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Sergei Eisenstein's Film 'Ivan The Terrible'

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Final Exam
Why did Stalin forbid the release of Part II of Sergei Eisenstein’s film, Ivan the Terrible?
Joseph Stalin, a harsh dictator and leader of the communist party in the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953, personally participated in the conception and production of Soviet films, most notably those directed, produced and written by Sergei Eisenstein, who won two Stalin prizes for his ability in capturing the importance of socialism and Russian nationalism in the big screen. Not only did Stalin use cinema as propaganda to promote communism and to reinforce his monopoly of power in the Soviet Union, but he also used film to portray great Russian leaders in a virtuous and strong manner. Since Stalin considered himself a great leader of Russia comparable to those in history, such as Alexandr Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible (the Great, in Russian), he was particularly demanding about how these figures had to be portrayed in Soviet films (Neuberger 90). Stalin forbid the release of Part II of Sergei Eisenstein’s film Ivan the Terrible, a two-part historical epic film about Ivan IV of Russia, because Ivan, who Stalin admired and identified with, was portrayed in an unflattering depiction, characterized by paranoia, destructiveness and cruelty.
Today, Eisenstein …show more content…

After his coronation at the age of sixteen, he began reforming, modernizing and centralizing Russia. The Tsar, a killer and a reformist, was a man with a complex personality that exhibited both intelligence and insanity. Ivan the Terrible was admired for his many successes, but feared because of his mental instability and violent outbursts, making the Russian term ‘groznyi’ applicable to him in both of its two meanings, “extremely and distressingly bad” and also “awesomely mighty and fearful

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