# Ivan the Terrible (1945 film)

Ivan the Terrible (Russian: Иван Грозный, romanized: Ivan Grozny) is a two-part Soviet epic historical drama film written and directed by Sergei Eisenstein, with music composed by Sergei Prokofiev. A biopic starring Nikolay Cherkasov as Ivan IV of Russia, the film chronicles his reign and details his formation of the oprichnina and conflict with the boyars, particularly with his aunt (Serafima Birman) and cousin (Pavel Kadochnikov). Lyudmila Tselikovskaya plays a supporting role as Ivan's wife Anastasia, with members of the oprichnina being played by Mikhail Zharov, Amvrosy Buchma, and Mikhail Kuznetsov. Ivan the Terrible was Eisenstein's final film.
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin commissioned the film in early 1941, however, production was delayed by the beginning of World War II, and did not start until April 1943. The majority of the film was shot in Alma-Ata; several scenes in color were shot in Moscow. Part I was publicly released in 1945, and met with success, receiving a Stalin Prize. Part II, although it was completed in 1946, was banned and not released until 1958. Eisenstein had planned three parts for the film, but with the banning of Part II, filming of Part III was stopped. Eisenstein died in 1948, leaving the film incomplete.
The film has had a polarized reception, being both harshly criticized and highly praised. Since its release, it has been named in several lists of the best films of all time, and has often been called one of Eisenstein's greatest and most complex films. The visuals of the film and Prokofiev's score have received praise; reception of other aspects of the film, such as the acting and the plot, is mixed. Opinions on its treatment of Stalinism is divided - the figure of Ivan IV in the film is widely regarded to be an allegory of Stalin; thus, the film has varyingly been interpreted as a critique of Stalinism and condemned as a glorification of Ivan IV, and by extension, of Stalin himself.

## Plot
### Part I

In 1547, the 17-year-old Grand Prince of Moscow, Ivan IV, is crowned as the tsar of all Russia, amid animosity from the boyars and jealousy from his aunt, Yefrosinya Staritskaya, who wishes to see her son, Vladimir Staritsky, on the throne instead. 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 unhappy with his coronation. A Livonian ambassador asks Prince Andrey Kurbsky why Ivan is more worthy to rule than he is.
Shortly after, Ivan marries Anastasia Romanovna. Kurbsky, who is in love with her, attempts to resume his romance with her, but she rejects his advances. At the wedding, Fyodor Kolychov, a close friend of Ivan, informs him that he cannot support him in his mission against the boyars and receives his permission to retire to monastic life. The marriage feast is interrupted by an unruly mob of common people, led by Malyuta Skuratov and the holy fool Nikola. The two complain that the tsar is being led astray by the tsarina's family. Ivan calms the crowd, but is interrupted by envoys from the khanate of Kazan, who announce that Kazan has declared war against Muscovy. The Tsar decides to march to Kazan. Malyuta swears loyalty to the tsar and accompanies him there.
In the siege of Kazan of 1552, Ivan's army digs saps underneath the city and fills them with gunpowder. Kurbsky, nominally in command, is reprimanded by Ivan for senseless brutality against their Tatar prisoners, causing his resentment against Ivan to grow. The city of Kazan falls to the Russian army. Here, Ivan meets Alexei Basmanov, a commoner who despises the boyars. Basmanov and his son Fyodor accompany the tsar back to Moscow.
During his return from Kazan, Ivan falls deathly ill. Yefrosinya, knowing that Kurbsky resents Ivan, urges him to swear allegiance to Vladimir, promising him rule over Moscow, as Vladimir is intellectually disabled and not fit to rule on his own. Ivan sends for the boyars and orders them to swear allegiance to his son, the infant Tsarevich Dmitry, reminding them of the need for a single ruler to keep Russia united. The boyars, encouraged by Yefrosinya, refuse to do so. Ivan collapses and is thought dead. The boyars all begin to swear allegiance to Vladimir. However, when the tsarina hints that Ivan is not yet dead, Kurbsky hurriedly swears his allegiance to the tsarevich. Ivan recovers, and as a reward for his loyalty, Kurbsky is sent to the western border of the kingdom to fight against the Livonians and Poles. Alexei Basmanov is sent to the south to take care of the Crimean border. The promotion of a commoner creates more discontent amongst the boyars.
The boyars and the Archbishop Pimen plot against Ivan. Yefrosinya, in order to weaken Ivan and leave him without allies, plans to kill Anastasia. Just as the royal couple receives word that Kurbsky has surrendered to the Livonians, she slips a goblet of poisoned wine into their chambers. The news shocks the tsarina, who is already ill. Ivan, looking around for a drink to calm her, takes the wine and gives it to her, unknowingly killing her.
Ivan questions his own justifications and ability to rule, wondering if his wife's death and Kurbsky's final defection to Poland is God's punishment against him. He sends for his old friend, Kolychov. Alexei Basmanov suggests that he instead surround himself with men he can really trust, the oprichniki. He offers Fyodor in service to him.
Ivan abdicates and leaves Moscow for Alexandrova Sloboda in 1564. When hundreds of common people come to him, he decides to return, saying that he will then rule with absolute power by the will of the people.

