"Alexander Nevsky" (1938)
steve
The intended humor in this film is the highlight for this viewer, with the
unintended humor a close second. Beyond that, I found this one hard to
figure as a "masterpiece of russian cinema". A watchable film, certainly,
but nothing special, IMO. Mrs steve bailed out early, BTW, for those
keeping score.
Overall the film seemed a bit stiff, with just a few moments of light
hearted humor. Normally I love a static camera (and the camera doesnt move
at all) but the cuts and editing left me very cold. Even though there was
an obvious continuity in the presentation, it still managed to feel choppy
and discontinuous. I know that's a bit obtuse, but what Im mean is that the
cuts and edits in a given scene (especially the villiage scene where two
guys vie clumsily for one girls attentions) seemed a bit random and
constantly dislocating. Still obtuse? Sorry. That's the best I can do.
The same guys mentioned above, and I believe that would be Vasili and
Gavrilo, provided the only real warmth and humor in the film. At one point,
Vasili eyes maid Olga. He takes a battle hatchet and executes a playful
flourish concluding with a gentle stroke of the cutting edge against his
mustache. A nice touch and an endearing bit of characterization. Later, in
battle, Vasili grabs a large club and starts gleefully braining german
bucketheads. And finally, in the last scene, god ol' Vas passes Olga to his
wounded buddy and goes instead for the chick in armour. Gotta like that
guy.
As for the serious moments, I recall only one shot where the faceless German
enemy actually looked ominous and threatening. That was a breif shot as the
Germans regrouped in tight ranks with shields and spears forming a barrier.
It was a ground level shot lasting only a few seconds. Other than that,
they came off as merely cold. Even shots of Germans tossing infants into a
fire pit conveyed little impact.
As for unintentional humor..well, that's probably not fair and a bit
childish of me. It was "bucketheads" vs. (hersheys) "kiss heads", evil
christians, and some quirky translations. One shot had me laughing but
unsure if the humor was intended. That would be a deceptive shot where,
after showing russians chopping downed germains with hatchets, we see one
russion weilding the weapon in close up only to see in a wider shot that he
was cutting a tent post and not a german. Was that supposed to be a joke on
the viewer? It gave me a laugh.
So there is is. I had fun with this one, but obviously didnt see the
masterpeice. What did I miss? Everything?
steve
--
"The accused will now make a bogus statement."
James Joyce
Feuillade
<snip>
> The intended humor in this film is the highlight for this viewer, with the
> unintended humor a close second. Beyond that, I found this one hard to
> figure as a "masterpiece of russian cinema". A watchable film, certainly,
> but nothing special, IMO.
<snip>
"Alexander Nevsky" is one of those films whose drawbacks are
immediately apparent but whose assets take a few repeat viewings to
sink in. It gets better the more times you see it.
Wait awhile and try it again.
Tom Moran
moviePig
steve wrote:
> Im guessing I'll catch some shit for this one, but here goes...
>
> The intended humor in this film is the highlight for this viewer, with the
> unintended humor a close second. Beyond that, I found this one hard to
> figure as a "masterpiece of russian cinema". A watchable film, certainly,
> but nothing special, IMO. Mrs steve bailed out early, BTW, for those
> keeping score.
>
> Overall the film seemed a bit stiff, ...
>
> [details, details]
>
> ... I had fun with this one, but obviously didnt see the
> masterpeice. What did I miss? Everything?
I watched NEVSKY many years ago, and am surprised to see now that it was
made in '38. I'd remembered it as from maybe a decade earlier... and
had judged it to be roughly as inaccessible-though-important as BIRTH OF
A NATION (which NEVSKY homages, apparently). I chalked up the
disconnect to the fact that music ages better than most film, and that
Prokofiev ages better most music. (The Nevsky suite still stops me in
my tracks.) But, due deference notwithstanding, anything described as a
"masterpiece of X cinema" is usually a hint to heat up the coffee and
not the popcorn...
