Ivan the Terrible (film)
Encyclopedia
Ivan the Terrible is a two-part historical epic film
about Ivan IV of Russia
made by Russian director Sergei Eisenstein
. Part 1 was released in 1944 but Part 2 was not released until 1958 due to political censorship. The films were originally planned as part of a trilogy
, but Eisenstein died before filming of the third part could be finished
.
, with the German army approaching Moscow
, Eisenstein was one of many Moscow-based filmmakers who were evacuated to Almaty
, in the Kazakh SSR
. There, Eisenstein first considered the idea of making a film about Tsar Ivan IV, aka Ivan the Terrible, whom Joseph Stalin
admired, seeing him as the same kind of brilliant, decisive, successful leader that Stalin aspired to be.
's approval (and even a Stalin Prize).
The second film, Ivan The Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot, finished filming at Mosfilm
in 1946. However, it was not approved by the regime's censors, because it depicted state terrorism in an ambivalent way. The unshown film received heavy criticism from various state authorities. In the Khrushchev thaw
that followed the death of Stalin in 1953, state censorship of artistic works was gradually relaxed, and the film was finally released in 1958, 10 years after Eisenstein's death.
A third film, which began production in 1946, was halted when the decision was made not to release the second film. After Eisenstein's death in 1948, all footage from the film was confiscated, and it was rumored to have been destroyed (though several filmed scenes still exist today).
The score for the films
was composed by Sergei Prokofiev
.
The entire production was shot in Kazakhstan
at Mosfilm's substantial production facility in Almaty. Although most of the film was shot in black and white, one color sequence appears in the second part, making this one of the earliest color films made in the Soviet Union.
of all the Russias, amid grumbling from the boyars. Ivan makes a speech proclaiming his intent to unite and protect Russia against the foreign armies outside her borders and the enemies within - a reference to the boyars, who are already seen as discontented with his coronation. Shortly after, the scene changes to Ivan's wedding celebration in which he marries Anastasia Romanovna
. This causes him to lose the friendship of his two best friends, Prince Andrei Kurbsky and Fyodor Kolychev. The latter receives Ivan's permission to retire to a monastery, while Kurbsky attempts to resume his romance with the Tsarina, who repels his advances.
The marriage feast is interrupted by news of the burning of several boyar palaces, carried into the Tsar's palace by a mob of the common people who also complain that the Tsar is being led astray by the Tsarina's family (the Romanovs), the Glinskys and the Zakharins. Ivan calms the crowd, but is interrupted by envoys from the khanate of Kazan, who send him a ceremonial knife with the suggestion that he do himself a favor by using it to commit suicide. Ivan immediately proclaims that his kingdom is at war with Kazan.
The next scene shows the siege of Kazan, in which Ivan's army digs saps underneath the city and fills them with gunpowder. Kurbsky, nominally in command, is reprimanded by Ivan for senseless brutality (he ties Tartar
prisoners to palisades within earshot of the walls of Kazan and tells them to shout to the city to surrender; the defending archers immediately shoot the prisoners). The city of Kazan falls to the Russian army.
During his return from Kazan, Ivan falls seriously ill and is thought to be on his deathbed; Orthodox priests come to give him the last rites
before he dies. Ivan sends for his relatives and orders them to swear allegiance to his son, the infant Dmitri, reminding them of the need for a single ruler to keep Russia united. They demur, with Ivan's aunt, Efrosinia Staritska, openly urging the others to swear allegiance to her son, Vladimir, instead. Emotionally overwrought, Ivan collapses and is thought dead. The relatives, celebrating, all begin to swear allegiance to Vladimir, the "boyar tsar" they have hoped for; meanwhile, Kurbsky is uncertain of his own loyalty, trying to decide between the two sides. However, when the Tsarina says, "Do not bury a man before he is dead," Kurbsky realizes that Ivan is still alive, and hurriedly swears his allegiance to Ivan's infant son, Dmitri. He is sent, as a reward, to the western border of the kingdom to defend against the Livonians and Poles. At the same time, Ivan dispatches Alexei Basmanov, a commoner he sympathizes with, to the south to take care of the Crimean border.