### Part II: The Boyars' Plot

In 1565, Kurbsky swears allegiance to King Sigismund of Poland. 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. In Moscow, Ivan declares the establishment of the zemshchina and oprichnina.
Kolychov, now known as Philip, arrives. Ivan, lacking allies, asks him to become metropolitan of Moscow. He agrees, on the condition of being given the right to intercede for condemned men. As soon as it is settled, Malyuta, on Ivan's orders, kills several boyars (three of which are Philip's kinsmen) before he can intercede for them, gaining Philip's enmity.
While speaking with Philip, Ivan recalls witnessing his mother's death by poisoning, and how as a teenager he confronted the boyars Shuiskiy and Belskiy, both of which wanted him to sign a trade contract with the Livonian Knights and the Hanseatic League, respectively. After Shuiskiy insulted Ivan's mother and attempted to strike him, Ivan had him executed, and declared that he would rule alone, as tsar.
Fyodor Basmanov suggests to the tsar that his wife was poisoned. Suspecting Yefrosinya of the murder, yet unwilling to act against a member of his family, he orders Fyodor to keep silent until they are certain of her guilt. Meanwhile, Philip vows to block Ivan's abuse of power and confronts him in the cathedral while a mystery play about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is presented. As they argue, a boyar child confuses Ivan for Nebuchadnezzar. The child calls out, asking whether this is the "terrible heathen king". Ivan immediately grows certain that Yefrosinya killed his wife. He proclaims that he will be exactly what his enemies call him – terrible.
Some time after, Yefrosinya announces to the boyars that Ivan has arrested Philip, and will likely execute him. Having lost one of their most powerful allies, the boyars, along with the archbishop Pimen, decide to assassinate Ivan and install Vladimir onto the throne. For this task, they select the novice Pyotr Volynets.
Ivan invites Vladimir to a banquet, at which the latter gets drunk and reveals the boyars' plot. Fyodor and Malyuta notice Pyotr leaving for the cathedral and signal to Ivan who, feigning surprise at Vladimir's revelation, suggests Vladimir try being tsar. He has the oprichniki dress Vladimir in royal garments and bow to him. Vladimir then leads them to the cathedral in prayer. Pyotr mistakes him for the tsar and fatally stabs him.
Yefrosinya arrives, celebrating the death of Ivan. After seeing him alive, she finds the body of her son and goes insane. Ivan pardons the assassin, thanking him for killing not only "a fool", but "the tsar's worst enemy". He proclaims to his oprichniki that all his enemies within Moscow are vanquished, therefore, he can now turn his attention to those outside.

