Rent Alexander Nevsky (1938)
3.6 of 5 from 92 ratings
1h 48min
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- Synopsis:
An exceptional patriotic war movie that follows the story of prince Alaxander Nevsky from the apparent position of humble fisherman to a war hero leading his country in a successful campaign against invaders from Germany. It is 1242 and the story begins with Russia constantly being invaded by Mongol raiders, in their endless pursuit of land and treasure, when news comes of an impending attack by Teutonic knights. Some of the Russian hierarchy try, and succeed, in forming a non-aggression pact. These leaders are regarded as cowards and traitors by the people and Alexander is asked to lead the proletariat into battle against the new invaders. Alexander succeeds in inspiring the masses into mobilizing and arming themselves. The Teutons gain a number of victories including the capture of the city of Pskov and inflict many acts of barbarism on the people there. Alexander then leads the Russian people's army, which includes many young women, into battle where, contrary to conventional imagery, the white robes of the Teutons are associated with cruelty and death while heroism and patriotism is symbolised by the black robes of the Russian warriors. The vast armies are of epic proportions and Elisenstein uses the dramatic effects of wide flat lands and frozen lakes with huge areas of sky to enhance the amazing battle sequences. The decisive battle is fought in the spring on the frozen lake and after a long exchange, which is one of the greatest battle scenes in cinematic history, the Germans retreat and are thwarted by the ice breaking; the lake swallowing them up. The victorious Alexander is hailed as a hero on his return and the victors celebrate their success including the conclusion of a minor sub-plot featuring two soldiers who try to woo a young woman - who also turns out to be a warrior. - Actors:
- Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov, Dmitriy Orlov, Vasili Novikov, Nikolai Arsky, Varvara Massalitinova, Vera Ivashova, Aleksandra Danilova, Vladimir Yershov, Sergei Blinnikov, Ivan Lagutin, Lev Fenin, Naum Rogozhin
- Directors:
- Sergei M. Eisenstein, Dmitri Vasilyev
- Writers:
- Sergei M. Eisenstein, Pyotr Pavlenko
- Aka:
- Aleksandr Nevskiy
- Studio:
- Eureka
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- A Few More Screen Princes, A History of Soviet Silent Cinema, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Best Last Films: World Cinema, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1948, Top 10 Winter and Snow Films, Top Films
- Countries:
- Russia
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Reviews (1) of Alexander Nevsky
Classic Film Which Seems to Presage the German Invasion of USSR - Alexander Nevsky review by PV
Loved this. I watched it as my a Russian teacher recommended it to me, with reference to an army going through the ice as shown in Napoleon film recently and others (Napoleon did fire cannon at ice to deliberately do that). It is great - really.
At the 55 minutes to 1 hour mark, the music starts. By Prokofiev no less, which sounds JUST like the JAWS tense two-note soundtrack (which many claim is from Ravel's music). Brilliant, nicked by John Williams from somewhere anyway...
At this time, 1938, the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939 had not been made, so maybe Russia and Stalin feared German invasion - here we have 13th C Russ defending themselves against German invaders (Catholics wanting to merge with orthodox Christianity - worth looking at the BACKGROUDN extra to read before watching this). The German invaders have typical Nazi Wehrmacht helmets and a priest even has near-swastikas on his hat! Of course, one name in german for that sign is 'crooked cross' or 'hooked cross' It is a cross in a circle.
if you like old films then this is a classic. 4 stars.
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