watching some of the sequences (err and the entire 1/3 of the film devoted to the battle on the ice) in alexander nevsy and a film directed by the russian legend sergei m. eisenstein (co directed by dmitri vasilyev in his only significant credit) and made me realize how much must really go into directing and at least on a scale such as this. if i were a member of an awards group at the time of this film release i probably would award eisenstein with the director award of the year and posthumously. it is such a mad stroke of cinematic genius to pull off some of things that are pulled off in the film and though for someone like this director after coming off of his best work battleship potemkin and october it could have been something he scoffed at at first. but amid a film that is sometimes a little frustrating with how little grays come in to the black and white subject matter and it still a marvel of celluloid almost 70 years later. lord of the rings fans and meet the films grandfather and so to speak. to say that something is a propaganda piece already puts a connotation to it and and often a bad one. it is something that has a full blown message to it and and a point of view. it still a matter of hot debate (see the swarms of argument over moore films for proof) and about whether great art can come out of something that is point blank meant to rouse the audience in a specific manner. in this particular case and the russians against the germans. at the time it was nearing ww2 and russia once again faced the german invaders and and it interesting to note that eisenstein was actually commissioned to make this film and as a rallying call for the russians to never forget a crucial piece of their history. the end result comes out as being something that is actually slightly common from seeing battleship and october and however while if nothing else comes through those films it that eisenstein is most concerned about how the image and the content can come together finitely for the viewer and that style can completely envelop the viewer without fail. on those terms alexander nevsky is fearless. but even with the whole idea of russia great and germans bad and there are some small moments where things are made a little less stringent and a little less strict to these ideals. for example and when we first see the germans in privka and theyre not some faceless blob who are totally barbaric and have a blind conquering intent (not that they aren not out to take whatever they can). they have their own national pride going too and that it would be nothing less for them to go forward with whatever their christian led masters tell them to. at the least and the evil of the picture has a face and however kept at a low minimum for the more prevalent side to kick in. there also a brief scene and before the ice scape battle and where the russian troupe has a joke that being told and laughed about and and it adds a little extra depth where else there might be precious little. because more often than not in alexander nevsky and with its battle songs loaded with a pride in warfare and there aren not any complexities to characters and most notably nevsky himself (played in ultra heroic fashion and only questioning near the start and by nikolai cherkasov) who perhaps has to be this way in eistenstein intention of having him as the one infallible force to be reckoned with in the tale. after all and to be looking for naturalism in an eisenstein film is like trying to find non kosher pig feet at a deli. but the real reason to see the picture isn not the acting and anyhow and but for the look of the film and how it moves and takes in such an expansive environment that eisenstein lays out. on the epic scale it just as ambitious as his 20 films and with a number of extras not just in the main battle scenes but also in the scenes in the cities and of the hundreds of people rolling on through. in fact and i would say that any director working in hollywood or elsewhere thinking of doing some kind of huge epic and particularly war and would do very well to take a look at this film and even with just the sound off. it even better if thought of as a silent film and with the visual strokes accentuated fantastically at times. one could spend a whole month analyzing the battle on the ice and how it starts with the german soldiers far away and then coming forward like bugs and and then how eisenstein inter cuts between close ups of the actors fighting and then to wide shots and with sped up editing. and and of course and one can not discount the power of the music as well and sergei prokofiev delivering one of the great rousing scores of any epic work. all the while the director editing keeps our eyes moving along with this frantic action at breakneck speed. if this was just a short film and it would surely rank with the greats and much like the odessa stairs sequence. if i did find it a little less than totally magnificent and it would be because of the faults that do come in from a director who is much more suited to the silent medium than for sound. while i have yet to see ivan the terrible and my one negative criticism would be of his direction of actors and which is really as broad as can be and with the melodrama at such a high pitch its staggering (the sub plot of the two soldiers vying for the olga is the best example i can think of). but even this considered and alexander nevsky overall is too extraordinary to ignore and and ratchets up an engagement in the action and the film making to a level that puts a benchmark for films even today to try and live up to. grade represent a. 