## Cast

* Nikolay Cherkasov as Ivan the Terrible
** Erik Pyryev as young Ivan
* Lyudmila Tselikovskaya as Anastasia Romanovna, Ivan's wife
* Serafima Birman as Yefrosinya Staritskaya, Ivan's aunt
* Pavel Kadochnikov as Vladimir Staritsky, Yefrosinya's son and Ivan's cousin
* Mikhail Zharov as Malyuta Skuratov, Ivan's right-hand man and an oprichnik
* Amvrosy Buchma as Alexei Basmanov [ru], an oprichnik
* Mikhail Kuznetsov as Fyodor Basmanov, Alexei Basmanov's son
* Mikhail Nazvanov as Prince Andrey Kurbsky
* Andrei Abrikosov as Philip II, Metropolitan of Moscow
* Aleksandr Mgebrov [ru] as Pimen [ru], Archbishop of Novgorod
* Maxim Mikhailov as the protodeacon
* Vsevolod Pudovkin as Nikola, a holy fool
* Pavel Massalsky [ru] as Sigismund II Augustus
* Vladimir Balashov [ru] as Pyotr Volynets
* Ada Voytsik as Elena Glinskaya, Ivan's mother

## Production
### Development

In May 1940, Sergei Eisenstein sent Minister of Cinematography Ivan Bolshakov a letter about two films that he planned to write a scenario for, together with Lev Sheinin. The first option was about Lawrence of Arabia, and the other was about the Beilis affair. Additionally, Eisenstein had in mind a film about Pushkin. Bolshakov did not respond to this letter, so in December of the same year, Eisenstein and Sheinin wrote Stalin a letter expanding on their ideas for the Beilis film. The Beilis film was rejected in January 1941. In the same month, Eisenstein met with Andrei Zhdanov, who instead commissioned on Stalin's behalf a film about Ivan the Terrible. Stalin admired Ivan IV, considering him to be a "great and wise" ruler. He was interested in rehabilitating Ivan's image to a more positive image, particularly to one of a powerful state builder, and promoted the image of Ivan IV as the founder of the modern Russian state. Ivan the Terrible was among a number of historical films produced during the 1930s and 1940s, intended to draw parallels between Russian historical figures and contemporary Soviet politics; other such films included Vladimir Petrov's Peter the Great, Vsevolod Pudovkin's Minin and Pozharsky, and another Eisenstein film, Alexander Nevsky.
Eisenstein began research on the film in early 1941. Among his sources were Heinrich von Staden's and Andrey Kurbsky's writings about their lives in Ivan's court and his reign, and Ivan's correspondence with Kurbsky. Additionally, Eisenstein read the biography of Ivan by Robert Wipper and the writings of historians Sergei Solovyov, Vasily Klyuchevsky, Alexander Pypin, and Igor Grabar. Eisenstein filled over a hundred notebooks with his ideas for the film.
By the end of February, Eisenstein had a rough draft of the screenplay; he submitted the first draft of the screenplay to Mosfilm in May 1941. After the invasion of the USSR in June 1941, he planned to modify the screenplay to emphasize the antagonistic nature of the Germanic forces of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Livonian Knights, and the Hanseatic League; Eisenstein also planned to show more of Ivan's positive relations with the English. Also due to the invasion, Mosfilm evacuated most of their actors and professionals to Alma-Ata. Eisenstein was evacuated to Alma-Ata in October; he completed the screenplay in December. The screenplay was approved in September 1942, but due to bureaucratic pressure, Eisenstein removed most of the scenes with the English. The scenario of Ivan the Terrible had been accepted by Mosfilm in the form of two full-length films. Eisenstein considered splitting the screenplay into three parts and discussed this with Grigori Alexandrov, who was against this; ultimately, he ignored Alexandrov's advice and changed the film from two parts to three. He received permission to create a third part in 1944.
The score for the films was composed by Sergei Prokofiev, with whom Eisenstein had collaborated on Alexander Nevsky. Eisenstein wrote to Prokofiev in March 1942, asking him to compose the score for Ivan the Terrible; Prokofiev arrived in May. Prokofiev incorporated music from an unrealized production of an adaptation of Boris Godunov into the score. He did not finish writing the score of Part I until August 1944. In January of 1945, he suffered a concussion, and was too ill to work. In spite of Prokofiev's request that Eisenstein instead work with Gavriil Popov, Eisenstein insisted on working with him. He recovered by October of that year and was able to complete the score for Part II.