--
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bearog
was, technologically, far behind hollywood.
but, if you see beyond the limitations at eisenstein's vision and
originality, it is a very great work.
for similar reasons, i would rate excalibur far higher than LOR movies.
boorman had far fewer means but his vision is greater. we know what he
was aiming at despite the limitations.
just imagine what eisenstein could have done with a hollywood budget
and production team? but, genius always has a way of shining thru
despite the handicaps.
take welles's 'macbeth' made on a shoestring budget. or chimes at
midnight made with a fraction of the budget for stuff like ben hur.
yet, welles's films are greater. there's less in terms of production
material but nothing was wasted of the available material which was
used for maximum impact.
necessity is the mother of invention, and maybe sometimes having less
is a blessing. it forces the artist to be ingenious.
alexander nevsky isn't much on storytelling or characterizations. but,
as a game of visual strategem, it's both grandly epic in the
traditional sense and bewilderingly modernistic.
it's especially interesting for the clash of two kinds of armies and
cultures. and in a way, it's a statement on two kinds of filmmaking as
well. the teutonic knights are tightly disciplined, geometric in their
formations, mechanical, cold.
the russians are a messy and hotblooded mobs of humanity. they may not
be as well trained but their hearts beat with the warmth of humanity.
and, in a way, eisenstein was both teutonist and russian in his
filmmaking style. he was a genius who could read and form images like
it was a math exam. but, he also believed in the fervor of the
revolution, of the energy of the masses, in the stinking but virile
stew of russian culture.
it's like someone who mastered/blended two contradictory styles of,
say, griffith and riefenstahl. and, nevsky works on both levels. you
can admire it as an architectural blueprint for filmmaking as well as a
rousing crazy action spectacle where anything goes. it's both
formalistic and spontaneous.
he was also jewish and jews are both cerebral and crazy. if the
teutonic ideal of the scientist is being respectable and serious, the
jewish ideal is not only being highly intellectual but wild and crazy
and upsetting everyone with new and bold idears.
and with alexander nevsky, eisenstein the jew played the artistic
referee/comic between the drunken warmblooded mob antics of the slavs
and the disciplined, tightly organized, and coldblooded ruthlessness of
the germanics.
russians are one-dimensional in their warm sloppiness. germans are
one-dimensional in their cold-blooded mechanicalness. but, the jew
juggles everything and everyone. eisenstein, in this sense, was the
fifth marx(ist) brother.
in a way, you are onto something when you say how funny it
is--intentionally and unintentionally. it is a sort of a comedy. a
comedy slyly lampooning the national styles of russians and germans.
and i think proko was onto it too. when the germans start running away,
the music becomes a kind of a farcical musicalish romp. it could almost
be the final moments of blazing saddles.
so, alex nevsky is at once a patriotic monument and a patriotic joke.
stalin loved it so he was elmer fudd to eisenstein the bugs bunny.
David Oberman
>I watched NEVSKY many years ago, and am surprised to see now that it was
>made in '38. I'd remembered it as from maybe a decade earlier... and
>had judged it to be roughly as inaccessible-though-important as BIRTH OF
>A NATION (which NEVSKY homages, apparently).
Griffith's scenes of the rescue on the ice in "Way Down East" also
possibly influenced Eisenstein in "Nevsky."
moviePig
David Oberman wrote:
You're right. I misunderremembered...
John Harkness
Gosh, you think?
John Harkness
David Oberman
>>Griffith's scenes of the rescue on the ice in "Way Down East" also
>>possibly influenced Eisenstein in "Nevsky."
>
>Gosh, you think?
That's what Andy told me back at Columbia!
Bill Anderson
>
> I had fun with this one, but obviously didnt see the
> masterpeice. What did I miss? Everything?
>
The cinematography? The music? Did I mention the cinematography? And
the music?
