Ivan the Terrible, Part I
This is the first installment of a three-part biopic of Czar Ivan Grozny that was never completed due to producer unhappiness with Eisenstein's attempts to use forbidden experimental filmmaking techniques and significant cost overruns. The second part was completed but not published for a decade following Eisenstein's death and a shift in the Soviet government's attitude toward his work; the third part was only in its early stages of production when filming was halted entirely. In this first installment, set early in Ivan's reign, he encounters betrayal from the aristocracy and even some of his closest friends as he attempts to unite the Russian people.
Released: 1945-01-20