### Casting

Casting for the film began in spring of 1942. Eisenstein invited Nikolay Cherkasov, who had previously performed the title role in Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky, to play Ivan IV. Mikhail Zharov, who had wanted to perform the role of Kurbsky, was instead offered the role of Malyuta. Erik Pyryev, son of director Ivan Pyryev, performed the role of the young Ivan. Ada Voytsik, Erik's mother, played the role of Ivan's mother, Elena Glinskaya.
Eisenstein wanted Vsevolod Pudovkin to play Pimen, but Pudovkin was filming In the Name of the Fatherland and was unavailable at the time; then he suffered a heart attack and could not accept the role. He ultimately played the holy fool Nikola. Aleksandr Mgrebov was then considered for the role of Pimen. Unknown to Eisenstein, he was seriously ill with tuberculosis. When Eisenstein learned about Mgrebov's illness, he organized medical treatment for the actor, who later stated that Eisenstein's intervention saved his life.
According to Mikhail Kuznetsov, Eisenstein began to consider him for the role of Fyodor Basmanov after noticing his performance in Mashenka. After Kuznetsov, along with most actors working with Mosfilm, evacuated to Alma-Ata, Eisenstein offered him the role. Pavel Kadochnikov stated that Eisenstein had wanted Nikolay Okhlopkov to play the role of Vladimir Staritsky, but Okhlopkov was too old for the role. Therefore, Kadochnikov was invited to play Vladimir. He also played the role of a clown in the miracle play in Part II, and was meant to have played the role of Evstafy, a kinsman of Philip II, in Part III. He was also considered for the role of King Sigismund; the role was instead played by Pavel Massalsky.
The actresses for Anastasia and Yefrosinya were found 6 months after filming began. The role of the tsarina first was offered to ballerina Galina Ulanova, however, filming conflicted with her dancing career, leading her to reject the role. Ultimately, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, who was Zharov's wife, was cast as the tsarina. Eisenstein wanted to cast Faina Ranevskaya as Yefrosinya, but Ivan Bolshakov, who had final say on casting choice, insisted that Ranevskaya, as a Jewish actress, was an unsuitable choice to play the boyarina. The role then went to Serafima Birman.

### Filming

Production on the film was delayed until April 1943 due to the ongoing invasion of the USSR. Eisenstein had worked almost exclusively with Eduard Tisse for most of his features, and invited Tisse to work on the film. In 1942, Eisenstein became friends with Andrei Moskvin, and developed a closer relationship with Moskvin than he had with Tisse. However, he did not want to fire Tisse, as he was concerned that Tisse, without the protection of Eisenstein, could be arrested for his "Germanic" name. Cinematography was therefore divided between the two: Tisse shot the exteriors, and Moskvin, who became director of photography, filmed all interior scenes. The color sequences of Part II were also filmed by Moskvin.
One of the difficulties of filming was making Cherkasov look convincingly both older and younger than he was. Ivan had to age throughout the film, so the 39-year-old Cherkasov had to portray a 17-year-old Ivan at the beginning of Part I and gradually age to a 53-year-old Ivan. For the portrayal of 17-year-old Ivan, makeup artist Vasily Goriunov used adhesive to glue back the flesh on Cherkasov's face. This also had the effect of limiting his ability to move his face.
Most of the production was shot in Kazakhstan at Mosfilm's substantial production facility in Alma-Ata; several scenes were shot in the town of Kaskelen, 30 kilometers from Alma-Ata. Filming was done at night, since electricity was limited during the day. Lack of access to food was widespread, especially among the minor actors; to hide the malnutrition of the actors, the costume designer sewed cotton "muscles" into the costumes. In July 1944, production of the film was transferred to Moscow. Although most of the film was shot in black and white, there are color sequences of a dance and banquet in the second part, which are part of the very last scenes which were shot for the film. Eisenstein filmed these scenes in Moscow, as Prokofiev's score for the scenes were not ready before the film studio ended their evacuation in Alma-Ata. While waiting for Prokofiev, Eisenstein attended a film conference on color in film, and was so impressed by the vivid red colors in a film documentary on the Potsdam Conference that he shot his final scenes in color. Filming of the second part was completed in autumn 1945.

