Ivan the Terrible, Part II

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Audience Member striking and well worth watching, Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review kelly g For some this film may be difficult to watch. Ivan the Terrible Part II was a sequel to Sergei Eisenstein's 1944 Soviet movie. Joseph Stalin had commissioned the film after hearing of Eisenstein's interest in making a biographical pic on Ivan, the Tsar who united the Russian people. Stalin was a big fan of Ivan. He loved Part I, however after watching the finished copy of the second film had it shelved. He was upset with Eisenstein's depiction of Ivan's descent into a paranoid despot. The film was finally released in 1958 10 years after Eisenstein's death. As someone who has devoted his life to studying history and read extensively on Ivan the Terrible in the past I found this movie interesting. It was hard to follow along at times reading the subtitles. It was also fascinating the symbolism that Eisentein used in the film. At one point he filmed it in colour, the first instance of a Soviet film to use colour, to show how Ivan transitioned to the tyrant he was. If you could imagine yourself enjoying a Russian speaking 1940s movie about a important international figure than indulge yourself. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. I saw this on Youtube and Kanopy. Epic and creative. Good music. The bringing in of color helped the contrast. However, it was long winded, overly dramatic with close ups and a confusing narrative at times. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review William L Even lacking the planned third installment, Ivan the Terrible still conveys a sense of impact. Eisenstein's visual prowess is on full display, while the narrative takes a turn for the Shakespearean; the limitations of the first component (the exaggerated, wide-eyed acting, which previous generations might have taken as a necessity for a dramatic epic) are still here, but the setpieces and camerawork make up for it in part. (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/12/20 Full Review Audience Member The second half of Ivan the Terrible’s story is a direct continuation from the first film. In fact, it’s like watching the Kill Bill volumes as two separate films when they were clearly meant to work together as one piece. Once again, I was intrigued by the story of Ivan’s reign and some of the personal and political struggles he had to endure as czar. This movie makes it clear that the divide between Ivan and the Boyars is deeply rooted and personal. I liked that they showed what motivates his dislike for the Boyars, and it didn’t take much to actually get me back onto Ivan’s side, even though it’s been more than a year since I saw the first film, and he’s not exactly a likable character. I followed the story in this chapter much easier than the first one, because it played out in a more traditional narrative flow. I felt that the political machinations of Ivan and his enemies all made sense, and I was interested in seeing what each side would do in response to the escalating political struggle. Ordinarily not knowing history is a detriment, but when you sit down to watch a movie about history, it’s kind of nice not being able to predict what will happen next. There also seems like there is something to be learned by Americans when we watch a film like this that has a vast political divide that should be surprisingly familiar to all of us. My biggest problem with Ivan the Terrible (both parts) is the pacing of the story. I do start to get bored at times waiting for the story to progress, or waiting for someone to make the next major move. There are times that it lingers too long on a scene and I start to think “Get on with it” which is never a good feeling. That being said, I think I liked this chapter of the story more. All the personal stuff got more intense, and the plot flowed in a way that I preferred. I also have the desire to revisit both films back-to-back sometime in the future and see how they rate for me as a whole, because I think this is a film that could grow on me. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/17/20 Full Review andrey k More grotesque and expressionistic, and, probably, more psychologically nuanced than the first part. For some this part may seem more hard to watch since it's heavy on symbolism and visual expression, it's more about the internal than external. Eisenstein clearly wanted to deviate from the style of the first part, giving more imaginative solutions in this part, including the surprising color sequence. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Ivan the Terrible, Part II

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