watching some of the sequences (err and the entire 1/3 of the film devoted to the battle on the ice) in alexander nevsy and a film directed by the russian legend sergei m. eisenstein (co directed by dmitri vasilyev in his only significant credit) and made me realize how much must really go into directing and at least on a scale such as this. if i were a member of an awards group at the time of this film release i probably would award eisenstein with the director award of the year and posthumously. it is such a mad stroke of cinematic genius to pull off some of things that are pulled off in the film and though for someone like this director after coming off of his best work battleship potemkin and october it could have been something he scoffed at at first. but amid a film that is sometimes a little frustrating with how little grays come in to the black and white subject matter and it still a marvel of celluloid almost 70 years later. lord of the rings fans and meet the films grandfather and so to speak. to say that something is a propaganda piece already puts a connotation to it and and often a bad one. it is something that has a full blown message to it and and a point of view. it still a matter of hot debate (see the swarms of argument over moore films for proof) and about whether great art can come out of something that is point blank meant to rouse the audience in a specific manner. in this particular case and the russians against the germans. at the time it was nearing ww2 and russia once again faced the german invaders and and it interesting to note that eisenstein was actually commissioned to make this film and as a rallying call for the russians to never forget a crucial piece of their history. the end result comes out as being something that is actually slightly common from seeing battleship and october and however while if nothing else comes through those films it that eisenstein is most concerned about how the image and the content can come together finitely for the viewer and that style can completely envelop the viewer without fail. on those terms alexander nevsky is fearless. but even with the whole idea of russia great and germans bad and there are some small moments where things are made a little less stringent and a little less strict to these ideals. for example and when we first see the germans in privka and theyre not some faceless blob who are totally barbaric and have a blind conquering intent (not that they aren not out to take whatever they can). they have their own national pride going too and that it would be nothing less for them to go forward with whatever their christian led masters tell them to. at the least and the evil of the picture has a face and however kept at a low minimum for the more prevalent side to kick in. there also a brief scene and before the ice scape battle and where the russian troupe has a joke that being told and laughed about and and it adds a little extra depth where else there might be precious little. because more often than not in alexander nevsky and with its battle songs loaded with a pride in warfare and there aren not any complexities to characters and most notably nevsky himself (played in ultra heroic fashion and only questioning near the start and by nikolai cherkasov) who perhaps has to be this way in eistenstein intention of having him as the one infallible force to be reckoned with in the tale. after all and to be looking for naturalism in an eisenstein film is like trying to find non kosher pig feet at a deli. but the real reason to see the picture isn not the acting and anyhow and but for the look of the film and how it moves and takes in such an expansive environment that eisenstein lays out. on the epic scale it just as ambitious as his 20 films and with a number of extras not just in the main battle scenes but also in the scenes in the cities and of the hundreds of people rolling on through. in fact and i would say that any director working in hollywood or elsewhere thinking of doing some kind of huge epic and particularly war and would do very well to take a look at this film and even with just the sound off. it even better if thought of as a silent film and with the visual strokes accentuated fantastically at times. one could spend a whole month analyzing the battle on the ice and how it starts with the german soldiers far away and then coming forward like bugs and and then how eisenstein inter cuts between close ups of the actors fighting and then to wide shots and with sped up editing. and and of course and one can not discount the power of the music as well and sergei prokofiev delivering one of the great rousing scores of any epic work. all the while the director editing keeps our eyes moving along with this frantic action at breakneck speed. if this was just a short film and it would surely rank with the greats and much like the odessa stairs sequence. if i did find it a little less than totally magnificent and it would be because of the faults that do come in from a director who is much more suited to the silent medium than for sound. while i have yet to see ivan the terrible and my one negative criticism would be of his direction of actors and which is really as broad as can be and with the melodrama at such a high pitch its staggering (the sub plot of the two soldiers vying for the olga is the best example i can think of). but even this considered and alexander nevsky overall is too extraordinary to ignore and and ratchets up an engagement in the action and the film making to a level that puts a benchmark for films even today to try and live up to. grade represent a. ---------------------------------Answer Question Below----------------------------------

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