Alexander Nevsky

Eisenstein’s first completed sound film, Alexander Nevsky features not just a score by Sergei Prokofiev, but a brilliant formal collaboration, a form of cinematic opera based on Eisenstein’s theories of contrapuntal dynamics. Made on the eve of World War II, the film, though set in 1241, had the authority of a contemporary documentary: its portrayal of a nationalist hero in a peaceful village courageously confronting foreign invaders points to the imminent danger of a German invasion of Russia. The famed “Battle on the Ice” is memorable indeed, but the film’s calmer, lyrical moments emphasize how life is interrupted by violence, however patriotic the call.