Ivan Groznyy II: Boyarsky zagovor (1958)

Directors:

Sergei M. Eisenstein
M. Filimonova

Writer:

Sergei M. Eisenstein (writer)

Release Date:

24 November 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | History

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Historical | Epic | Czar | Idiot | Power Struggle

Cast

Nikolai 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 (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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sergei Stolyarov	...	(uncredited)
Semyon Timoshenko	...	Kaspar von Oldenbock, Livonian ambassador (uncredited)

Directed by
Sergei M. Eisenstein
M. Filimonova		(collaborating director)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sergei M. Eisenstein		writer

Produced by
I. Bakar	....	administrative producer
A. Eidus	....	administrative producer
Sergei M. Eisenstein	....	producer
I. Soluyanov	....	administrative producer

Original Music by
Sergei Prokofiev

Cinematography by
Andrei Moskvin		(as A. Moskvin)
Eduard Tisse		(as E. Tisse)

Film Editing by
Eleonora Praksina		(1987 restoration project)
Esfir Tobak

Production Design by
Sergei M. Eisenstein
Iosif Shpinel		(as Isaak Shpinel)

Art Direction by
Iosif Shpinel		(as Isaak Shpinel)

Costume Design by
M. Safonova
Leonid Naumov		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Vasili Goryunov	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Valentina Kuznetsova	....	assistant director
F. Soluyanov	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Vladimir Bogdankevich	....	sound
Boris Volsky	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Viktor Dombrovsky	....	director of photography: second unit

Music Department
Viktor Babushkin	....	music recordist (1987 restoration project)
Emin Khachaturyan	....	conductor (1987 restoration project)
A. Lapisev	....	music editor (1987 restoration project)
Abram Stasevich	....	conductor

Other crew
V. Krivonoshenko	....	production administrator (1987 restoration project)

Production Companies

• Alma Ata Studio

Distributors

• Janus Films (1959) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Public Media (1999) (USA) (VHS) (restored version) (English subtitles)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2005) (USA) (TV)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)

Also Known As:

Boyarsky zagovor
Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot (USA) (literal English title)
Ivan the Terrible, Part Two (USA)
Ivane Mriskhane, natsili meore (Soviet Union: Georgian title)
The Boyars' Plot (USA) (informal English alternative title)

Runtime:

Canada:83 min (Ontario) | USA:88 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Company:

Alma Ata Studio

Trivia:

The film features two color sequences, Ivan eating dinner with feeble-minded Vladimir while the "oprichniki" dance and sing for them and a final shot of Ivan denouncing all enemies of Russia's indepedence and unity.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)

Brilliant

Ivan the Terrible Part II, the culmination of Eisenstein's career, is easily one of the most brilliant films of all time.

Nothing - repeat absolutely nothing - in this film is sub-par. The acting, especially the inhuman physical contortions of Nikolai Cherkasov as the Tsar himself, is uniformly excellent. As is to be expected from Eisenstein, the direction is perfect. Eisenstein's compositions create painterly tableaux that can be watched endlessly on pause (especially now that Criterion has issued both Ivans on DVD), allowing the audience to take in the full breadth of this man's genius. Additionally, unlike, for example, Alexander Nevsky or Strike, Ivan the Terrible Part II (and part I) benefits from a smoother pace and better editing, putting Eisenstein's theory of montage to its best use since Potemkin.

For me, however, what two key components of this film set it apart from its prequel and Eisenstein's earlier Potemkin and October.

Those components, as you can imagine, are its more pronounce political allegory and its color sequence towards the end.

Certainly October and Potemkin were highly politicized affairs, both celebrating the Communist victory in Russia. In Ivan the Terrible Part II (and to a lesser extent Part I), the audience bears witness to a moment of challenge wherein Eisenstein becomes critical of the course his country and its post-Lenin leaders have taken. As such, Ivan the Terrible becomes one of the bravest moments in film history and, for that alone, should be commended.

Brilliant as a political critique, the film also represents a dazzling demonstration of how color could be used in cinema. The colorized dance at the end of the film rivals and prefigures the technicolor explosion in Douglas Sirk's 1950s melodramas; furthermore, it reveals that color can be used to achieve specific effects. It does not have to mimic reality; rather it can be used artistically to enhance the mood and atmosphere of the film.

Taken as a whole, the two-part Ivan the Terrible is a masterpiece of Russian Cinema and should be required viewing for anyone with the slightest bit of interest in film. My preference lies with the second part, but both are fantastic moments in film history.