CONSENSUS #27. Alexander Nevsky (1938)

 

SYNOPSIS:  "Alexander Nevsky" is a Soviet film by the great Sergei Eisenstein that was made in anticipation of war with Nazi Germany.  It tells the tale of the Russian hero of the 13th Century.  Alexander was a nobleman who had fought the Mongols and was now called on to lead the people against the invading Teutonic Knights of Germany.  The movie is based on true events, but includes two romantic subplots for the ladies.  It culminates in one of the great battle scenes in war movie history - the battle on the frozen lake.

BACK-STORY:   It came thirteen years after Sergei Eisenstein’s other masterpiece “Battleship Potemkin”.  The film is most famous for two elements:  the battle on the ice and Sergei Prokofiev’s score.   Some scenes in the picture were cut to match the score.  The film was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1941 and Eisenstein (and the co-director) was given the Order of Lenin by Stalin.  Speaking of Stalin, he was shown a rough cut of the film and either did not like a scene showing a riot of the citizens of Novgorod or the reel was accidentally left behind so it was not vetted by the supreme ruler.  Either way, the reel was left out of the final cut.

TRIVIA:  Wikipedia, imdb

1.  It was Sergei Eisenstein’s first sound film.

2.  He chose to do a film on Nevsky because little was known about him so Eisenstein hoped to be able to structure the narrative the way he wanted.  He was not given the free rein that he had hoped for.  For this film he was kept on a short leash as the Soviet government wanted to make sure it got the propaganda product it commissioned.  Eisenstein was assigned a co-writer and co-director to look over his shoulder and make sure he did not get too creative.  The co-writer was probably a KGB agent.

3.  The iced lake scenes were filmed outside Moscow in the dead of summer.  The cinematographer went to remarkable lengths to create the lake setting.  The ice was actually asphalt and melted glass.  The fake ice rested on floating pontoons that could be deflated on cue.

4.  The film was removed from circulation after the Russo-German Non-Aggression Pact made the Soviet Union and Germany friends.  When Germany attacked, the movie was put back in every theater.

Belle and Blade  =  N/A

Brassey’s              =  5.0

Video Hound       =  3.1

War Movies         =  N/A

Military History  =  #5

Channel 4             =  #74

Film Site                =  no

101 War Movies  =  no

Rotten Tomatoes  =   no

 

HISTORICAL ACCURACY:  The movie is surprisingly accurate.  Of course, you have to factor in that Alexander is a legendary figure so we can’t be sure about all of the facts.  Alexander was born the son of a prince.  In 1236 the people of Novgorod asked the fifteen year old prince to defend them against the Swedes and the Germans.  He defeated the Swedes at the Battle of Neva in 1240.  From this triumph, he acquired the sobriquet “Nevsky”.  However, after the victory the boyars (nobles) forced him into exile.  This is the situation when the movie begins.

                The scene with the Mongols is an interpretation of Alexander’s relationship with the Golden Horde.  He has been accused of collaboration, but the movie is probably close in interpreting him as realizing that the other threats needed to be dealt with and the Mongols were not threatening Russian culture.  He felt paying tribute to the Mongols was the right choice among bad choices.  The movie does a fair job showing how Alexander was called back to Novgorod after the fall of Pskov to the Livonian Order of the Teutonic Knights.  The Novgorodians had a democratic custom called veche where the merchants and boyars would openly discuss a proposal such as bringing in a sixteen year old to rule them. 

                The Teutonic Knights were a German military order created in the Middle Ages.  It was formed to aid pilgrims going to the Holy Land and established hospitals in the Middle East.  The organization evolved into a military order.  When the Crusades ended in failure, they took their act to Europe to defend Catholicism.  Dressed in white robes with black crosses, they participated in crusades with a small c.  They fought in Prussia and became a major power there.  The Livonian Brothers of the Sword was created using the Teutonic model.  Its goal was spreading Catholicism to the Baltic states.  In 1237, it merged with the Teutonic Knights and became the Livonian Order.  Subsequently, their knights expanded eastward into Russia with the intention of conquering Novgorod.  They were led by a Grand Master as depicted in the film.

                The Germans did capture Pskov and the occupation was probably harsh, although baby burning may have been an exaggeration.  They were definitely religious and had all the trappings, but power, wealth, and territory were strong motives behind the invasion.  No doubt they evidenced the religious intolerance typical of that time period.  They certainly were intolerant of the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

                There is some dispute about what happened in the Battle of the Ice.  The battle (officially the Battle of Lake Preipus) was a confrontation as the Germans marched on Novgorod.  The tactic of Alexander was to lure the Knights into a frontal attack on his center.  He may have feigned retreat or more likely the cavalry attack pushed his center back.  At this point, Alexander assaulted the German flanks with his archers and when fresh Russian cavalry entered the battle, the Germans were routed.  They retreated across the iced-over lake and many drowned when the ice collapsed under them.  Some historians question the high casualty totals for the Germans and some even doubt that the famous ice cracking happened.  Alexander’s closing admonition that anyone who comes to Russia with a sword will die by the sword is a repeat of his famous quote.

OPINION:    This is an Eisenstein film so you can prepare to be wowed by his craft.    The movie pairs the genius of Eisenstein up with the genius of Prokofiev.  The score has been universally lauded.  To tell the truth, I found it to be a bit bizarre. 

                The acting is meh.  Cherkasov is a walking statue.  In fact, he resembles a statue of Alexander.  He spends much of the film with his hands on his hips a la Superman.  The best of the cast are the two females.  Vera Ivashova is a bit feisty as the love interest for Vasily and Gavrilo.  Aleksandra Danilova plays the tom-boyish Vasilisa well and either by purpose or lack of training, fights like a girl in the battle.

                “Alexander Nevsky” could not have been more propagandistic than if they had tried.  Oh wait, they did try!  And succeeded.  The  themes are not subtle.  Clerics in general and Catholics in particular take a beating.  The movie is not atheistic (Alexander even quotes Scripture at one point), but the Catholics are demonized to a cartoonish extent.  Speaking of demonization, even today’s current events challenged younger generation would have been able to figure out that the movie is about the Nazi threat.  It is obvious that the movie was made to warn the Russian people about the 1930s version of the Teutonic Knights. 

                In conclusion,  I know I will take some grief for this, but this movie is overrated.  I recognize that it is a masterpiece and a must see, but it does not hold up in comparison to modern classics.  If you are looking at a war film purely for quality, it disappointa.  The best way I can explain this conundrum is to look at the famous battle scene.  Eisenstein’s staging of the Battle of the Ice is very influential and has been copied by films like “Spartacus” and “Braveheart”.  The plain fact is that although “Alexander Nevsky” did it first, no one with a right mind can argue that it does it better than most (all?) of its modern imitators.  I despise “Braveheart”, but Mel Gibson’s battle scene is certainly more realistic and entertaining than Eisenstein’s.