S2 Ep. 1: Ivan the Terrible, Part 1 & 2 (1945/1958, Sergei Eisenstein)

Join hosts Jason, Tony, and our new co-host, Paul, on Episode One of Season Two! On this episode we discuss Sergei Eisenstein's epic two-part Soviet masterpiece Ivan the Terrible, released in 1945 and 1958 respectively. The films were commissioned by Joseph Stalin in 1941 as a means to rehabilitate Ivan the Terrible's image for a contemporary Soviet audience. Stalin celebrated Part 1, but the state banned Part 2. A third part had been in the works, but was abandoned by Eisenstein after the suppression of the second part. Our discussion touches on this history and many other topics, including Soviet montage, dialectical art construction, Eisenstein's queerness, his fraught relationship with Stalin, and more.  This is the first episode of a new format in which we take book or movie recommendations from each of us, which are found below:  Tony's book recommendations: Sergei Eisenstein: A Life in Conflict by Ronald Bergan (2016) Narrative, Apparatus, Ideology, edited by Philip Rosen (1986) Film Form: Essays in Film Theory by Sergei Eisenstein (1949) Paul's book and film recommendations: This Thing of Darkness: Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible in Stalinist Russia by Joan Neuberger (2019) Ivan the Terrible by Joan Neuberger  Battleship Potemkin (1925; dir. Sergei Eisenstein) Jason's movie recommendations: Come and See (1985; dir. Elem Klimov)  The Ascent (1977; dir. Larisa Shepitko)  Wings (1966; dir. Larisa Shepitko)  Please subscribe to the podcast, and don't forget to leave a review! Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonAChristian and Anthony at @tonyjballas; follow Paul on BlueSky at @ptklein.com. Paul writes about movies at www.howtoreadmovies.com. Paul's handle on Letterboxd is https://letterboxd.com/ptklein/; Jason's is https://letterboxd.com/exilemagic/.  Our logo is by Jason Christian  The theme music for this episode and all forthcoming episodes is by DYAD (Charles Ballas and Jeremy Averitt).  Please drop us a line anytime at [email protected]. Happy listening!