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Alexander Nevsky

1938 ‘Александр Невский’ Directed by Sergei Eisenstein, Dmitriy Vasilev

The mighty epic of 13th Century Russia...of the "Battle on the Ice" when the invading German hordes led by the Teutonic Knights were driven from the soil of Russia - forever.

When German knights invade Russia, Prince Alexander Nevsky must rally his people to resist the formidable force. After the Teutonic soldiers take over an eastern Russian city, Alexander stages his stand at Novgorod, where a major battle is fought on the ice of frozen Lake Chudskoe. While Alexander leads his outnumbered troops, two of their number, Vasili and Gavrilo, begin a contest of bravery to win the hand of a local maiden.

Nikolai Cherkasov Nikolai Okhlopkov Andrei Abrikosov Valentyna Ivashova Lev Fenin Sergei Blinnikov Nikolai Arsky Varvara Massalitinova

Alternative Titles

Aleksandr Nevskiy, Αλεξάντρ Νιέφσκι, Cavaleiros de Ferro, Alejandro Nevsky, Alexandre Nevski, La Guerra Ruso Germana, 알렉산더 네프스키, Alexander Newski, Aleksandr Nevskij, Jégmezők lovagja, Αλεξάντερ Νέβσκι, אלכסנדר נייבסקי, Alexandre Nevsky, Storm över Ryssland, 亚历山大·涅夫斯基, Aleksandır Nevskiy, Александър Невски, 알렉산더 네브스키, Aleksanteri Nevski, Aleksander Newski

Genres

War History Drama

Themes

War and historical adventure Epic history and literature Political drama, patriotism, and war Historical battles and epic heroism Military combat and heroic soldiers Nazis and World War II Fantasy adventure, heroism, and swordplay Show All…

Theatrical

24 Nov 1938

Russian Federation12+

26 Nov 1938

Greece12

25 Jul 1960

ItalyT

TV

10 May 2022

Italy

Greece

26 Nov 1938

Theatrical12

Italy

25 Jul 1960

TheatricalT

10 May 2022

TV Byoblu

Russian Federation

24 Nov 1938

Theatrical12+

109 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Sally Jane Black 10

"History shows that there are no invincible armies and never have been." - Stalin, 1941
When the Nazis rose to power, the Soviets knew what was coming. They reached out to Britain and France, asking for alliance. Fearing communism and liberation more than their allies in Nazi Germany, the bourgeois ruling class of these countries refused. Knowing the Nazis feared the Soviets, knowing the Soviets rightly suspected the Nazis would invade, would murder millions, would be somehow more dangerous even than the imperialist scum in the West, the imperialist scum proved themselves just as terrible and left the Soviets to face the Nazis. The Soviets made a non-aggression pact, just as France and Britain had, but for them, it was…
Review by PUNQ ★★★½ 2

Alexander Nevsky was a difficult movie to digest. This legendary Soviet propaganda movie didn't make all that much impression on first viewing, but it had something drawing me to it making me watch it a second time to see if there was something I missed the first time.

The main flaw is that it's characters are very sterile. It doesn't help that the Germans have the coolest helmets ever used in movies! Because the main attraction is that headgear! So I ended up rooting for the wrong team in the battle! And it's that colossal battle that is what this movie is all about. Countless faceless warriors fighting it out with swords, spears and axes. Definitely spectacular!

As far as…
Review by Neil Bahadur ★★★★½

Of Eisenstein's sound pictures, this is easily the least interesting of the three and a quarter which we have, and easily the most conventional: this lacks the thrill of watching political machinations as melodrama in Ivan Part I, the dialectical self-critique of Ivan Part II, and the emotional power of what remains of Behzin Meadow. So: it's the only of the Eisenstein pictures which remains interesting on a purely surface level - or formal. It's pretty clear from the beginning that this is little more than allegorical propaganda, but it's less Potemkin than what seems a Soviet attempt at something akin to Triumph of the Will. Yet Eisenstein is not rousing in the way that Riefenstahl deigns to be, nor…
Review by comrade_yui ★★★★★

every single cinematic depiction of medieval warfare is indebted to this film and to eisenstein, the way the central 30-minute battle is staged is the exact way that kurosawa, ridley scott, john milius and peter jackson would later do it, this symphony of swords clanging together, the barely-coherent clash of competing wills and classes and nations and religions and ideologies, the contradictions in humanity writ large for the most operatic spectacle -- eisenstein is one of the essential bedrocks of cinema, he simply is a giant unto himself, he created the worlds which so many have explored since then.
Review by kmeaston ★★★½

...and thankfully, the Russians never heard from the Germans again.
Review by Edgar Cochran ✝️ ★★★★★ 7

