Ivan the Terrible, Part I

Overview

In the early days of his rule, Tsar Ivan IV grapples with treachery from both the nobility and his closest allies as he strives to unify the Russian nation. This film, directed by Sergei Eisenstein, marks the first segment of an ambitious three-part biopic about Ivan the Terrible, though it remained unfinished due to the producer's dissatisfaction with Eisenstein's avant-garde techniques and spiraling production costs. While the second installment was eventually completed, it remained unreleased for ten years following Eisenstein's passing, and the third part was only in its initial filming stages when production ceased.