### Part III

A third part, which began production in 1946, was abandoned after the banning of the second part. The plot of Part III was to include Ivan's growing paranoia of his followers, his execution of the Basmanovs, and a battle against Livonian troops which Ivan wins, thus gaining access to the sea for his people at the cost of Malyuta's life. Part III would have also introduced the characters of Heinrich von Staden and Queen Elizabeth I, played by Oleg Zhakov and Mikhail Romm, respectively. Eisenstein contemplated several endings for Part III: while the published screenplay ends with the tsar walking triumphantly toward the sea, one ending had the aged tsar contemplating the future of Russia, a second had the tsar dying alone after murdering his son, and a third had the tsar seeing a prophetic vision of Peter the Great conquering the Baltic Sea, having himself lost the sea just weeks after conquering it.

## Themes and analysis
### Stalinism and the depiction of Ivan

Eisenstein wrote in 1941 that his depiction of Ivan the Terrible was not intended to "whitewash him or to turn Ivan the Terrible into Ivan the Sweet", but rather to show "Ivan in the whole range of his activity and the struggle for the state of Muscovy." Historian Joan Neuberger argues that Eisenstein had no intention to glorify Ivan the Terrible, as he chose to focus on the oprichnina and the bloodiest years of Ivan's reign and completely excludes his positive reforms from the film. Additionally, she writes that Eisenstein throughout the film characterizes Ivan as a "visionary leader", a "brutal tyrant", and a "tragic, divided and lonely man", and "challenges the audience to consider whether the ends (national unification and imperial expansion) justify the means (intimidation, demagoguery, deception and terror)." Ivan, in his pursuit of centralization of power, gives up personal connections and suffers from loneliness for the majority of the film. Due to his fear of vulnerability, he kills those closest to him; Eisenstein called these murders "decisive moments", as they show Ivan's true nature as a murderous ruler desperate to maintain his power. The film was intended to end with Ivan reaching the Baltic Sea, victorious but alone, having lost or destroyed all those close to him. Neuberger describes Ivan the Terrible as a "personal drama", compared to the "collective drama" of Battleship Potemkin or the "patriotic drama" of Alexander Nevsky, as it focuses more on Ivan's personal struggles rather than his political or military career.
The film's treatment of Stalinism has been debated. Critics generally agree that Ivan is meant to represent Stalin. Bernd Uhlenbruch compared the dynamic of Ivan and Kurbsky to Stalin and Trotsky, noting that like Trotsky, Kurbsky went into exile, and compared Malyuta to Beria; he commented that "Everything that the church representatives and the Boyards [sic] bring up against Ivan can be understood as an indictment against the Stalin regime." Katerina Clark wrote that the film provides "in the story of Ivan’s reign an allegory for the career of Stalin showing his greatness as a unifier of the country". Director Mikhail Romm, who was present at the first screening of Part II in 1946, reported that the audience saw Stalin, Beria, and the NKVD in Ivan, Malyuta, and the oprichnina, and suggested that the film had been banned because it had been interpreted as an attack on Stalin. Film historian Neya Zorkaya commented that although the film was meant to have glorified autocracy and justified any acts done for the sake of the "great Russian state", the effect produced was the opposite.
The view is not universally shared: Richard Taruskin wrote that the film "conveyed as poisonous a message as art has ever been asked to monger..."Ivan the Terrible," film and score alike, is dedicated to the proposition that abstract historical purposes justify bloody acts in the here and now." Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn directly references the film in his 1962 novel One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; in a scene where two characters argue about the merits of the film, one of the characters claims that Eisenstein was "an ass-kisser who followed orders like a dog." One reviewer for Time Magazine wrote: "it cannot be said that Eisenstein is protesting the horror and the madness he portrays. He seems rather...to be trying to explain to himself the hideous paradox that Stalin, in 1943, had become Russia's savior."

