Ivan Groznyi (Motion picture)

Ivan the Terrible (Russian: Иван Грозный, romanized: Ivan Grozny) is a two-part Soviet historical drama film produced, written and directed by Sergei Eisenstein. The film chronicles the reign of 16th-century Russian Tsar Ivan IV (Nikolay Cherkasov) and details his formation of the oprichnina and conflict with the boyars (nobility), particularly with his aunt (Serafima Birman) and cousin (Pavel Kadochnikov). Lyudmila Tselikovskaya plays Ivan's wife Anastasia Romanovna, and Mikhail Zharov, Amvrosy Buchma and Mikhail Kuznetsov play members of the oprichnina. The musical score was composed by Sergei Prokofiev. The film was commissioned on behalf of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in January 1941. In Russian historiography, Ivan had generally been portrayed negatively; the film was intended to depict the tsar in a positive light and to draw parallels between Ivan and Stalin. Production was delayed by the German invasion and the subsequent Soviet entry into World War II in June. Principal photography eventually commenced in April 1943; the film was shot partly in black and white and partly in color. Most of the production was shot in black and white in the city of Alma-Ata; the color scenes were filmed in Moscow. Eisenstein had planned to finish both parts of the film by 1944, but delays meant only Part I and partial principal photography of Part II was completed by 1944. Part I was released in 1945 and received a Stalin Prize. Part II was completed in 1946, but was poorly received by Soviet authorities for its negative depiction of Ivan and banned that year; it was not released until 1958. Eisenstein intended Ivan the Terrible to be a three-part film, and had begun filming for Part III, but abandoned it after the ban of Part II. He died in 1948, leaving the project incomplete. Ivan the Terrible had a polarized reception, being both harshly criticized and highly praised within the Soviet Union as well as internationally. Its visuals and scope were praised, but other aspects such as the acting and plot had a more mixed reception. Over the decades, Ivan the Terrible has been re-evaluated as both one of Eisenstein's greatest works and one of the greatest films of the 20th century. It has also sparked debate for its treatment of Stalinism and depiction of Ivan as a Stalin-like figure, and has been the subject of academic study with regard to its portrayal of history, religion, gender, homoeroticism and power.