The Tsarina now falls ill, and while Ivan is receiving bad news from all fronts, the boyars plot to kill her. Efrosinia comes into the palace with a cup of wine hidden in her robes, in which she has put poison. Just as the royal couple receive word that Kurbsky has defected to the Livonians, Efrosinia slips the cup of wine into the room and listens from behind a wall. The Tsarina has a convulsion and Ivan, looking around for a drink to calm her, takes the poisoned wine and gives it to her.
The scene changes to show the dead Tsarina lying in state in the cathedral, with Ivan mourning beside her bier. While a monk reads biblical verses over the body, Ivan questions his own justifications and ability to rule, wondering if his wife's death is God's punishment on him. However, he pulls himself out of it, and sends for Kolychev. At this point, Alexei Basmanov arrives, suggesting that Ivan surround himself with men he can trust - "iron men," the Oprichnina
- and offers his (rather startled) son, Fyodor, for service. Ivan accepts, and sets about recouping his losses. He abdicates and leaves Moscow, waiting until the people beg him to return, saying that he now rules with absolute power by the will of the people.
of Poland
, to whom Kurbsky swears allegiance. Sigismund promises to make Kurbsky ruler of Ivan's territories, once he exploits the tsar's absence by conquering them. The plan is foiled when an emissary announces that Ivan has returned to Moscow.
Ivan begins by reforming the land distribution: he takes the boyars' lands, then reinstalls them as managers, increasing his own power at their expense. His friend, Kolychev, arrives, now the monk Philip; after a heated debate, Philip agrees to become metropolitan
of Moscow, if Ivan gives him the right to intercede for condemned men. This is mutually agreed upon. But as soon as it is settled, Ivan, propelled by Malyuta, finds a way around this: he executes condemned men quickly, before Philip can use his right. In this way he has three of Philip's kinsmen executed.
Fyodor Basmanov, the first of the Oprichnina, helps Ivan figure out that the Tsarina was poisoned, and both suspect Efrosinia of poisoning the cup of wine. Ivan orders Fyodor not to say anything about it until he (Ivan) is certain beyond doubt of her guilt.
The boyars, close to desperation, plead their case to Philip and eventually win him over. He vows to block Ivan's abuse of power, and confronts him in the cathedral while a miracle play is being presented. As the argument heats up, Ivan, angry, proclaims that he will be exactly what the boyars call him - terrible - and has Philip seized. The boyars now decide that their only option is to assassinate Ivan, and the novice Pyotr is selected to wield the knife.
Ivan, now certain of Efrosinia's guilt, invites Vladimir to a banquet with the Oprichnina. Ivan gets Vladimir drunk while the Oprichnina sing and dance around them; Vladimir mentions that there is a plot to kill Ivan, and he (Vladimir) is to replace him as Tsar. Fyodor Basmanov notices the assassin leaving, and signals Ivan, who, pretending surprise at Vladimir's revelation, suggests Vladimir try being Tsar for a while, and has the Oprichnina bring throne, orb, scepter, crown and royal robes, and they all bow down to "Tsar Vladimir." Then Ivan tells Vladimir to lead them to the cathedral in prayer, as a Tsar should lead. Hesitantly, Vladimir does.
In the cathedral, the assassin runs up and stabs the mock Tsar, and is immediately seized by Fyodor and Malyuta. Ivan orders them to release Pyotr, and thanks him for killing the tsar's worst enemy. Efrosinia arrives, jubilant at the apparent death of Ivan, until she sees Ivan alive; rolling the corpse over, she realizes it is her own son. Ivan sentences her and then relaxes, proclaiming that all his enemies within Moscow are vanquished and he can turn to those outside.
Efrosinia Staritska (Serafima Birman) - Ivan's aunt Efrosinia, usually dressed in black, is the chief villain of the piece, willing to do anything to get her son Vladimir on the throne. She is adamantly traditionalist and hates the Tsarina, relentlessly pushing the other boyars to oppose Ivan in any way they can, and is instrumental in the assassination plot against him. She also foments discord between Ivan and Kurbsky, saying that Ivan plots to kill Kurbsky in the future.
Vladimir Staritsky (Pavel Kadochnikov
) - Vladimir, Efrosinia's retarded
son, is the main challenger to Ivan as tsar. He is Ivan's cousin but has none of his intelligence, forcefulness, or drive, and is content to drink and listen to his mother sing.
