- Ivan the Terrible (Part I) is a Stalin-era Russian film with remarkable visuals, outstanding music, and truly intense stares. Ivan's story begins with his coronation as czar and follows his struggles with illness, external invaders, untrustworthy friends, and of course the mischievous Boyars. The intentionally exaggerated characters resemble icons brought to life, complete with ostentatious costuming.
- The film is rarely in a hurry, and so allows the viewer to slowly soak in the elaborate settings, most notably the intricately designed Russian Court. The single exception to the slow pacing is the attack on Kazan. In this battle, a large army of soldiers employ realistic engines of war to lay siege (and dynamite) to a walled fortress. This scene was tremendously impressive and serves as a reminder that, for battle scenes, CGI is a poor substitute for the real thing.
- I gather that Stalin, himself no stranger to the domineering stare, must have approved of this version of Ivan the Terrible since a) Ivan is portrayed as a strong uniter who must resist attacks from all sides, b) it won something called the "Stalin Prize", and c) Eisenstein lived to make a sequel.
- The actor Nikolai Cherkasov (Ivan) also plays Alexander Nevsky.