### Historicity

Eisenstein was generally uninterested in maintaining historical accuracy in his films, and took liberties with historical fact to develop his narrative. He replaced the historical figures Metropolitan Macarius and Sylvester with the historical figures of Metropolitan Philip and Pimen of Novgorod [ru], who oppose the tsar in the film. He invented a romance between Prince Kurbsky and Anastasia in order to create personal strife for Ivan. Additionally, Pimen of Novgorod was never Metropolitan of Moscow, the character of the holy fool Nikola is entirely fictional, and there is no historical evidence that Yefrosinya Staritskaya poisoned Anastasia Romanovna.
Viktor Shklovsky suggested that the death of Vladimir in the film was inspired by the legend of the execution of the boyar Ivan Fyodorov of the Chelyadnin family. According to the story, Ivan IV invited Fyodorov-Chelyadnin to sit on the royal throne, dressed in royal robes; he bowed to him, then stabbed him in the heart. The historical Vladimir Staritsky is believed to have died by consuming poison.
Although Eisenstein was condemned in an official resolution published by the Central Committee for "ignorance in his depiction of historical facts" and Stalin criticized the film for its historical inaccuracies, Cherkasov wrote in his memoirs that Stalin approved of a suggested change to show Ivan winning the Livonian War, although in fact he had been defeated. Kristin Thompson writes that the reason for this change was to draw a parallel to the German invasion of the USSR, and to show the Russian nation triumphant over Germans (the film refers to the Livonian and Hanseatic nations as "German").

### Religion

The Orthodox Church in Ivan the Terrible is depicted as a power that supports tradition and the interest of the boyars. Historian Charles J. Halperin argues that although every character in the film is religious, the depiction of religion in Ivan the Terrible is explicitly negative, as all characters associated with the Russian Orthodox Church are negatively characterized. Halperin argues that the portrayal of Philip, who was canonized by the Orthodox Church, as a scheming boyar, is particularly defamatory.
Religious imagery and allusions, such as icons, appear in nearly every scene of the film, and are used to comment on the nature of the characters. Eisenstein tasked the makeup artist, Vasily Goriunov, with making Ivan resemble Nebuchadnezzar, Judas, Uriel Acosta, Mephistopheles, and Jesus Christ at different points of the film. In the film, Ivan watches a play about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The biblical story ends with an angel saving the three boys from the flames, and the tyrant Nebuchadnezzar recognizing his folly and repenting. In the film, the model of the angel falls into the flames, and Ivan does not repent or change. Yuri Tsivian writes that Ivan in the scene of his near-death resembles Hans Holbein's Dead Christ, and compares a scene where Anastasia holds Ivan's foot to Renaissance depictions of Mary Magdalene mourning Christ. Pimen appears next to a fresco of the Angel of Death, Yefrosinya appears next to frescoes of demons, and Vladimir is killed in front of a fresco of the Forty Martyrs.

### Homoeroticism

The film has been interpreted as having a homoerotic subtext, particularly in regards to the characters of Fyodor Basmanov, Ivan, and Vladimir. In the interpretation of Neuberger, most of the male characters of the film show signs of homoerotic attraction. Eisenstein wrote in his production notes that King Sigismund's courtiers were "effeminate" and that Fyodor "must love" Ivan, and in one of the final scenes of the film, Fyodor dances in drag, dressed in a parody of Anastasia's clothing. Eisenstein in his notes wrote a scene of Fyodor taking a young woman's earrings; his father later discovers the earrings and punches him. Neuberger interprets this scene as implying Fyodor's homosexuality. The scene was never filmed. Eisenstein described Fyodor's role in the film as the replacement of Anastasia, or an ersatz version of Anastasia; David Gillespie describes his role as the replacement of Anastasia as Ivan's "partner", while Sultan Usuvaliev describes him as the incarnation of Anastasia's love for Ivan.
Viktor Shklovsky noted that the historical Fyodor Basmanov was alleged to be the tsar's lover and suggested that the banquet scene drew inspiration from this image of Basmanov. Dwight Macdonald commented that "[Eisenstein]'s homosexuality has free play... Ivan has a favorite, a flirtatious, bold-eyed police agent, and many excuses are found for having Ivan put his hands on the handsome young face... There are two open homosexuals in the film....the king of Poland... [and Yefrosinya's] son, Vladimir." Thomas Waugh in his analysis of Eisenstein's work wrote that Vladimir Staritsky was "the only explicit reference to homosexuality in Eisenstein's entire career". Kirstin Thompson and Ronald Bergan disagreed with an interpretation of the characters as homosexual, with Bergan writing that Ivan and Fyodor were depicted as no more than close friends, that Fyodor's dance in feminine clothing was a reference to Chinese opera, and that none of the characters in the film were depicted as homosexual.

