Sergei Eisenstein

Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Nevsky

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.

Film Info

  • Soviet Union
  • 1938
  • 112 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.33:1
  • Russian
  • Spine #87

Special Features

  • Audio essay by film scholar David Bordwell, author of The Cinema of Eisenstein
  • Russell Merritt’s multimedia essay on the Eisenstein-Prokofiev collaboration
  • 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

Available In

Collector's Set

Eisenstein: The Sound Years

Eisenstein: The Sound Years

DVD Box Set

3 Discs

$63.96

Out Of Print

Collector's Set

Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films

Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films

DVD Box Set

50 Discs

$650.00

Out Of Print

Special Features

  • Audio essay by film scholar David Bordwell, author of The Cinema of Eisenstein
  • Russell Merritt’s multimedia essay on the Eisenstein-Prokofiev collaboration
  • 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
Alexander Nevsky
Cast
Nikolai Cherkasov
Prince Alexander Nevsky
Nikolai Okhlopkov
Vasily Buslai
Andrei Abrikosov
Gavrilo Olexich
Dmitri Orlov
Ignat, Master Armorer
Vasili Novikov
Pavsha, Governor of Pskov
Nikolai Arsky
Domash Tverdislavich
Varvara Massalitinova
Amelfa Timofeevna, Mother of Buslai
Credits
Director
Sergei Eisenstein
with the collaboration of
Dmitri Vasilyev
Screenplay
Sergei Eisenstein
Screenplay
Pyotr Pavlenko
Cinematography
Eduard Tisse
Editing
Sergei Eisenstein
Editing
Esfir Tobak
Original music by
Sergei Prokofiev
Lyricist
Vladimir Lugovskoi
Production design
Isaac Shpinel
Production design
Nikolai Solovyov
Costume design
K. Yeliseev
Sound
Vladimir Popov
Sound
Boris Volsky

Current

Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky
Released in late 1938, Alexander Nevsky was not only the first sound film to be directed by Sergei Eisenstein, but the director’s political comeback as well. This most famous of Soviet artists had not completed a movie since The Old and the New in …

By J. Hoberman

Meg Baird’s Top 10
Meg Baird’s Top 10

Meg Baird is a founding member of the experimental folk collective Espers (Drag City). Her latest solo record, Don't Weigh Down the Light, is currently available through Drag City.