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Alexander Nevsky

directed by Sergei Eisenstein

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Oct 12, 2021
Category: Classical

The greatest score in all of film — so good that it inspired John Williams’ shark theme in “Jaws” and James Horner’s music for “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”

One of the greatest battle scenes in film — so good that Mel Gibson surely went to school on it before shooting the “Braveheart” war scenes.

Together, one of the most exciting experiences you’ll have in front of a screen — even better if you’re able to see it in a concert hall, with a noted orchestra performing the score as the film unspools behind it.

Consider: faint strains of violin, the suggestion of a vast frozen space with nothing but gray overhead. Then the blare of brass, the distant call to arms. The tuba enters, serving almost as a kind of drum. Many instruments now, all chugging — the sound of an army approaching. Then everyone gaining strength, until the orchestra becomes the very madness of battle. At last we hear voices, a chorus chanting in Latin. And again, even louder, trumpets calling men to kill, the bigger brass sounding the march forward, the voices become shouts.

And all this is dated 1938.

“Alexander Nevsky” is the story of a Russian hero who saved his country — in 1242. Just as Russia was resisting the Mongols, Pope Gregory IX began to incite the Teutonic Knights to invade the Baltic. Some Russians looked for a way out. Alexander was not interested in deals — he led his soldiers onto a frozen channel and defeated the Knights. (He’d go on to push the Swedes and Germans back as well.) This was not only a great victory, it was a milestone in the history of warfare — Russian foot soldiers had routed an army of supposedly unbeatable armored knights on horseback.

Why did Eisenstein choose this story? Because he had spent most of the 1930s swanning around Hollywood and making films that delighted neither audiences nor Stalin. Now he was in Stalin’s doghouse, on the verge of being denied financing — or worse. And so, with Germany howling to the East, Eisenstein reasoned that the best way to get back in Stalin’s good graces was to make a rousing war movie that ended with a German defeat.

Eisenstein usually had problems with budgets, but he conceived, filmed and released “Alexander Nevsky” in less than a year. It was a triumph. The leading actor was Nikolai Cherkassov, the greatest in all of Russia. For Eisenstein’s first sound film, the great Prokofiev had written a score that so precisely mimicked the emotion and action the film could easily be edited to match it. And, in the battle on the ice, Eisenstein showed he was more than a master of montage — he was a great epic director, capable of moving crowds of actors in scenes so complex and natural they looked like documentary footage. [To buy the DVD of the film from Amazon, click here. To buy or rent the video stream of the film, click here.]

But an allegory that warned against the Germans and predicted a rousing Russian victory over them couldn’t have been made in Russia at a worse time — Stalin and Hitler were just concluding a non-aggression pact. “Alexander Nevsky” was suppressed; it wasn’t seen in Russian theaters until 1941, when German troops moved East and attacked Russia.

For his part, Prokofiev had also traveled to Hollywood, where he observed how composers worked on studio films. That made him an ideal collaborator for Eisenstein; he could write visual music, he could convey speed, and, in fact, he could work quickly. (Prokofiev cranked out “Peter and the Wolf “ in just four days.)

Of the many recordings, the Claudio Abbado version, with the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Chorus, strikes me as the best. Also on the CD is his lighthearted romp, “Lieutenant Kije,” which is to Christmas music what the Pachelbel “Canon” is to weddings.[To buy the CD from Amazon and get a free MP3 download, click here. For the MP3 download, click here.]

Great collaborations in difficult times often have ironic endings. Here’s one for a trivia contest: Serge Prokofiev died in 1953 — an hour before Stalin. As a result, there was no notice of his death for days. Stalin is now mostly remembered for his butchery: millions and millions killed. Prokofiev’s music, like Eisenstein’s movie, has had millions and millions cheering. That’s an irony Russians understand instinctively. You’ll appreciate it when you watch or listen to “Alexander Nevsky.”