Malyuta Skuratov (Mikhail Zharov
) - Malyuta, Ivan's aide, is shown as one of his secret police. He is the one who suggests executing condemned men quickly to circumvent Philip's attempts at intercession, and is portrayed as sneaky, ruthless, and something of a sycophant
.
Alexei Basmanov (Amvrosi Buchma) - The elder Basmanov is a commoner, a self-described hater of the boyars and a great opportunist. He rises to power, commanding armies in the Crimea, and becoming one of Ivan's trusted lieutenants.
Fyodor Basmanov (Mikhail Kuznetsov) - Alexei Basmanov's only son, Fyodor is, at the beginning, awed by the Tsar and the myth around him; his personality changes dramatically en route to Part II. After becoming one of the Oprichnina, Fyodor is shown as ruthless, bloodthirsty, and fanatical.
Tsarina Anastasia (Lyudmila Tselikovskaya) - Though she appears only in Part I, the Tsarina is one of her husband's staunchest supporters and is completely loyal to him, rejecting the advances of Prince Kurbsky. She urges Ivan to be firm in dealing with the boyars, which creates enmity toward her.
which refers to truth. Other symbols include icons, which are symbolic of the Russian Orthodox Church
, and then contemporary views of the Church and theology. At the end of Part II during the dance scene, Fyodor wears a mask and cross dresses as a woman, representing gender confusion and the growing debauchery.
At the battle of Kazan, Ivan wears a sun on his armor and his friend Kurbsky wears a moon, to refer to their equalness to one another. When Kurbsky leaves, the balance is destroyed, as well as Kurbsky being a foil
of Ivan.
Shadow
s are also used, to visually explain a character's power and control over other characters. This is especially evident in the Throne room scene when Ivan's shadow dominates the globe, and all those around him referring to his political power.
Colors are used with precision to add to the overall atmosphere. Almost all the film is in black and white, but at the very end of Part II, just for 10 minutes color film is used to emphasize the transition from good to bad as well as its general importance. At the end of color part Ivan decides to put his cousin under assassin's knife by robing him in tsar's dress. The use of black and white also is a visual cue to aid in the dualistic
breakdown of characters and their personalities. Certain characters wear colors to refer to their personalities, such Efrosinia wearing black to visually allude to her evil nature. Beyond that, swans are served at two feasts within the film, the first are white representing innocence and goodness, the second are black representing the wickedness that has come to pass.
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
about Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
made by Russian director Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
. Part 1 was released in 1944 but Part 2 was not released until 1958 due to political censorship. The films were originally planned as part of a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
, but Eisenstein died before filming of the third part could be finished
Unfinished work
An unfinished work is creative work that has not been finished. Its creator may have chosen never to finish it or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances outside of their control such as death. Such pieces are often the subject of speculation as to what the finished piece would have...
.
Genesis
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, with the German army approaching Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Eisenstein was one of many Moscow-based filmmakers who were evacuated to Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
, in the Kazakh SSR
Kazakh SSR
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kazakh SSR for short, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union.At in area, it was the second largest constituent republic in the USSR, after the Russian SFSR. Its capital was Alma-Ata . Today it is the independent state of...
. There, Eisenstein first considered the idea of making a film about Tsar Ivan IV, aka Ivan the Terrible, whom Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
admired, seeing him as the same kind of brilliant, decisive, successful leader that Stalin aspired to be.
Production
The first film, Ivan The Terrible, Part I, was filmed between 1942 and 1944, and released at the end of that year. The film presented Ivan as a national hero, and won Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's approval (and even a Stalin Prize).
The second film, Ivan The Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot, finished filming at Mosfilm
Mosfilm
Mosfilm is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein , to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production and the epic Война и Мир...
in 1946. However, it was not approved by the regime's censors, because it depicted state terrorism in an ambivalent way. The unshown film received heavy criticism from various state authorities. In the Khrushchev thaw
Khrushchev Thaw
The Khrushchev Thaw refers to the period from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, when repression and censorship in the Soviet Union were partially reversed and millions of Soviet political prisoners were released from Gulag labor camps, due to Nikita Khrushchev's policies of de-Stalinization and...
that followed the death of Stalin in 1953, state censorship of artistic works was gradually relaxed, and the film was finally released in 1958, 10 years after Eisenstein's death.
