Published: 10 June, 2008, 09:42
Edited: 10 June, 2008, 09:42
A classic film about the Russian medieval war hero, Prince Alexander Nevsky, is being given a new lease of life in the U.S. The 1938 epic, shot by Russian director Sergey Eisentein, is being screened at the Seattle International Film Festival. To add to t
he performance will give Seattle audiences the rare opportunity to see and hear “Nevsky” the way it was intended by Eisenstein and Prokofiev.
Eisenstein was a revolutionary Soviet film director and film theorist. His work influenced early film makers with its innovative use of montage.
Apart from “Nevsky”, he is particularly noted for films like “Strike”, “Battleship Potemkin”, “October” and “Ivan the Terrible”.
Sergey Prokofiev is viewed as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. His prolific work includes ballets like “Romeo and Juliet” and “Cinderella”, and operas such as “The Love for Three Oranges” and “War and Peace”.
For Eisenstein, “Nevsky” was going to be a relatively simple adventure story. But the collaboration of two artists produced a masterpiece which skillfully connects literary and historic references and black humour.
After the October revolution, Prokofiev left Russia. While in exile, he worked for some time with Walt Disney, learning advance scoring techniques. Eisenstein and Prokofiev resorted to Disney’s idea of a “silly symphony”, which consists in using music to comment on action.