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)

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:

Propaganda 1 Pro-communism/ Russia: the call for peasants to rise up and defeat the invaders; the involvement of a woman (Vasilisa) in the army and at the forefront of the struggle; the banishment of the moneyed men (the bourgeoisie) from the town as the peasants arrive; the forgiveness of the Russian people to the foot soldiers of the Teutonic knights (as these foot soldiers were forced to serve the knights).

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:

Vasili Buslai: [sulkily because Alexander has previously scolded him] Who will command the vanguard?
Alexandr Nevsky: You will! You ran all night, now by day you'll make a stand!

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Some remarks

Guys, before saying that Alexander Nevsky is a propaganda film, please keep in mind that it is about a Russian saint, prince and patriot and it was produced in the country which totally denied religion, patriotism and nobility. If you look more attentively you can notice that the Novgorod churches had no crosses on top. The full helmets Eisenshtein took from ancient manuscripts and followed the history precisely. The portable organ the monk plays was an exact copy of the real thing from the 13th century which crusaders used. The children auto-da-fe was taken from ancient chronicles (both Russian and German). But in addition it had religious meaning since it draws parallel with Herod's slaughter of the innocents (used later once again in Ivan The Terrible). Alexander Nevsky is a Russian historical saga which has everything in common with old Russian cultural and historical tradition but nothing (or very little) with the Soviet propaganda. The film definitely has allusions to the Stalin's time: free Novgorod republic fights for its freedom at the expense of prosperity, elected prince Alexander (leader but not czar) etc. But nevertheless I think that the French critic Robert Brasillach (he was very close to nazis) was right when he called Alexander Nevsky the slavic war carol which has nothing to do with bolshevism, communism etc.

But IMHO Serghey Eisenshtein was against the war and followed the tradition of War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy. The same plot with common people uniting to oppose the uppish professional army. If you remember the scene when Russian soldiers alike in color with the earth and trees butted into the German close formation they use axes the same way they did when chopping woods. No pride, honor or awards but every day job. I think it is an excellent film which is larger then our judgements.