IVAN THE TERRIBLE PARTS 1 & 2

A bit like bad opera; even when it's ridiculous, which it frequently is, Eisenstein's IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PARTS 1 and 2, is still magnificent. This is probably the most 'Russian' of Russian films, a visually stunning historical pageant, (and bugger the fact that historically it may be far from accurate), in part commissioned and applauded by Stalin, (Part One in which Ivan is seen as a hero leading the common people to victory), and in part condemned by Stalin, (Part Two in which Ivan is seen as a dictator willing to do anything to crush his enemies). You could call it a masterpiece of architecture and design; even the actors seem like props or puppets that Eisenstein simply moves around the screen like pieces on a giant chess-board. And yet as Ivan, Nikolai Cherkasov is the most magnificent prop of all. It's a great performance, as tragic as a Russian Lear. One other player almost reaches this level. As the Boyar Efrosinia, Ivan's aunt and greatest enemy Serafima Birman is like a more chilling and ancient Lady MacBeth. Part One appeared in 1944; Part Two was made 2 years later but was suppressed by Stalin and not released until after his death. Together they represent the kind of movie that once appeared regularly on all-time best films polls. It's unlikely they would do so today, this kind of grandstanding having long gone out of favour. A third part, to what would have been a trilogy, never materialised due to the director's early death.