A third film, which began production in 1946, was halted when the decision was made not to release the second film. After Eisenstein's death in 1948, all footage from the film was confiscated, and it was rumored to have been destroyed (though several filmed scenes still exist today).
The score for the films
Ivan the Terrible (Prokofiev)
Ivan the Terrible is music by Sergei Prokofiev originally composed for the Sergei Eisenstein film about the sixteenth-century ruler. Prokofiev composed music to Part 1 in 1942-44, and to Part 2 in 1945; the score is cataloged as Op. 116...
was composed by Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
.
The entire production was shot in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
at Mosfilm's substantial production facility in Almaty. Although most of the film was shot in black and white, one color sequence appears in the second part, making this one of the earliest color films made in the Soviet Union.
Part 1
Part I begins with Ivan's coronation as TsarTsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
of all the Russias, amid grumbling from the boyars. Ivan makes a speech proclaiming his intent to unite and protect Russia against the foreign armies outside her borders and the enemies within - a reference to the boyars, who are already seen as discontented with his coronation. Shortly after, the scene changes to Ivan's wedding celebration in which he marries Anastasia Romanovna
Anastasia Romanovna
Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva was the first wife of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible and the first Russian tsarina...
. This causes him to lose the friendship of his two best friends, Prince Andrei Kurbsky and Fyodor Kolychev. The latter receives Ivan's permission to retire to a monastery, while Kurbsky attempts to resume his romance with the Tsarina, who repels his advances.
The marriage feast is interrupted by news of the burning of several boyar palaces, carried into the Tsar's palace by a mob of the common people who also complain that the Tsar is being led astray by the Tsarina's family (the Romanovs), the Glinskys and the Zakharins. Ivan calms the crowd, but is interrupted by envoys from the khanate of Kazan, who send him a ceremonial knife with the suggestion that he do himself a favor by using it to commit suicide. Ivan immediately proclaims that his kingdom is at war with Kazan.
The next scene shows the siege of Kazan, in which Ivan's army digs saps underneath the city and fills them with gunpowder. Kurbsky, nominally in command, is reprimanded by Ivan for senseless brutality (he ties Tartar
Tartar
Tartar may refer to: *An alternative spelling of the name Tatars, an ethnic group in present-day Russia.* Tartars, the name of the athletic teams from 1927–1999 at Wayne State University in Detroit.*Tartar sauce*Tartar on teeth, hardened dental plaque...
prisoners to palisades within earshot of the walls of Kazan and tells them to shout to the city to surrender; the defending archers immediately shoot the prisoners). The city of Kazan falls to the Russian army.
During his return from Kazan, Ivan falls seriously ill and is thought to be on his deathbed; Orthodox priests come to give him the last rites
Last Rites
The Last Rites are the very last prayers and ministrations given to many Christians before death. The last rites go by various names and include different practices in different Christian traditions...
before he dies. Ivan sends for his relatives and orders them to swear allegiance to his son, the infant Dmitri, reminding them of the need for a single ruler to keep Russia united. They demur, with Ivan's aunt, Efrosinia Staritska, openly urging the others to swear allegiance to her son, Vladimir, instead. Emotionally overwrought, Ivan collapses and is thought dead. The relatives, celebrating, all begin to swear allegiance to Vladimir, the "boyar tsar" they have hoped for; meanwhile, Kurbsky is uncertain of his own loyalty, trying to decide between the two sides. However, when the Tsarina says, "Do not bury a man before he is dead," Kurbsky realizes that Ivan is still alive, and hurriedly swears his allegiance to Ivan's infant son, Dmitri. He is sent, as a reward, to the western border of the kingdom to defend against the Livonians and Poles. At the same time, Ivan dispatches Alexei Basmanov, a commoner he sympathizes with, to the south to take care of the Crimean border.
The Tsarina now falls ill, and while Ivan is receiving bad news from all fronts, the boyars plot to kill her. Efrosinia comes into the palace with a cup of wine hidden in her robes, in which she has put poison. Just as the royal couple receive word that Kurbsky has defected to the Livonians, Efrosinia slips the cup of wine into the room and listens from behind a wall. The Tsarina has a convulsion and Ivan, looking around for a drink to calm her, takes the poisoned wine and gives it to her.
