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EISENSTEIN: THE SOUND YEARS
complete 3-disc boxset

Criterion DVD Release Date: April 24, 2001

ABOUT THE BOXSET:
A biography of the first czar of Russia was the final movie project of the great Sergei Eisenstein's life. It would be his undoing, as Stalin was not pleased with part II of this epic. But Ivan the Terrible, Part I still stands as a magnificent, rich, and strange achievement. This is a "composed" film to make Hitchcock look slapdash; every frame is arranged with the eye of a painter or choreographer, the mise-en-sce`ne so deliberately artificial that even the actors' bodies become elements of style. (They complained about contorting themselves to fit Eisenstein's designs.)

If you don't believe movies can be art, this could be (and has been) dismissed as ludicrous. But Eisenstein's command of light and shadow becomes its own justification, as the fascinating court intrigue plays out in a series of dynamic, eye-filling scenes. This is not a political theorist, but a director drunk on pure cinema.

Part II continues with the struggle for power and the use of secret police, a controversial segment that caused the film to be banned by Stalin in 1946 (the film was not released until 1958). The predominantly black-and-white film features a banquet dance sequence in color. Obviously the two parts must be viewed as a whole to be fully appreciated. Many film historians consider this period in Eisenstein's career less interesting than his silent period because of a sentimental return to archaic forms (characteristic of Soviet society in the '30s and '40s). Perhaps it was just part of his maturity.

Alexander Nevsky (1939), Eisenstein's landmark tale of Russia thwarting the German invasion of the 13th century, was wildly popular and quite intentional, given the prevailing Nazi geopolitical advancement and destruction at the time. It can still be viewed as a masterful use of imagery and music, with the Battle on the Ice sequence as the obvious highlight. Unfortunately, the rest of the film pales in comparison. A great score by Prokofiev was effectively integrated by the Russian filmmaker, but stands on its own merit as well.


CONTENTS:

3 feature films:

Alexander Nevsky (Sergei Eisenstein; 1938, 112 min.)
criterion.com/films/341

Ivan the Terrible, Part I (Sergei Eisenstein; 1944, 103 min.)
criterion.com/films/625

Ivan the Terrible, Part II (Sergei Eisenstein; 1958, 88 min.)
criterion.com/films/354

Format: NTSC
DVD Size: 7.04 + 7.59 + 6.29 GB - Exact Untouched Copy
Time (total): 292 minutes
Type: Black and White
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Sound (main features): Russian
Subtitles: optional English


DISC DETAILS
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DISC ONE
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ALEXANDER NEVSKY
imcriterion.com/films/341
1938, 112 min.
Eisenstein drew on history, Russian folk narratives, and the techniques of Walt Disney to create this broadly painted epic of Russian resilience. This story of Teutonic knights vanquished by Prince Alexander Nevsky's tactical brilliance resonated deeply with a Soviet Union concerned with the rise of Nazi Germany. Widely imitated?most notably by Laurence Olivier?s Battle of Agincourt re-creation for Henry V?the Battle on the Ice scene remains one of the most famous audio-visual experiments in film history, perfectly blending action with the rousing score of Sergei Prokofiev.

DISC FEATURES: 

# Gorgeous new digital transfer, with extensive image and sound restoration.
# Audio essay by film scholar David Bordwell, author of The Cinema of Eisenstein.
# Russell Merritt's multimedia essay on the Eisenstein-Prokofiev collaboration.
# A reconstruction of Eisenstein's unfinished film Bezhin Meadow by the Eisenstein Museum's Naum Kleiman, plus scholar Jay Leyda's photos and documents from the set.
# Drawings and production stills.
# Restoration demonstration.
# New English subtitle translation.

Groep: a.b.dvd.criterion
Poster: JimB