Ivan the Terrible, Part II (1958) - film review

On his return to Moscow after his self-imposed exile, Ivan, the first Tsar of Russia, immediately sets about making the reforms he intended to unify and strengthen his country.  He quickly perceives the threat posed by the boyars, the court nobles who are determined to bring about his downfall.  When he realises that both his mother and his wife were poisoned by the boyars, Ivan takes revenge by executing a number of their kind.  In return, Ivan’s aunt Efrosinia conspires in an assassination attempt that will have Ivan replaced by her weakling son Vladimir...

This is the second part of a landmark film by the great Russian filmmaker, Sergei Eisenstein. Its release was delayed by twelve years because the Communists deemed it to be obliquely critical of Stalin’s oppressive regime.  For a detailed review see: Ivan the Terrible, Part I

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