Sergei Eisenstein is a well known Russian director, writer and producer who was a progenitor to cinema in general, not just Russian. He is fairly unknown in the US and cinema doesn't name drop him as much as arguably they should, given his influence.
Ivan the Terrible was a huge deal. Funded for production by Joseph Stalin, he felt a kinship with Ivan the Terrible and was invested in the making of this movie. Part 1 went over very well, but part 2 hit problems when Stalin felt he didn't like the depiction of Ivan the Terrible. It was delayed, and thus the plan of having a part 3 never came to fruition.
Ivan the Terrible is a biopic of the infamous Russian leader. A hair over 3 hours, it depicts mostly the way in which Ivan comes to power, with a bit of flashback to his childhood and a bit of his life as a leader. It features boatloads of historic figures, and is loosely realistic, of course being funded by Stalin some things are skewed to play out in a certain way. I wonder if these types of movies are the beginning of the producer or the production company stepping in and taking control of the film? The original idea of a "Production Hell"?
The first thing one will notice about this film is the compelling style, and the amazing light and camera work it has. Being just a few years after Citizen Kane, it's awesome to see another movie of the same era having some of the same cool style, although obviously way less ambitious and stylized than Kane, Ivan the Terrible has a whole cinematic language of it's own. The play of light and shadow, the symbolism present in the film, the scene of a crowd bowing down before him - there is a lot of visual poetry in this movie as well.
The movie is a bit hard to follow, for me at least. I found a similarity with Andrei Rublev here, of it being historical in concept with a lot of players involved, and me being unaware, I forgot who people were or why they were important. There's this guy and that guy and this woman and that religious figure, and I don't fucking know! I don't actually know Russian history, and when a scene happens, unless it's painfully obvious, I may miss the subtext of the importance of the scene.
The theatrical nature of this movie, the big overstated performances help a little bit in establishing what is happening, but overall you may find yourself lost at times. It's not impossible to follow though, and the rich style and the huge quality of what you are seeing and understanding more than makes up for it.
Ivan the Terrible is included in some of the worst movies, which I truly do not understand. It's also on the list of 1001 movies to see before you die, which I do understand. It's gorgeous, huge, and surprisingly modern in it's entertainment value. You won't be shocked to the core most likely, but you also won't regret watching this true classic.
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