During the early part of his reign, Ivan the Terrible (Nikolay Cherkasov) faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people.
During World War II, with the German army approaching Moscow, Eisenstein was one of many Moscow-based filmmakers who were evacuated to Alma Ata, in the Kazakh SSR. There, Eisenstein first considered the idea of making a film about Tsar Ivan IV, aka Ivan the Terrible, whom Joseph Stalin admired as the same kind of brilliant, decisive, successful leader that Stalin considered himself to be. Aware of Eisenstein's interest in a project about Ivan, Stalin ordered the making of the film with Eisenstein as author-director.
Certain symbols are constantly repeated within the film; notable examples include the single eye which refers to truth. Eisenstein was clearly the master of Russian cinema during his lifetime, with no other director even coming close. Following his career is like reading the history of Russian cinema.
It is interesting to see this was something of a turning point. Eisenstein's early films, such as "Strike" and "Battleship Potemkin", are clearly propaganda in favor of the Soviet regime. This film is pro-Soviet in a sense (being endorsed by Stalin), but is also a great historical film in its own right. But it would be his last, as he would have a break with Stalin... and then die. Did Eisenstein begin to become disillusioned with the Soviet Union following the release of this film?
During World War II, with the German army approaching Moscow, Eisenstein was one of many Moscow-based filmmakers who were evacuated to Alma Ata, in the Kazakh SSR. There, Eisenstein first considered the idea of making a film about Tsar Ivan IV, aka Ivan the Terrible, whom Joseph Stalin admired as the same kind of brilliant, decisive, successful leader that Stalin considered himself to be. Aware of Eisenstein's interest in a project about Ivan, Stalin ordered the making of the film with Eisenstein as author-director.
Certain symbols are constantly repeated within the film; notable examples include the single eye which refers to truth. Eisenstein was clearly the master of Russian cinema during his lifetime, with no other director even coming close. Following his career is like reading the history of Russian cinema.
It is interesting to see this was something of a turning point. Eisenstein's early films, such as "Strike" and "Battleship Potemkin", are clearly propaganda in favor of the Soviet regime. This film is pro-Soviet in a sense (being endorsed by Stalin), but is also a great historical film in its own right. But it would be his last, as he would have a break with Stalin... and then die. Did Eisenstein begin to become disillusioned with the Soviet Union following the release of this film?