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Russian Directors - Sergei Eisenstein

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Welcome to our foreign films page, featuring foreign movies in video and DVD format in languages from a host of countries. Note: unless stated otherwise, all videocassettes are in VHS and NTSC format, and all DVDs are for players that support Region 1 encoding (United States and Canada) and are in NTSC format. Check our DVD Compatibility FAQ for more information about region encoding, television formats, and other specifications. If you can't find what you need, please email us.

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Eisenstein: The Sound Years
Alexander Nevsky/Ivan the Terrible, Part 1/Ivan the Terrible, Part 2
Sergei Eisenstein
Three historic films by one of the central figures of cinema history are included in their entirety in this three-disc boxed set. Alexander Nevsky (1938, 108 mins.): With its magnificently realized battle sequences (including the famed "Battle on the Ice" climax) and Sergei Prokofiev's masterful score, this remains a classic of epic filmmaking, a true masterpiece from one of the most important filmmakers of all time. Ivan the Terrible, Part 1 (1944, 99 mins.): A landmark project in all respects and one of the boldest achievements of Russian cinema. In this first part of a remarkable dramatic account of the first Russian Czar, Viand Groszy faces treachery within his own family and fights ruthlessly to maintain his power. Prokofiev's stunning score adds to the grandeur of Eisenstein's vision. Ivan the Terrible, Part 2 (1946, 85 mins.) The second chapter details Ivan's revenge on the friends and allies who had denounced him. A timeless masterwork by one of the original architects of the narrative motion picture. "Obviously, in every frame, the work of a great, creative intelligence" (James Agee). All three films are restored, digitally remastered editions featuring new, unobtrusive and clear subtitles. In Russian with English subtitles. USSR, 1938-1958, 292 mins.
DVD | $99.95  


Russian Directors - Sergei Eisenstein


Alexander Nevsky
Sergei Eisenstein
The first sound film by one of the medium's greatest creative giants, Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky has profoundly influenced generations of directors from John Ford to George Lucas, particularly with its breathtaking battle scenes. Commissioned by Stalin in 1938 to create "a patriotic weapon" to stir Soviet sentiment against a threatened invasion by Germany, Eisenstein turned to the legend of the thirteenth-century Russian prince who defeated an army of marauding Teutonic knights during a titanic clash on the frozen Lake Peipus. A towering historical epic matched in passion and grandeur by Sergei Prokofiev's equally famous score, Alexander Nevsky has long outlived its original propagandistic purpose to become an acknowledged classic of the world cinema. Russian with English subtitles. USSR, 1938, 112 mins.
DVD | $44.95  

The Battleship Potemkin
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein's depiction of the mutiny of the crew of the Potemkin during the insurrection of 1905 is one of the essential works in film history. The bold imagery, stylized composition and powerful rhythmic editing combine to make it a film consistently voted one of the top ten movies of all time. Silent, with a brilliant music score by Dmitri Shostakovich. Digitally remastered. The videocassette is the 65-minute version, the DVD runs 74 minutes. USSR, 1925
DVD | $44.95  

Eisenstein: The Sound Years
Alexander Nevsky/Ivan the Terrible, Part 1/Ivan the Terrible, Part 2
Sergei Eisenstein
Three historic films by one of the central figures of cinema history are included in their entirety in this three-disc boxed set. Alexander Nevsky (1938, 108 mins.): With its magnificently realized battle sequences (including the famed "Battle on the Ice" climax) and Sergei Prokofiev's masterful score, this remains a classic of epic filmmaking, a true masterpiece from one of the most important filmmakers of all time. Ivan the Terrible, Part 1 (1944, 99 mins.): A landmark project in all respects and one of the boldest achievements of Russian cinema. In this first part of a remarkable dramatic account of the first Russian Czar, Viand Groszy faces treachery within his own family and fights ruthlessly to maintain his power. Prokofiev's stunning score adds to the grandeur of Eisenstein's vision. Ivan the Terrible, Part 2 (1946, 85 mins.) The second chapter details Ivan's revenge on the friends and allies who had denounced him. A timeless masterwork by one of the original architects of the narrative motion picture. "Obviously, in every frame, the work of a great, creative intelligence" (James Agee). All three films are restored, digitally remastered editions featuring new, unobtrusive and clear subtitles. In Russian with English subtitles. USSR, 1938-1958, 292 mins.
DVD | $99.95  

Ivan the Terrible, Part I
Sergei Eisenstein
The monumental final work of cinematic giant Sergei Eisenstein, Ivan the Terrible chronicles the life of Czar Ivan the IV, who unified Russia in the 16th century. In part one of this larger-than-life, meticulously detailed two-part epic, Ivan ruthlessly extends his empire by wresting power from a corrupt aristocracy and conquering neighboring enemies. Eisenstein's arresting imagery adds near-operatic grandeur to Ivan's lavish coronation, his destruction of the Tartar city of Kazan, his self-imposed abdication in response to court treachery and his return to the throne at the request of the common people --all set to a magnificent score by Prokofiev. Stalin himself loved this triumphant treatment of his personal favorite Czar. He was considerably less pleased with part two, which daringly implied criticism of Ivan's later abuses of power and struggles with his own conscience. Huge close-ups, rich decor and Prokofiev's choral music help make this film one of the great achievements of Russian cinema. Russian with English subtitles. USSR, 1944, 94 mins.
DVD | $44.95  