### Power

Birdlike symbolism is used to emphasize Ivan's power and character. His movements are bird-like, and his makeup emphasizes an aquiline appearance. In one scene, his staff casts the shadow of a double-headed eagle onto his face. Jay Leyda compared another scene of Ivan to a Hiroshige woodcut of a hawk.
Eisenstein extensively used shadows in the film, to the point where Andrei Zhdanov complained that Eisenstein's "fascination with shadows" was distracting for the viewer. Shadows are often used to visually explain a character's power and control over other characters. This is especially evident in the throne room scene in Part I, when Ivan's shadow dominates the globe, with all those around him referring to his political power.
Malyuta Skuratov, after his promotion to role of the tsar's spy, is dressed in a new black robe; when he first carries out executions, he is dressed in gold-stitched brocade. In the view of Neuberger, this symbolizes the transformation of the oprichnina into a neofeudal force. Katerina Clark writes that visually, Fyodor Basmanov resembles Botticelli's portrait of Giuliano de Medici, insinuating the idea that like the Medici family, the oprichnina rules by violence rather than by office (in contrast to the boyars).
The young male supporters of Ivan are all clean-shaven, meanwhile, the boyars, along with the older Malyuta and Alexei Basmanov, all have beards. Kolychov, at Ivan's coronation, shows a small beard. Towards the end of the film, Vladimir Staritsky begins to show a small beard. According to Gillespie, this is a sign that Vladimir is associated with the old order, and will inevitably be destroyed alongside the boyars, while Kolychov's conflict with Ivan was hinted at since his coronation. Additionally, Pyotr, who intended to kill Ivan, was meant to join Ivan in the third part of the film; Pyotr is beardless.

## Screenings and release

Ivan The Terrible, Part I was screened by the Committee on Cinema Affairs in October 1944. The members of the council were disappointed with the film. The members criticized the characterization of Ivan IV, Malyuta Skuratov, and the oprichnina. As a result, they demanded the removal of the prologue of Ivan's childhood (part of which would be reinserted into Part II as flashbacks), more emphasis on Ivan's accomplishments as Tsar, and modification of the presentation of the oprichniki to make them less sinister. Members of the council, such as Aleksei Dikiy, Igor Savchenko and Boris Gorbatov criticized Eisenstein's failure to characterize Ivan as a powerful and accomplished leader. The quality of the acting and style also was criticized. Part I was screened for Stalin in December of that year and premiered in Moscow in January 1945. The same year, it was nominated for the Stalin Prize. In spite of the objections of the members of the Stalin Prize committee, the film ultimately received the prize. For their work on Part I, Eisenstein, Cherkasov, Prokofiev, Moskvin, Tisse, and Birman were each awarded a Stalin Prize in 1946.
The second film, Ivan The Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot, was submitted for screening in February 1946. The film received heavy criticism from the Central Committee, who called the picture "anti-historical". Ivan Pyryev compared the depiction of Ivan to the Grand Inquisitor and called the oprichnina "16th-century fascists" and stated that the portrayal of Ivan was completely unsympathetic. Part II was then banned by the Central Committee on 5 March 1946, about a month after Part I had been awarded the Stalin Prize. In spite of this, Eisenstein insisted on screening Part II for Stalin, who called it a "nightmare". Stalin criticized Eisenstein's Ivan as being "a weak-willed Hamlet", and the oprichnina as being too similar to the Ku Klux Klan. Eisenstein and Cherkasov met with Stalin on 25 February 1947 to discuss modifications to the film in order to lift the ban. After the meeting, despite receiving permission to revise Part II and begin work on Part III, Eisenstein did not work further on the film. A year later, on 10 February 1948, Eisenstein suffered a fatal heart attack while writing an article about the film.
On 6 May 1958, Part II was screened for a group of Soviet historians by Mosfilm, who were asked whether it could be shown to Soviet viewers. The historians widely agreed that Part II could be shown to Soviet viewers, as it "could not discredit [Soviet] art, ideology, or aims", and recommended its release to the Ministry of Culture. Part II was released in the USSR on 1 September 1958. In October, it received its world premiere at the Brussels Exposition.
The film was restored under the direction of Karen Shakhnazarov; it was presented at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. In 2021, it was re-released for theaters in select Russian cities.

