Demoted from a once impregnable iconic status (the British Film Institute tipped this film as sixth greatest back in ‘61; BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN/’25 long missing from its former spot in the SIGHT AND SOUND top-ten), Sergei Eisenstein is now a clip or two in a Film Class. (Usually that baby carriage rolling down the steps . . . or parody thereof.) Yet the films remain not only extraordinary, but available in much better condition than they were during his critical heyday. Very extreme at times, they're not perhaps for the faint of heart, but magnificent in their way. In this fabulist two part bio pic (Part Three never filmed; Part Two held back till Stalin & Eisenstein both safely buried), Ivan pulls Russia together to Tsar over, but can’t hold it or save his wife, going into retreat until the will of the people brings him back to Moscow. Part Two has him settling scores with enemies at court, growing terrible in revenge with realpolitik culling. But the main action is always erupting in the film’s style. (Just not enough to fool Stalin from spotting the allusions.) Style to make German Expressionism look tame. But you adjust since Eisenstein exerts such control on every element: unified acting (crazy, but unified), image & sound (with his second Sergei Prokofiev score), and the most extraordinary murals ever painted for the movies. (Andrei Tarkovsky would blush.) The last act also features some amazing color sequences (again shades of Tarkovsky) with actors bent like preying mantises . . . or pretzels. Little in film so outré yet so enjoyable. (Criterion’s 2001 edition still looks good with a small reduction in your contrast setting.)
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Best Eisenstein entry point is probably ALEXANDER NEVSKY/’38, a patriotic Call-To-Arms historical shot as Nazi German was busy arming for war. (Problematic once Stalin & Hitler signed a Non-Aggression Pact. Eisenstein just couldn’t get a break.) https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2010/07/alexander-nevsky-1938.html For silent Eisenstein, go for STRIKE/’25 rather than POTEMKIN. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2016/08/stachka-strike-1924.html
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