Ivan the Terrible, Part II
Sergei Eisenstein
The monumental final work of cinematic giant Sergei Eisenstein, Ivan the Terrible chronicles the life of Czar Ivan the IV, who unified Russia in the 16th century. In part two of this larger-than-life, lavishly detailed epic, Ivan returns to the throne after a self-imposed abdication to challenge the power of the Boyars, Russia's corrupt aristocracy. Darker and more psychologically revealing than the purely adulatory first installment, Ivan is portrayed as a lonely and indecisive leader until provoked to take drastic, dreadful action. Betrayed by his oldest friend and surrounded by murderous court intrigues, he ultimately resorts to summary executions to secure his throne. Ivan the Terrible Part One was celebrated for its implied vindication of Joseph Stalin and his oppressive regime, but part two dared to cast doubts. Condemned and banned by the Communist Party, it was not shown to the public until 1958, eight years after Stalin's death. Russian with English subtitles. USSR, 1946, 90 mins.
DVD | $44.95  

October: Ten Days That Shook the World
Sergei Eisenstein
Also known as October, Eisenstein's famous recreation of the October Revolution during which the Bolsheviks overthrew the Kerensky government. Like his previous work, the film continues Eisenstein's experimental methods. Silent. USSR, 1927, 95 mins.
DVD | $44.95  

Que Viva Mexico!
Sergei Eisenstein/Grigori Alexandrov
Eisenstein's long-lost diamond-in-the-rough, shot by the great Eduard Tisse, and financed by Upton Sinclair. Reconstructed in 1979 by Grigori Alexandrov, the last surviving member of Eisenstein's Mexican team, Que Viva Mexico is a silent film narrated in Russian and subtitled in English. It is divided into segments: a wedding, a bullfight, a fiesta, a dramatized abortive uprising by peons against feudal masters at the turn of the century. Anyone who has seen the lyrical, ravishing images of Eduard Tisse's Que Viva Mexico will revel in the priceless beauty of Eisenstein's incomplete master-work. The DVD also includes Eisenstein's first sound film, Romance Sentimentale (Eisenstein/Alexandrov, France, 1930, 20 mins.); an excerpt from the rare Misery and Fortune of a Woman (Eisenstein/Alexandrov/Tisse, USSR, 20 mins.); and a sampling of texts related to the production and release of Oue Via Mexico!. Russian with English subtitles. USSR, 1931/1979, 85 mins.
DVD | $44.95  

Sergei Eisenstein: Autobiography
Oleg Kovalov
A glimpse into the inner world of one of film's true geniuses, this documentary is the first screen version of Eisenstein's memoirs. With rare footage of the great director and recorded reminiscences, as well as clips from his masterpieces Battleship Potemkin, Ivan the Terrible and Alexander Nevsky, this feature offers insight into Eisenstein's life and work. English and Russian with English subtitles and narration. Russia, 1996, 86 mins.
DVD | $44.95  

Sergei Eisenstein: Mexican Fantasy
Oleg Kovalov
Filmmaker and film historian Oleg Kovalov, who previously made the fine documentary Sergei Eisenstein: An Autobiography, again turns his attention to the great Russian director who revolutionized film form. In this illuminating feature, Kovalov uses footage from the unfinished Mexican feature that Eisenstein began in 1930 to create a thoughtful and contemplative interpretation of the film that might have been. Eisenstein's abandoned Mexican footage has been released in various forms, most impressively in Que Viva Mexico, a 1979 reconstruction by Grigori Alexandrov, the last surviving member of Eisenstein's Mexican team. But, as Kovalov said, "Sergei Eisenstein: Mexican Fantasy does not attempt to reconstruct a film that was never made except in the filmmaker's head. It investigates the nature of incomplete films and attempts to touch on the secrets of a lost Atlantis...We want our audience to share the emotions evoked by this tragically unfinished, yet suggestively beautiful work." Russian with English subtitles. Russia, 1998, 100 mins.
DVD | $44.95  

Strike
Sergei Eisenstein
One of the most original debuts in film history, Strike is a brilliant mixture of agit-prop techniques and comic-grotesque stylization in the telling of a factory workers' strike in Czarist Russia in 1912 and the brutal suppression of the strike. A remarkable achievement from one of the central figures in the history of cinema. Silent, with music by the Alloy Orchestra. Digitally remastered from an archive 35mm print. The DVD includes audio commentary track by Russian cinema scholar Yuri Tsivian. USSR, 1925, 82 mins.
DVD | $44.95