In the summer of 2001 I saw it at Wolf Trap (a National Park devoted to
the arts just outside Washington, DC). It was projected on a big screen
in an outdoor amphitheater before a very large, very appreciative
audience. Somehow the soundtrack had been separated so that the
dialogue remained, but all Prokofiev's music had been removed. THAT was
provided live by the National Symphony Orchestra and a large chorus,
both of which did an outstanding job. They projected a beautiful print,
the story was compelling, and I had no problem putting aside my
knowledge of the film's use as propaganda. The movie is gorgeous --
virtually every image that rolls past the projector lens is a work of
art. I found the film moving and hugely entertaining -- just a glorious
experience. I believe "Alexander Nevsky" is one of the most beautiful
films ever put on celluloid, rivalled by only a few for its stunning
visuals. (Days of Heaven and Barry Lyndon come immediately to mind.)
And then there's the music. Yeah, I think you missed something.
--
Bill Anderson
I am the Mighty Favog
steve
<billand...@yahoo.com> blindly formulated
the following incoherence:
> > I had fun with this one, but obviously didnt see the
> > masterpeice. What did I miss? Everything?
> >
>
> The cinematography? The music? Did I mention the cinematography? And
> the music?
Hi Bill.
Actually I meant to mention the music, so no miss there. But I sure didnt
see what you saw.
> In the summer of 2001 I saw it at Wolf Trap (a National Park devoted to
> the arts just outside Washington, DC). It was projected on a big screen
> in an outdoor amphitheater before a very large, very appreciative
> audience. Somehow the soundtrack had been separated so that the
> dialogue remained, but all Prokofiev's music had been removed. THAT was
> provided live by the National Symphony Orchestra and a large chorus,
> both of which did an outstanding job.
Sounds cool.
Your Pal Brian
> The main reason I wanted to see it was Prokofieff's score.
> The '38 soundtrack creaks but the 1967 Melodiya LP was the most
> stirring music I'd heard up to that time (the '67 is IT for that work)
A few years ago, RCA put out a restoration of this Masterpiece Of Russian
Cinema (hear that, steve?) with a newly recorded score spliced in. The
St. Petersburg Philharmonic under Yuri Temirkanov. Some of the
transitions from new music to old dialogue are a bit jarring, but on the
whole it succeeds in pepping it up quite a bit.
You can snag it used here:
Brian
Your Pal Brian
> David Oberman wrote:
>
> > moviePig <pwal...@moviepig.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>I watched NEVSKY many years ago, and am surprised to see now that it was
> >>made in '38. I'd remembered it as from maybe a decade earlier... and
> >>had judged it to be roughly as inaccessible-though-important as BIRTH OF
> >>A NATION (which NEVSKY homages, apparently).
> >
> >
> > Griffith's scenes of the rescue on the ice in "Way Down East" also
> > possibly influenced Eisenstein in "Nevsky."
>
> You're right. I misunderremembered...
You remembered right. The design of the Germans was based on the design of
the Klansmen.
(Raoul Walsh also borrowed them for the end of Thief of Bagdad, 1925.)
Brian
David Matthews
"Your Pal Brian" <brian...@iFreedom.com> wrote in message
news:43FBD13C...@iFreedom.com...
I saw a documentary on Laurence Olivier some time back and he mentioned that
a sequence in an Eisenstein film was the inspiration for the famous charge
of the French Knight's scene in his "Henry V". I forgotten the film he
mentioned. Would it have been "Alexander Nevsky"?
Dave in Toronto
Your Pal Brian
> I saw a documentary on Laurence Olivier some time back and he mentioned that
> a sequence in an Eisenstein film was the inspiration for the famous charge
> of the French Knight's scene in his "Henry V". I forgotten the film he
> mentioned. Would it have been "Alexander Nevsky"?
Yeah, probably the Germans charging across the ice, which Eisenstein shows in
long shot from the Russian's POV. Olivier did a variation on the theme by
tracking along beside the charge.
Brian
David Matthews
"Your Pal Brian" <brian...@iFreedom.com> wrote in message
A very effective scene.
