Aleksandr Nevskiy (Alexander Nevsky) poster & wallpaper
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Nikolai Cherkasov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov, Dmitri N. Orlov, V.K. Novikov ... see more see more... , Vladimir Yershov , N.N. Arski , Valeria O. Massalitinova , Valentina Ivasheva , Alexandra Danilova , Sergei Blinnikov , I.I. Lagutin , Lev Fenin , N.A. Rogozbbin

Like many of Eisenstein's best films, Alexander Nevsky was conceived as a morale-booster, aimed at stirring up Russian patriotism. It is set in the 13th century, but the villainous Teutonic Knights ar... read more read more...e obviously meant to represent the burgeoning threat of Hitler's hordes. With Russia besieged by both these knights and by the Tartars, only a charismatic leader can save the populace from these barbaric baby killers (yes, we see the villains tossing screaming infants into bonfires!) The hero of the piece is the legendary Prince Alexander Nevsky, portrayed by Nikolai Cherkasov, who bears a striking resemblance to Gary Cooper. The saving turnaround for Nevsky is the battle of ice-covered Lake Peipus in 1242. This bravura sequence is staged in spectacular fashion, underlined by the specially-commissioned music of Sergei Prokofiev. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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82% liked it

4,631 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

18 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: Dmitri Vasilyev, Sergei M. Eisenstein

Release Date: January 1, 1938

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DVD Release Date: November 3, 1998

Stats: 248 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (248)

  • StarCrossedVoyager
    February 13, 2011
    StarCrossedVoyager
    Totally unrelevant to today and simply boring to watch. I'm not doubting the genius of Sergei Eisenstein but I just couldn't watch.
  • tsigur
    September 5, 2007
    tsigur
    It's from 1938....and in Russian,,,,I LOVED IT!
  • DrStrangeblog
    January 11, 2009
    DrStrangeblog
    Sergei is all about the framing, comrade. One message is clear: the Russians *really* hated the Germans! Interesting piece of cinema history/propaganda as this came out on the brink of WW II recounting the heroics of Alexander of Russia as he repelled the German invaders of 124... read more2. The German helmets and armor designs are not far off from Orc garb, and one religious leader looks like Marty Feldman in "Young Frankenstein," cowled robe and all. The battle scenes are staggering in scope, using hundreds or maybe even a thousand people and horses. Unfortunately they drag on too long, as does the time spent on an uninteresting romantic triangle subplot.
  • jimbotender
    August 31, 2008
    jimbotender
    Illustrious portrait of a heroic Russian figure demented by a dutiful force in a spiritual defense.The film may display images of pious behavior but haste not,this is an epic drama and the people are who matter most,not ideologies.Magnificent score by Prokofiev.
  • JasonDennis91786
    July 17, 2010
    JasonDennis91786
    thought it would be a 5-star. but it's very low budget even for the time and there are some really bad battle scenes. there are a couple of amazing scenes, most notably the scene at pskov. you can tell eisenstein put together that scene and not the other director. this film, it s... read morehould be noted, differs very much from eisenstein's silents, especially potemkin. there is none of the fast-paced editing that defined that film. it is much more conventional.
  • placeinthesun455
    September 19, 2008
    placeinthesun455
    Eisenstein knew how to make a good movie--Battleship Potemkin was awesome. With Stalin overseeing production, however, the end product of this is a poorly-paced, lackluster, dreadfully-choreographed war film with tragically bad sound quality. while it had its brief moments of p... read moreoignancy, resonance, and even humour, most of it just fell disappointingly flat.
  • thrusz
    July 4, 2008
    thrusz
    Germany: History's Go-To Bad Guy

    Okay, that's not really all that true. This movie, you should know, is a piece of propaganda. A fantastic, amazing, unique piece of propaganda that is unique and will never hit these heights again, but propaganda nonetheless. Look at the ye... read morear it was made. 1938. Russia was going toe to toe with the Nazis at the time. Frankly, with the Russian casualties at the time, you really can't blame them for needing a pick-me-up movie. Well, this is their pick me up movie. This movie uses the glory days of Russia to really rile up the troops while brow-beating the hell out of anyone who wasn't on board. Frankly, it's pretty effective, although there are a few things that I would like to say about it.