***One of the best 150 films I have ever seen.***
Eisenstein's most propagandist masterpiece, historically speaking, and first sound feature is an immortalized epic drama with well established objectives, transferring the ideologies of the proletariat to a more idealized, yet violent context. The final battle sequence remains as the most influential and breathtaking ever put to celluloid; Nikolai Cherkasov gives brilliant early signs of spiritual doom before becoming Ivan the Terrible. A flawless work of art from wherever one may see it.
100/100
Review by Neil Bahadur ★★★★★

This is as about elegantly made as movies get, which is sort of funny since it's like, about war
Review by {Todd} ★★★★ 1

"When the she-goat is in the yard, the billy peaks in" - Russian Dude,
Alright I'm convinced... Russia seems fucking awesome!
The film looks really cool, the costumes and music are fun and the story is compelling. I really love watching propaganda films from other cultures because it's so interesting to see what values get stressed and how social issues are framed. The ending is especially strong but the first half was a bit boring for my tastes and I had trouble connecting with the characters. Watching it I felt like I was engaging with it more for historical value than entertainment value but either way I was in fact engaging so that's a plus.
For fans of sexy German battle helmets.
Review by Two Cineasts ★★★

Film reviews in 22 sentences (or less)
Today: Alexander Nevsky
”The Germans would have been better advised to watch this film before "Unternehmen Barbarossa" and their invasion!“
(The Two Cineasts)
Hi everybody, superb cinematography and an excellent score bring the true story of Alexander Nevsky a Russian hero and key figure to mediaeval Russia to life in the typical propagandistic yet beautifully captured and captivating manner of Sergey Eisenstein. Once again, after Battleship Potemkin and before the two ”Ivan the Terrible“ epics, Eisenstein goes beyond the conventional methods and composes every shot so carefully that it could be a sublime picture.
The film takes the audience to a troubling time were Russia was threatened by not one but two enemies,…
Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★½

Russian Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev provides a wonderfully augmenting score to Alexander Nevsky, Sergei Eisenstein's historical drama that he co-wrote with screenwriter and war correspondent Pyotr Pavlenko. It fittingly enhances the dramatic narrative and truly uplifts the scenes' emotional impact, especially during the battle sequences. Eduard Tisse's cinematography is equally superb as the story accounts Teutonic soldiers commandeering the eastern Russian city of Pskov and Russian Prince Alexander (Nikolay Cherkasov) leading an outnumbered army to fight the Germanic invaders.
It's the first of Eisenstein's three sound films, preceded by the two-part and equally remarkable Ivan The Terrible movies, also starring Nikolay Cherkasov in the leading role as Ivan Vasilyevich. It's a well-assembled piece of filmmaking that devotes a great deal…
Review by Justin Peterson ★★★★½

Criterion Collection Spine #87
(Foreign language film)
A captivating medieval Russian war movie ... why didn't I watch this sooner?
"Go tell all in foreign lands that Russia lives! Those who come to us in peace will be welcome as a guest. But those who come to us sword in hand will die by the sword! On that Russia stands and forever will we stand!"
This is yet another case where I should not have put off watching a film so long, since I kept thinking I would not be in the mood to watch something so old fashion. Instead, Alexander Nevsky from the great Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein is presented in this dazzlingly vivid black and white photography, which…
Review by Neil Bahadur ★★★★★

Well somebody had to stop the Germans!

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Where to watch

Alexander Nevsky

Synopsis

The mighty epic of 13th Century Russia...of the "Battle on the Ice" when the invading German hordes led by the Teutonic Knights were driven from the soil of Russia - forever.

Cast

Directors

Writers

Editor

Cinematography

Camera Operator

Art Direction

Special Effects

Composer

Sound

Costume Design

Studio

Country

Language

Alternative Titles

Genres

Themes

Releases by Date

Theatrical

24 Nov 1938

26 Nov 1938

25 Jul 1960

TV

10 May 2022

Releases by Country

Greece

26 Nov 1938

Italy

25 Jul 1960

10 May 2022

Russian Federation

24 Nov 1938

Popular reviews

Where to watch

Alexander Nevsky

Synopsis

The mighty epic of 13th Century Russia...of the "Battle on the Ice" when the invading German hordes led by the Teutonic Knights were driven from the soil of Russia - forever.

Cast

Directors Directors

Writers Writers

Editor Editor

Cinematography Cinematography

Camera Operator Camera Operator

Art Direction Art Direction

Special Effects Special Effects

Composer Composer

Sound Sound

Costume Design Costume Design

Studio

Country

Language

Alternative Titles

Genres

Themes

Theatrical

24 Nov 1938

26 Nov 1938

25 Jul 1960

TV

10 May 2022

Greece

26 Nov 1938

Italy

25 Jul 1960

10 May 2022

Russian Federation

24 Nov 1938

Popular reviews

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Directors

Writers

Editor

Cinematography

Camera Operator

Art Direction

Special Effects

Composer

Sound

Costume Design