Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot
This is the second installment of a three-part epic biopic of Russian Czar Ivan Grozny directed by Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein at Josef Stalin's request. Producer unhappiness with Eisenstein's use of forbidden experimental filmmaking techniques in the material, which was more visible in this section than in the first, forced the epic's production to be halted before the third part could be filmed. As it turned out, the second portion of the film was prohibited from being shown until after the deaths of both Eisenstein and Stalin, as well as a change of heart among the Soviet government's following leaders. As Ivan the Terrible seeks to solidify his power by forming a personal army, his political foes, the Russian boyars, plot his assassination.
Released: 1958-09-01