Most of those French knights were actually Irish steeplechase jockeys by the
way.
Dave in Toronto
G.M. Watson
----------
In article <6cqdnXXUp7eRN2be...@rcn.net>, Bill Anderson
<billand...@yahoo.com> wrote:
I agree completely. "Nevsky" may be creaky and stagey at times, but I
couldn't care less; I've loved it unreservedly since I first saw it more
than 30 years ago. Nikolai Cherkasov, one of the Soviet Union's greatest
stage actors, gives a larger-than-life performance in the eponymous role (a
dry run for his astonishing portrayal of Ivan the Terrible for Eisenstein a
few years later), Prokofiev's score is absolutely breathtaking both in the
context of the film and as a stand-alone work.The famous "galloping" music
and chorus ("Victory to the arms of the cross-bearers! Let the foe perish!")
accompanying the charge of the Teutonic knights (what a stunning visual,
indeed) is among the most stirring I know of, and if somebody'd been smart
enough to hire me instead of that bozo Peter Jackson to direct the LOTR
movies, I would have shamelessly stolen it and used it to accompany the
charge of the Rohirrim in ROTK-- a little fantasy I've had since long before
the Jackson atrocities were ever thought of. (Ironically, I don't like one
bit the cartoonish music that follows immediately after, accompanying the
fleeing of the Germans; it makes me think of Johnny Horton's "Battle of New
Orleans": "They ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles/And
they through the places where a rabbit couldn't go...".) Above all, there
are all those marvelous Eisenstein compositions. There are iconic images all
through this film I could happily frame and hang on a wall.
I'm not saying the film is flawless. It is, as I've said, deliberately
stagey, and all that profiling does slow things down at times. And I've
referred to the cartoony music accompanying the flight scenes. And the
film's unsubtle propaganda is bemusing at times. But I love it anyway.
Sadly, its reputation suffered for years through being available, both
theatrically and on video, only in terrible, washed-out prints with
subtitles that were so faded as to be impossible to read. (One of the first
videotapes I ever bought, in the early 80s, was a copy of "Nevsky" on the
old Film Classics label which proved to be all but unwatchable.) The biggest
problem is, perhaps, the crude quality of the sound, notably in the
recording quality of the score, which was reportedly beset by technical
problems arising from the crude recording equipment used. Pity, as it's
actually not a bad performance, but it's so audially constricted it sounds
at times like it was played by a kazoo ensemble. Great sound does not
automatically guarantee a great performance, however. I've somewhat
inadvertently accumulated about a dozen different recordings of the "Nevsky"
cantata, including a CD of the original soundtrack, and it's surprising how
difficult it seems to be to do the piece really well. The problems often
stem from tempos that are too slow in the upbeat passages. (For the record,
my favorite recording remains the one conducted by Andre Previn with the
London Philharmonic on the Angel label, back in the early 70s. Later, Previn
also recorded it with the L.A. Philharmonic on DGG, but the Angel
performance is, I think, better.)
Back in 1994 RCA released a laserdisc of a restored print of Nevsky, on
their classical Red Seal label, which had the original soundtrack replaced
by a new performance, carefully timed and synced to match exactly with the
film, by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and chorus under Yuri Temirkanov.
If I remember rightly there were a series of screenings of the film with
live orchestral accompaniment around that time, similar to the touring
version of Gance's "Napoleon" that was making the rounds in the early 80s,
and this release was an attempt, I think, to recreate those screenings. I've
heard negative comments about the Terminakov performance, but whatever its
drawbacks, personally I find it a wonderful experience to experience the
film with a well-recorded music track at long last. Unfortunately this
release of "Nevsky" seems to have dropped completely out of sight. I have no
idea if there's ever been a DVD release, but if there hasn't, there ought to
be. It may have been a flawed experiment, but at least its heart was in the
right place. For me, one of the disappointments of the Criterion release of
the film is that they seem to have made little attempt to restore it. The
soundtrack remains as thin as ever...
GMW