Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938)

Directors:

Sergei M. Eisenstein
Dmitri Vasilyev

Writers:

Sergei M. Eisenstein (writer)
Pyotr Pavlenko (writer)

Release Date:

22 March 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Plot:

The story of how a great Russian prince led a ragtag army to battle an invading force of Teutonic Knights.

Plot Keywords:

Knight | Prince | Battle | Russia | Invasion

Cast

Nikolai Cherkasov	...	Aleksandr Nevsky (as N. Cherkasov)
Nikolai Okhlopkov	...	Vasili Buslai (as N. Okhlopkov)
Andrei Abrikosov	...	Gavrilo Oleksich (as A. Abrikosov)
Dmitri Orlov	...	Ignat - the Master Armorer (as D. Orlov)
Vasili Novikov	...	Pavsha - Governor of Pskov (as V. Novikov)
Nikolai Arsky	...	Domash Tverdislavich - a Novgorod Boyar (as N. Arsky)
Varvara Massalitinova	...	Amelfa Timoferevna - Buslai's Mother (as V. Massalitova)
Vera Ivashova	...	Olga Danilovna - a Maid of Novgorod (as V. Ivashova)
Aleksandra Danilova	...	Vasilisa - a Maid of Pskov (as A. Danilova)
Vladimir Yershov	...	Von Balk - Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (as V. Yershov)
Sergei Blinnikov	...	Tverdilo - Traitorous Mayor of Pskov (as S. Blinnikov)
Ivan Lagutin	...	Anani - a Monk (as I. Lagutin)
Lev Fenin	...	The Archbishop (as L. Fenin)
Naum Rogozhin	...	The Black-Hooded Monk (as N. Rogozhin)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nikolai Aparin	...	Mikhalka (uncredited)
A. Gulkovski	...	Teutonic Knight (uncredited)
Leonid Iudov	...	Savka (uncredited)
Ivan Klyukvin	...	Pskov Warrior (uncredited)
Lyan-Kun	...	Hubilay (uncredited)
Fyodor Odinokov	...	(uncredited)
Pavel Pashkov	...	Mikula (uncredited)
Nikolai Vitovtov	...	Teutonic Knight (uncredited)

Directed by
Sergei M. Eisenstein		(as S. Eisenstein)
Dmitri Vasilyev		(as D. Vasilyev)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sergei M. Eisenstein		writer (as S. Eisenstein)
Pyotr Pavlenko		writer (as P. Pavlenko)

Original Music by
Sergei Prokofiev		(as S. Prokofiev)

Cinematography by
Eduard Tisse		(as E. Tisse)

Film Editing by
Sergei M. Eisenstein		(uncredited)
Esfir Tobak		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Iosif Shpinel

Art Direction by
Sergei M. Eisenstein		(uncredited)
Nikolai Solovyov		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Sergei M. Eisenstein		(uncredited)
Konstantin Yeliseyev		(uncredited)

Production Management
Igor Vakar	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Valentina Kuznetsova	....	assistant director
Boris Ivanov	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Nikolai Maslov	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
A. Artsikhovsky	....	artistic consultant

Sound Department
Vladimir Bogdankevich	....	sound engineer (as V. Bogdankevich)
Neil Cedar	....	foley recordist: 1990 revision
Tony Faulkner	....	sound recordist (1990 revision)
Ken Hahn	....	sound re-recording mixer: 1990 revision
Valeri Popov	....	sound
Boris Volsky	....	sound
Rick Wessler	....	foley artist: 1990 revision

Special Effects by
L. Posorov	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
A. Astafyev	....	assistant camera
Nikolai Bolshakov	....	assistant camera
Sergei Uralov	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
N. Lamarov	....	costume maker
N. Makarov	....	costume maker

Music Department
William David Brohn	....	orchestra director, 1990 revision
Vladimir Lugovskoi	....	lyricist
Yuri Temirkanov	....	conductor (1995 digital re-recording) (as Yu. Temirkanov)

Other crew
Sonya Friedman	....	english subtitler, 1990 revision
K. Kalmykov	....	military consultant
Julian Leigh	....	subtitler (1938 US release)
Elena S. Telesheva	....	actor direction consultant

Production Companies

• Mosfilm

Distributors

• Amkino Corporation (1939) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Panthéon Distribution (1950) (France) (theatrical)
• Artkino Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (new subtitles) (reissue)
• Janus Films (1970) (USA) (theatrical) (new subtitles) (reissue)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Moskwood Media (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Moskwood Media (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sovexportfilm (19??) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Empresa Hispanoamericana de Video (EHV) (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Top1Video (19??) (USA) (VHS) (Russian language only)

Also Known As:

Александр Невский (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Aleqsandre Neveli (Soviet Union: Georgian title)
Alexander Nevsky (USA)
Aleksander Newski (Poland) [pl]
Aleksanteri Nevski (Finland) [fi]
Alessandro Nevsky (Italy) [it]
Alexander Nevsky (Argentina) [es]
Alexander Newski (Germany) [de]
Alexandre Nevski (France) [fr]
Alexandros Nevsky (Greece) (reissue title) [el]
O leon tou Neva (Greece) [el]
Storm över Ryssland (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

112 min | France:90 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Mosfilm

Trivia:

Joseph Stalin wanted this film to be a propaganda tool to warn Soviet citizens to be wary of German aggression. However, it was rejected at first due to it being "too anti-German", as it came out shortly before the Soviet-German non-aggression pact of 1939 was Stalin reportedly demanded that it be shown in every Soviet movie theater as a rallying cry against the invasion.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The cross displayed on the shields borne by the Teutonic knights is different in shape and colour to the actual one on their coat of arms.

Quotes:

Gavrilo Oleksich: [to Ignat] Vasily's thinking of marriage.
Ignat - the Master Armorer: The nanny goat's in the yard and the billy goat wants in!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

I kinda want to beat up some Germans right now...

When I first saw this film around 6 months ago, I considered it interesting, but little more. But it stuck with me. That interest grew and grew, and I wondered whether my initial boredom and response had more to do with the actual VHS quality rather than the film itself. I purchased the Criterion DVD box set, and it turns out that I was right the second time. Alexander Nevsky is a great film. It is rousing, and I'm sure it succeeded in its main aim: propaganda against the Germans.

That is the most common criticism against this film, and against Eisenstein, that it is merely propagandist and nothing else. It's untrue. He is an amazing film artist, one of the most important whoever lived. By now, the world is far enough beyond Joseph Stalin to be able to watch Eisenstein's films as art.