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Select media
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Stills must not be reproduced, copied or downloaded in any way.
Film details
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Featuring
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Director
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Country
USSR
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Year
1945
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Genres
Biopic Historical drama
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Type
Film
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Category
Fiction
Alternative titles
- Ivan Grozni Original Russian
- IVAN GROZNII (I) Alternative
- IVAN GROZNII Alternative
- IVAN GROZNYI (I) Alternative
Introduction
“Overpowering in style, the movie resembles a gigantic Expressionist mural. The figures are like giant spiders and rodents: as in science fiction, some horrible mutation seems to have taken place.”
Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies
The first half of Sergei Eisenstein’s last film (originally planned as a trilogy) marked the summit of his creative process. It combines the graphic potency of his silent films with a highly stylized approach to performance that feels almost operatic at times, an impression enhanced by Sergei Prokofiev’s score. Each image is so crammed with symbolic layers that it demands several viewings to unpick their complexity.
The central scenario of the newly crowned Prince Ivan’s determination to assert his own will over conflicting and conspiring forces (often within his own court) comes across so forcefully that it’s easy to see why Stalin responded so warmly: Ivan’s cruelty – and, by extension, Stalin’s own – is shown as essential to ensure the nation’s future well-being.
Eisenstein would continue along a similar, albeit darker and more suggestive path in Ivan the Terrible Part II (1946), which found far less favour with Stalin.
Cast & Credits
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Cast
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Tsar Ivan IV, 'the Terrible'
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Tsarina Anastasia Romanovna
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Efrosinia Staritskaya, Ivan's aunt
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Vladimir Staritsky, Efrosinia's son
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Prince Andrei Kurbsky
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Prince Fyodor Kolychev, later Philip
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Pimen, Archbishop of Novgorod
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Peter Volynets, Pimen's acolyte
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Malyuta Skuratov
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Aleksei Basmanov
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Fyodor Basmanov, Aleksei's son
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Nikolai, a beggar simpleton
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archdeacon
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Kaspar von Oldenbock, Livonia ambassador
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foreigner
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Credits
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Direction:
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Director
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Assistant Director
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Assistant Director
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Assistant Director
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Assistant Director
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Assistant Director
Production:
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Production
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Production
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Production Manager
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Production Manager
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Production Manager
Writing:
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Screenplay
Photography:
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Director of Photography (Exteriors)
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Director of Photography (Interiors)
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Camera Operator
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Camera Assistant
Editing:
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Editor
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Assistant Editor
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Assistant Editor
Design:
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Art Director
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Based on sketches by
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Properties
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Construction Supervisor
Costumes:
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Costume Designer
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Based on sketches by
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Costume Assistant
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Costume Assistant
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Wardrobe
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Wardrobe
Make-up:
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Make-up
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Make-up Assistant
Music:
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Music
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Lyrics
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Music Director
Sound:
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Sound
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Sound
Subtitles:
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English Subtitles
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English Subtitles
Consultant:
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Religious and Historical Consultant
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The Greatest Films of All Time 2012
Voted for by 16 critics and 2 directors.