## Reception

The film has been polarizing amongst viewers. It has been noted for its complexity, and consistently ranked as one of Eisenstein's best films. Film theorist Leonid Kozlov [ru] in a review of Eisenstein's career called it "the most complex and most masterful" of Eisenstein's films; Neuberger likewise described the film as being far more complex, in both artistic and political terms, than any of his other films. According to Yuri Tsivian, it has been called "the most complex movie ever made". Critic Jean de Baroncelli described the film as "a masterpiece, and the apotheosis of the cinematic genius of Eisenstein".
The first part was received ambivalently by general in the USSR upon release, although it received mostly positive critical reviews. Critic Boris Romashov [ru], writing for Izvestiya, called the first part a "masterpiece of cinematographic art" and praised the acting, cinematography, and set design. Vsevolod Vishnevsky also praised the film in his review for Pravda. In retrospective, the film was highly praised. Natalya Sokolova wrote for Iskusstvo Kino in 1958 that the film was the greatest work of each of its participants, in spite of the film's flaws; in particular, she praised Cherkasov's acting.
When the first part was first screened in France, the reception was negative among viewers, but positive among critics. Bosley Crowther, writing for The New York Times, called Part I a "work of art" and praised the visuals, camerawork, Prokofiev's score, and Cherkasov's performance, while criticizing the lack of continuity in the film, and the "conspicuously totalitarian" depiction of Ivan IV. In contrast, Crowther harshly criticized Part II, calling it a "pale extension" of Part I. Pauline Kael wrote that Ivan was "lacking in human dimensions...True, every frame in it looks great...but as a movie, it's static, grandiose, and frequently ludicrous." Ivan the Terrible was awarded four out of four stars by critic Roger Ebert and included on his list of "Great Movies". In his 2012 review, Ebert praised the scope and visuals while criticizing the story, and concluded "It is one of those works that has proceeded directly to the status of Great Movie without going through the intermediate stage of being a good movie...every serious movie lover should see it — once." Ben Maddow wrote similarly that Ivan was "a film quite pure in style, hideous in its magnificence, and superhuman in its characters...Ivan is a great film, in motive and in plan; but it is not a good one."

### Legacy

Ivan the Terrible was included among Harry Medved's list of the worst films of all time. Sight and Sound in 1962 named Ivan the Terrible the 6th greatest film of all time, tying with Battleship Potemkin and Bicycle Thieves; in 1972, Sight and Sound named it the 12th greatest film of all time, tying with The Gold Rush, Hiroshima mon amour, Ikiru, Pierrot le Fou, and Vertigo. Cahiers du Cinéma in 1959 named it the fourth-best film of all time.
Directors Akira Kurosawa, Éric Rohmer, and Slava Tsukerman named Ivan the Terrible as among their favorite films. Charlie Chaplin called the film "the greatest historic film that has ever been made". Michael Chekhov reportedly considered the film excellent from a director's point of view and an artistic point of view, but criticized the quality of the acting. Rowan Williams stated that Ivan the Terrible influenced his interest in Russia and led him to pursue doctoral research about Russian Christianity. Andrei Tarkovsky watched the film "with rapt attention"; it is believed to have influenced his film Andrei Rublev. Among those that disliked the film were Orson Welles and Igor Stravinsky, the latter of which called it "stupid and provincial" and criticized Prokofiev's music.
In November 2024, Russian film director Alexei German Jr. and producer Konstantin Ernst announced that a film about Ivan the Terrible was in production. As of November, the actors for Eisenstein, Prokofiev, and Cherkasov have not been cast.