

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Crazy Credits

All the credits are showed in front of a fire smoke.

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Connections

Referenced in RoboCop (1987)

User Reviews

Eisenstein's Baby

On a backdrop of intrigue, murder and betrayal, Prince Ivan conquers enemies and becomes the first Czar of all Russia, at the cost of his own soul.

Eisenstein's name and reputation loom over film history in such a forbidding way that you would be forgiven for deeming his work impenetrable by modern standards, yet while his silent epics are so seminal as to be hard to evaluate objectively, his late talking films can be hugely rewarding viewing, even to more casual film-goers. As a summation of his artistic evolution and scholarship, they are no less treasurable or significant than Battleship Potemkin, yet they have a more compelling story to tell.

Ivan The Terrible was to be a trilogy, of which only parts 1 and 2 were completed before their creator fell into disfavor with Stalin. Yet parts 1 and 2 are rich enough that together they form a perfect story ending on a chilling note. On to part 1 then...

Part 1 tells the story of Prince Ivan from young hopeful to warlord and recluse, before he truly accepts his calling. It is an incredibly romanticized tale, and formally, a relic of a time long gone, one that perhaps only ever existed in Eisenstein's mind. His was a unique visual sensibility and the Ivan films are full of layered, meticulously composed and designed shots: characters scurry like rodents through claustrophobic tunnels, the look is at times so expressionistic as to evoke where The Cabinet of Dr Caligari might have evolved. It is both familiar and horribly alien, like the nightmare it later confirms itself as in part 2.

Given the conflicting emotions evoked - heroism with oppression, epic scale but suffocating formalism - you would do well to brace yourself through this one and remember that only once you've seen both parts will it all make terrible sense. Only then will you appreciate the unique genius at work here.

One cannot distinguish between the two Ivans for one cannot exist without the other, and together, they form one of the best films ever made.