    First, I'm going to address the movie straight on. This is Eisenstein's first sound film and his return to film in ten years. While I am wildly impressed with The Adventures of Robin Hood, you have to compare how epic and grandiose (and with purpose!) Alexander Nevsky is. This movie was made the same year as Robin Hood and almost puts that movie to shame. The other movie is clearly a studio film and has an unsurpassed budget, but this Russian propaganda piece has pretty much one of the most amazing war scenes ever done. The sheer amount of extras in this film is actually staggaring. There's just these long shots of people running and tripping over each other because there are so many. Now, I won't get into fight choreography because I don't think this movie would have been effective with a very polished fight choreography (they're peasants! Where would they have learned to parry?). But the sheer amount of people on screen was fantastic and mindblowing. Now, most people would have settled with the Cecil B. DeMille approach to the screen by just throwing bodies on screen, but the cinematography in this movie doesn't belong in 1930. First of all, I should address that this movie was filmed in the summer. No ice. The entire movie takes place on the arctic tundra. Okay, that scale just got a lot bigger, didn't it? Now add some of these shots. There's a few that I think really deserve some attention and respect because I was sitting there, jaw-dropped at how gorgeous the movie was. But there's this scene where the first army is attacking the German forces and the second army is standing back. We get this epic distant shot of a war in the distance contrasted with vast amount of nothingness. He must have had hundreds of actors fighting at full force only to have almost all detail ignored. I just thought, "the balls on that man!" Secondly, immediately after the battle, the women are looking for the wounded and gathering the dead. There are these torches across this long tundra. I don't know how Eisenstein got the weather to be that pitch black during the day, but the torches against that black sky is powerful. Most people would have waited until night, but he still gets the full light for the shot and manages to have the torches contrast against the blackness. I want a print of that in my room. (Right next to the poster of Lou Ferrigno telling me to have an incredible school year.)

    The propaganda was interesting. I'm used to seeing American and Canadian propaganda. (You think I'm kidding? Look through some of my reviews. You'll find a Canadian Air Force propaganda film.) Those movies are pretty straightforward and really obvious. It is almost more winking at the camera than most. This movie really is unique because it is a rallying cry and, despite not making a "Russian v. German 1938" film, they use another story. We don't really do that as much as we should. Sure, it still happens, but two worlds seemed to be colliding with Nevsky. Eisenstein made some really obvious choices in terms of what he did with costuming, characterization, and religion. Religion is the most interesting part to me. Christianity came to Russia (at least Ukraine, I'd have to do more research to verify the rest of Russia) in 991 AD. Yet, the Germans are seen as almost religious fantatics in this movie. Their garb is covered with the cross and they are followed by a mousey archbishop, who is helping the German soldiers fight dirty. (I'm referring to summoning the wall of soldiers.) On the archbishop's hat, the Vatican (I assume) keys have been rearranged to form a swastika. Also, the religious garb on the German knights make them seem demonic. This goes as far as to see the head prince of the German army with demonic horns clouding his face. When he is hanged, the helmet does not come off. Eisenstein was clearly demonizing his enemy at times and making them inhuman. Also, there is no denying the costume design on the soldiers mirroring Nazi footsoldiers. At one point, I thought I was watching a time-travel movie. It was amazing to see these choices and how obvious it is to see these things looking back seventy years.

