Movie spotlight
Ivan The Terrible
Sergei Eisenstein's grand unfinished 1940s-50s film trilogy 'Ivan the Terrible' had elaborate incidental music by Sergei Prokofiev. In 1975 Yuri Grigorovich, for thirty years the chief choreographer of Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet, made a ballet on the same subject and used a conflation of Prokofiev's music from the film. It was quickly taken up by ballet companies the world over. This DVD is a film of a performance recorded live at the Opéra National de Paris in December 2003 and featuring three premier dancers of that company in the solo roles of Ivan, Anastasia and Kurbsky. The stage is filled at times with as many as eighty dancers as boyars, oprichniks (Ivan's personal police, assassins actually), maidens from whom Ivan picks his bride, and 'the Russian people.'
Insights
Plot Summary
This documentary delves into the life and reign of Ivan IV Vasilyevich, widely known as Ivan the Terrible, the first Tsar of Russia. It explores his complex personality, his early struggles for power, his expansionist policies, and the periods of extreme paranoia and brutality that characterized his rule.
Critical Reception
As a documentary, 'Ivan the Terrible' (2005) likely aimed to provide historical context and analysis of a pivotal figure in Russian history. Its reception would depend on its depth of research, the engaging presentation of facts, and the interpretation of Ivan's legacy by historians involved.
What Reviewers Say
Provides a historical overview of Ivan the Terrible's reign.
Examines the dual nature of his rule: consolidation of power versus tyrannical violence.
Offers insights into the formative years and later actions of Russia's first Tsar.
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Fun Fact
Ivan the Terrible was the first ruler in Russia to be officially crowned 'Tsar', a title derived from the Roman 'Caesar'.
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