The scene changes to show the dead Tsarina lying in state in the cathedral, with Ivan mourning beside her bier. While a monk reads biblical verses over the body, Ivan questions his own justifications and ability to rule, wondering if his wife's death is God's punishment on him. However, he pulls himself out of it, and sends for Kolychev. At this point, Alexei Basmanov arrives, suggesting that Ivan surround himself with men he can trust - "iron men," the Oprichnina
Oprichnina
The oprichnina is the period of Russian history between Tsar Ivan the Terrible's 1565 initiation and his 1572 disbanding of a domestic policy of secret police, mass repressions, public executions, and confiscation of land from Russian aristocrats...
- and offers his (rather startled) son, Fyodor, for service. Ivan accepts, and sets about recouping his losses. He abdicates and leaves Moscow, waiting until the people beg him to return, saying that he now rules with absolute power by the will of the people.
Part 2
Part II opens in the court of King SigismundSigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus I was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548...
of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, to whom Kurbsky swears allegiance. Sigismund promises to make Kurbsky ruler of Ivan's territories, once he exploits the tsar's absence by conquering them. The plan is foiled when an emissary announces that Ivan has returned to Moscow.
Ivan begins by reforming the land distribution: he takes the boyars' lands, then reinstalls them as managers, increasing his own power at their expense. His friend, Kolychev, arrives, now the monk Philip; after a heated debate, Philip agrees to become metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Moscow, if Ivan gives him the right to intercede for condemned men. This is mutually agreed upon. But as soon as it is settled, Ivan, propelled by Malyuta, finds a way around this: he executes condemned men quickly, before Philip can use his right. In this way he has three of Philip's kinsmen executed.
Fyodor Basmanov, the first of the Oprichnina, helps Ivan figure out that the Tsarina was poisoned, and both suspect Efrosinia of poisoning the cup of wine. Ivan orders Fyodor not to say anything about it until he (Ivan) is certain beyond doubt of her guilt.
The boyars, close to desperation, plead their case to Philip and eventually win him over. He vows to block Ivan's abuse of power, and confronts him in the cathedral while a miracle play is being presented. As the argument heats up, Ivan, angry, proclaims that he will be exactly what the boyars call him - terrible - and has Philip seized. The boyars now decide that their only option is to assassinate Ivan, and the novice Pyotr is selected to wield the knife.
Ivan, now certain of Efrosinia's guilt, invites Vladimir to a banquet with the Oprichnina. Ivan gets Vladimir drunk while the Oprichnina sing and dance around them; Vladimir mentions that there is a plot to kill Ivan, and he (Vladimir) is to replace him as Tsar. Fyodor Basmanov notices the assassin leaving, and signals Ivan, who, pretending surprise at Vladimir's revelation, suggests Vladimir try being Tsar for a while, and has the Oprichnina bring throne, orb, scepter, crown and royal robes, and they all bow down to "Tsar Vladimir." Then Ivan tells Vladimir to lead them to the cathedral in prayer, as a Tsar should lead. Hesitantly, Vladimir does.
In the cathedral, the assassin runs up and stabs the mock Tsar, and is immediately seized by Fyodor and Malyuta. Ivan orders them to release Pyotr, and thanks him for killing the tsar's worst enemy. Efrosinia arrives, jubilant at the apparent death of Ivan, until she sees Ivan alive; rolling the corpse over, she realizes it is her own son. Ivan sentences her and then relaxes, proclaiming that all his enemies within Moscow are vanquished and he can turn to those outside.
Main characters
Ivan Vasilyevich (Nikolay Cherkasov) - The movies show Ivan more as monarch than man, detailing his struggles to unite Russia and his difficulties in overcoming the traditional, boyar-run government. While not exactly sympathetic, Ivan is shown as having to fight fire with fire--having to be ruthless and brutal for the good of the country. In some ways, he appears to be a victim of the boyars, especially during flashbacks to his childhood and early adolescence. The movies also detail Ivan's gradual slide into suspicion and paranoia.Efrosinia Staritska (Serafima Birman) - Ivan's aunt Efrosinia, usually dressed in black, is the chief villain of the piece, willing to do anything to get her son Vladimir on the throne. She is adamantly traditionalist and hates the Tsarina, relentlessly pushing the other boyars to oppose Ivan in any way they can, and is instrumental in the assassination plot against him. She also foments discord between Ivan and Kurbsky, saying that Ivan plots to kill Kurbsky in the future.
