Ivan the Terrible, Part II1958
Both directed by Sergei Eisenstein, and both starring Mikhail Zharov, Nikolai Cherkasov and Serafima Birman
Ivan the Terrible, Part I
Иван Грозный
Soviet Union / Russian / 1944 / 1h 35m
- Criterion Collection
- Spine №88
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Synopsis
Navigating the deadly waters of Stalinist politics, Eisenstein was able to film two parts of his planned trilogy about the troubled sixteenth-century tsar who united Russia. Visually stunning and powerfully acted, IVAN THE TERRIBLE charts the rise to power and descent into terror of this veritable dictator. Though pleased with the first installment, Stalin detected the portrait in the second film, with its summary executions and secret police, and promptly banned it.
