Alexander Nevsky

Starring: Nikolai Cherkasov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov, Dmitriy Orlov
Directed by: Sergei M. Eisenstein, Dmitri Vasilyev
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Action, Drama, War
1938

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Alexander Nevksy (Nikolai Cherkasov) leads a Russian army against German invaders in the 13th century.

Review:

Tim: I am typically not a big fan of propaganda movies. I think that while movies can inform, incite, and inspire, the primary object should be to entertain. Everything else is secondary- important, critical, but secondary. This movie is at its core a story about the heart and the will of the Russian people. That is fine, but it also needs to be entertaining. I think it falls just short of that mark. It definitely contains some rich allegory about the Russian (or Soviet) people being able to defeat the invading Germans. This makes sense as invasion by the Germans was on the collective Soviet mindset in the 1930s.

In many ways, this film is definitely a landmark movie in Russian cinema history. It is one of the earliest sound movies, and definitely features some amazing, influential moments. The highlight of the entire movie is undoubtedly the 30 minute Battle of the Ice, one of the most intense, stunning, epic battle sequences ever filmed. I absolutely loved this extended sequence, and it is the chief reason for the cinematic importance of this movie. While this is the highlight, it also reveals a glaring defect- besides this amazing battle, the rest of the movie is only decent. The acting, drama, and plot are relatively weak before and after this amazing battle. This isn't the most engaging movie. I say that realizing that being an American, I might not appreciate or be as wowed by the story of a conquering Russian army as this film's primary demographic. Still, while featuring some very impressive scenes (and some of the greatest special effects and cinematography ever filmed up to that point), this movie still leaves something to be desired.

The cast is fine, but I wouldn't necessarily single anyone out as having a superb performance. The cast all work well, are believable in their roles, and I had no faults with them. There were a number of over-acting moments, but this was only a slight flaw. I do wish that Nikolai Cherkasov had been a bit more charismatic and heroic, and a bit less goofy and overconfident. Still, this is a slight flaw.

I have no doubt that Alexander Nevsky was incredibly impressive and emotional for Russian audiences in the late 1930s. While it is incredibly dated today, it still features some impressive, epic battle sequences. For the Battle of the Ice, this movie is a must-see. However, for the rest of the movie, we get a lackluster or purely decent film. These scenes hurt the movie. In the end, when you add up the somewhat boring, uninspiring moments with the amazing climactic battle, I would say that this is a good film, but it certainly could have been better. I would recommend this movie because of the lasting influence it has had on film. While I liked it, I certainly didn't love it. It was impressive, but not the most fun movie to watch.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Bezhin Iug, Ivan the Terrible, Battleship Potemkin, Audrei Rublev