    The one concern I had for the movie (and I know why he did it!) is the Lord of the Rings style end. Most of the movie is simply the battle. It is a really straightforward story. But there's this denounment that just keeps going and going. I feel like I have to step out of time and review this objectively because I know what he is doing. He is having the memorial for the fallen Russian soldiers and is trying to raise spirits for new men to fight, but since I don't have to fight in the Russian Army in 1938, it does less for me. He even goes so far as to have his titular character give this rousing speech about the cowardice of not fighting, which he mind as well have been looking in the camera at the time. We finally get to see a little bit of Christianity on the side of Russia in these final moments though. It had to be an intentional choice to distance themselves from religion. Remember, Russia was not only fighting the Germans at the time, but steeped in Communism. To deny the entire historical importance of the Church at the time would have rubbed the audience the wrong way, but I'm sure that Eisenstein was trying to keep the higher ups happy.

    This movie really is fantastic. To think that this is his first movie in ten years and his first non-silent movie is mindblowing. I love silent films and I love talkies, but I had that transition period of early talkies. Thsi movie doesn't have any of the concerns of that period and is really an epic in terms of scope. What's funny is that it really is a Russian epic that fits in the span of an hour-and-forty-seven minutes. I guess there's a first for everything.
  • gumnerf
    May 30, 2008
    gumnerf
    Much overrated in my opinion. It was filmed beautifully, but the battle sccenes are laughable, the backdrops wrinkled, the script weak, the story uneven and seemingly poorly edited and the acting overtheatrical for my taste.
  • flixsterbum
    January 20, 2008
    flixsterbum
    I was going to give this three stars as it's an entertaining and interesting film for its day, full of some great cinematography. But after reading a bit more on it, specifically that this was a veiled metaphor representing Russia's strength to withstand Hitler and his German sc... read moreourge, in that historical context it's an even more interesting film. There's a parallel here between this and "Triumph of the Will", in that both are propaganda pieces espousing the courage and unconquerable spirit of their respective peoples. Well worth a watch for its historical significance both in terms of the rise of the Third Reich and its place as a classic of Russian cinema.
  • LikeThe309
    July 9, 2007
    LikeThe309
    A piece of Soviet propaganda made to prepare the U.S.S.R. for war with Germany. Although the films battle sequences are ridiculously long, it has inspired many of today's movies and is one of the first epic battle movies. I personally thought this movies was boring, but from a ... read morehistorical standpoint, this film is a must see.

View All Aleksandr Nevskiy (Alexander Nevsky) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Sara Cardace
September 22, 2008
Sara Cardace, New York Magazine

Sergei Eisenstein's mannerist epic about the Russian hero who warded off the invading Teutonic knights is a near-perfect combination of image and sound. Full Review

Dave Kehr
April 9, 2005
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Edouard Tisse's superb photography and Prokofiev's stirring score contribute to a rhythm that is well-nigh irresistible. Full Review

Frank S. Nugent
May 20, 2003
Frank S. Nugent, New York Times

It is impossible... not to marvel at his stylistic insistence that all people walk along a sky-line, and not to wish, in the same breath, that more directors had his talent for doing great things so w... Full Review

Emanuel Levy
January 24, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Though made in 1938, Eisenstein historical epic, drawing parallels between the thirteenth centure and the late 1930s, is still one of the most rousing sepectacles ever made, rich in imagery and sound. Full Review

August 28, 2006
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Sergei Eisenstein's classic tale of 13th-century Russia is as magnificent today as it must have been in 1938. Full Review

Joshua Rothkopf
June 24, 2006
Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York

The movie is strident, yes, but when it soars, it can't be touched. Full Review

Eric Lurio
December 21, 2004
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette

Great film. The river battle is priceless.

Ken Hanke
April 24, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The true meaning of epic.

John A. Nesbit
May 15, 2001
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

...qualifies as unabashed propaganda, but it also ranks as a first rate film about war that holds up because of Eisenstein's film artistry Full Review

James Kendrick
May 12, 2001
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

a complete work of art that also functioned as a rallying cry for a burgeoning socialist nation under constant threat from fascism in the form of Nazi Germany Full Review

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