- Ivan the Terrible (Part II) picks up where the previous film left off, with the eponymous tsar once again butting heads and finely-honed beards with the Boyars. Specifically, the plot is structured around Ivan's consolidation of power and his aunt's plot to assassinate Ivan and replace him with his idiotic cousin Vladimir. Various intrigues take place, and the truly memorable scenes are helpfully colored in bright bloody red, forming an immensely striking visual contrast with the rest of the series. Although the action is mostly restricted to the Russian court, the occasionally dull pacing of the first film is improved upon with the completely frenetic dance sequence and the exciting and suspenseful murder of Vladimir.
- For me, this is a more enjoyable film than the first offering, although I suppose that is in part because the early and late Ivans call out to be contrasted. Although we knew in advance that the story of Ivan the Terrible would eventually get ugly, I wonder how much of the film was intended by Eisenstein to be a protest of Stalin. Certainly that could be how Stalin interpreted it since the film got shelved until 1958, long after both parties were dead. As Sameer correctly notes, one is left wondering how insane Ivan the Terrible Part III would have been...
- The color film came from Germany.
- Although it is not commonly credited as such, surely this is amongst the earliest films to be a numbered sequel.
