Ivan the Terrible, Part II (1958)

As Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.

Director:

Sergei M. Eisenstein

Writer:

Sergei M. Eisenstein

Stars:

Nikolay Cherkasov, Serafima Birman, Pavel Kadochnikov

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Nikolay Cherkasov	...	Czar Ivan IV
Serafima Birman	...	Boyarina Efrosinia Staritskaya
Pavel Kadochnikov	...	Vladimir Andreyevich Staritsky
Mikhail Zharov	...	Czar's Guard Malyuta Skuratov
Amvrosi Buchma	...	Czar's Guard Aleksei Basmanov
Vsevolod Pudovkin	...	Nikolay the Fanatic (as V.I. Pudovkin)
Mikhail Kuznetsov	...	Fyodor Basmanov
Aleksandr Mgebrov	...	Novgorod's Archbishop Pimen
Andrei Abrikosov	...	Archbishop Philip (formerly Fyodor Kolychev)
Vladimir Balashov	...	Pyotr Volynets
Erik Pyryev	...	Ivan IV as a boy
Mikhail Nazvanov	...	Prince Andrei Kurbsky
Pavel Massalsky	...	King Sigismund of Poland
Ada Vojtsik	...	Elena Glinskaya, Ivan's Mother

Storyline

His wife dead from poisoning and his chief warrior, Kurbsky, defected to the Poles, Ivan is lonely as he pursues a unified Russia with no foreign occupiers. Needing friendship, he brings to court Kolychev, now Philip the monk, and makes him metropolitan bishop of Moscow. Philip, however, takes his cues from the boyars and tries to bend Ivan to the will of the church. Ivan faces down Philip and lets loose his private force, the Oprichniks, on the boyars. Led by the Tsar's aunt, Euphrosyne, the boyers plot to assassinate Ivan and enthrone her son, Vladimir. At a banquet, Ivan mockingly crowns Vladimir and sends him in royal robes into the cathedral where the assassin awaits.

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Plot Keywords:

tzar | brutality | despotic rule | despot | czar | 

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Genres:

Biography | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

24 November 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Boyars' Plot

Filming Locations:

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm,Tsentralnuyu Obedinyonnuyu Kinostudiyu (TsOKS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 83 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Bi-Color)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was withheld by Soviet authorities by order of Joseph Stalin, since this film, dealing with Ivan's slide into madness and the tyranny of the Oprichnina, did not properly mythologize Ivan IV Grozny to Stalin's satisfaction. It was not finally released until 10 years after the deaths of director Sergei M. Eisenstein and Stalin.

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Goofs

When Vladimir sits in drunken slumber on the Czar's throne, in the medium shots his head is leaning to his right, but in the long shot as Ivan approaches, it leans to his left.

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Connections

Featured in Les enfants jouent à la Russie (1993)

User Reviews

Excellent in Every Respect

This second part of Eisenstein's history of the reign of "Ivan the Terrible" is an excellent portrayal of the complex machinations between the famous tsar and his determined rivals, the boyars. The story, the settings, the actors, and the characters surpass even the high standards of Part One. Nikolai Cherkasov is again excellent in his portrayal of Ivan, with even his occasional exaggerations fitting nicely into his memorable characterization of the formidable tsar. Serafima Birman is again quite effective as Ivan's aunt and most bitter rival. As Vladimir, Pavel Kadochnikov gets much more to do than he did in Part One, and he makes good use of his scenes. The character of Vladimir - foolish and timid, but with ambition in his heart - is important to the way that events play out.

The story in Part Two picks up at a low point for Ivan, finding him with few friends and many problems. As the boyars begin to plot, there is less outward action than there was in Part One, but the drama is even tauter and the stakes even higher. The picture is also rounded out by the flashbacks to Ivan's youth, which give an even more complete picture of this complex ruler. (The English nickname 'terrible' does not really convey the full sense of his actual nickname in Russian.)

The early scenes lead up to the lengthy sequence of the banquet and its aftermath, which a masterpiece of psychological drama and effective film-making. The cat-and-mouse game between Ivan and his enemies is complemented by the color, imagery, and other details, and it all leads up to a climax filled with tension and possibilities.

Eisenstein's series on Ivan showcases the great Russian director's distinctive technique, and it is certainly one of the finest of all historically-based movies. With memorable characters, interesting stories, and lots of creativity, both movies are well worth multiple viewings - and this second part is even better than the first.