Vladimir Staritsky (Pavel Kadochnikov
Pavel Kadochnikov
Pavel Petrovich Kadochnikov was a Russian actor, film director and scenario. . Among the notable roles he had as an actor were in the film Ivan the Terrible, directed by Sergei Eisenstein. He was named a People's Artist of the USSR and a Hero of Socialist Labor .-Biography:Pavel Kadochnikov was...
) - Vladimir, Efrosinia's retarded
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
son, is the main challenger to Ivan as tsar. He is Ivan's cousin but has none of his intelligence, forcefulness, or drive, and is content to drink and listen to his mother sing.
Malyuta Skuratov (Mikhail Zharov
Mikhail Zharov
Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov was a Russian actor.He studied under the prominent director Theodore Komisarjevsky and debuted in Yakov Protazanov's Aelita...
) - Malyuta, Ivan's aide, is shown as one of his secret police. He is the one who suggests executing condemned men quickly to circumvent Philip's attempts at intercession, and is portrayed as sneaky, ruthless, and something of a sycophant
Sycophant
Sycophancy means:# Obsequious flattery; servility.# The character or characteristic of a sycophant.Alternative phrases are often used such as:-Etymology:...
.
Alexei Basmanov (Amvrosi Buchma) - The elder Basmanov is a commoner, a self-described hater of the boyars and a great opportunist. He rises to power, commanding armies in the Crimea, and becoming one of Ivan's trusted lieutenants.
Fyodor Basmanov (Mikhail Kuznetsov) - Alexei Basmanov's only son, Fyodor is, at the beginning, awed by the Tsar and the myth around him; his personality changes dramatically en route to Part II. After becoming one of the Oprichnina, Fyodor is shown as ruthless, bloodthirsty, and fanatical.
Tsarina Anastasia (Lyudmila Tselikovskaya) - Though she appears only in Part I, the Tsarina is one of her husband's staunchest supporters and is completely loyal to him, rejecting the advances of Prince Kurbsky. She urges Ivan to be firm in dealing with the boyars, which creates enmity toward her.
Symbols
Certain symbols are constantly repeated within the films, notable examples include the single eyeEye of Providence
The Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...
which refers to truth. Other symbols include icons, which are symbolic of the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, and then contemporary views of the Church and theology. At the end of Part II during the dance scene, Fyodor wears a mask and cross dresses as a woman, representing gender confusion and the growing debauchery.
At the battle of Kazan, Ivan wears a sun on his armor and his friend Kurbsky wears a moon, to refer to their equalness to one another. When Kurbsky leaves, the balance is destroyed, as well as Kurbsky being a foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
of Ivan.
Shadow
Shadow
A shadow is an area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an object. It occupies all of the space behind an opaque object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or reverse projection of the object blocking the...
s are also used, to visually explain a character's power and control over other characters. This is especially evident in the Throne room scene when Ivan's shadow dominates the globe, and all those around him referring to his political power.
Colors are used with precision to add to the overall atmosphere. Almost all the film is in black and white, but at the very end of Part II, just for 10 minutes color film is used to emphasize the transition from good to bad as well as its general importance. At the end of color part Ivan decides to put his cousin under assassin's knife by robing him in tsar's dress. The use of black and white also is a visual cue to aid in the dualistic
Dualism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...
breakdown of characters and their personalities. Certain characters wear colors to refer to their personalities, such Efrosinia wearing black to visually allude to her evil nature. Beyond that, swans are served at two feasts within the film, the first are white representing innocence and goodness, the second are black representing the wickedness that has come to pass.
Animals
Most of the major characters are portrayed as animals through facial and body gestures, as well as their speech.- Ivan is portrayed as a birdBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
, with his robes acting as his wings, the constant thrusting and tilting of his head, and the feathery like nature of his hair and beard. The bird symbolism will shift from prey to predatory throughout the films.
- Efrosinia is portrayed like a snakeSnakeSnakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
, to reinforce her evil nature. Camera shots always have her coming from the floor up, much like a snake coils up to attack. Her clothing is always black, a traditionally evil color, and she wears a head covering giving her the appearance of a snake's bald head.
- Alexei is portrayed as a dogDogThe domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
to emphasize his loyalty. His hair is designed to mimic a dog's long, floppy ears, as well as his general mannerisms.