Rating: 
Summary: This is the "Alexander Nevsky" to get
Review: (This review refers to the BMG Edition, and not to any other, including the DVD. The BMG Edition has a black and white cover tinged with red. It has not yet been issued on DVD, and is regarded as a Special Edition.)
This is by far the best,sharpest print of "Alexander Nevsky" I've ever seen,and although the story,dialogue,and stylized acting hasn't been changed at all, there is one important difference.
Audiences can finally hear the glorious Prokofiev music--some of the finest he ever wrote- in glorious hi-fi sound. The manufacturers of this version managed to get hold of a print with voices and sound effects,but minus the music,and this has enabled them to replace the once hopelessly tinny music track with this new version, with a new orchestra and conductor. It is still the Prokofiev score,in its ravishing original orchestrations and vocal arrangements,so buyers need not be alarmed.Eisenstein had an incomparable eye for pictorial composition,as is evidenced by the unforgettable Battle on the Ice,and the beautiful,if rather grisly,opening shots of the sky and countryside dotted with skulls still wearing helmets,and now audiences can appreciate both the story and the music (perfectly synchronized with the picture,BTW) without having to allow for the limitations of 1938 recording--made even worse by the fact that Russia just did not have access at that time, and for a long time after,to good recording equipment.
Rating:
Summary: A troubled and troubling masterpiece...
Review: A technically dazzling but rather uneven and loaded piece of political filmmaking, ALEXANDER NEVSKY represents a significant departure from the style of Eisenstein's earlier, more dissonant works such as STRIKE and POTEMKIN. Here, the images are precisely arranged and timed to complement the orchestral flourishes of Prokofiev's rousing score. The dense, subtle intertwining of musical and visual leitmotivs is in the grand tradition of Wagnerian opera and what Baudelaire famously called "des forêts de symboles/Qui l'observent avec des regards familiers" - a poetic synthesis of "correspondences," suffusing the world with protean allegorical meanings. It's more than likely that ALEXANDER NEVSKY was conceived, at least in part, as a repudiation of the ornamental aesthetics and proto-fascist mise-en-scène of Fritz Lang's celebrated NIBELUNGEN cycle. It also qualifies as an open attack on the inherited cultural values of the Third Reich, since the Knights of the Teutonic Order conquered Prussia early in the thirteenth century before attempting their invasion of Russia - thus contributing to the myth of "the men of blood and iron" later associated with the Hohenzollerns and Kaiser Wilhelm II. In addition to Lang, Eisenstein manages to work in several references to Griffith such as when we see the Germans charging on horseback and swathed in ghostly white robes like the hooded Ku Klux Klan riders in THE BIRTH OF A NATION, or when the ice breaks up on Lake Peipus just like the melting frozen waterfall in WAY DOWN EAST. And the comic subplot involving a maid and her suitors may have been inspired by Constance Talmadge at the Babylonian marriage market in INTOLERANCE as well as the contest for Brünnhilde's love in Lang's SIEGFRIED. The most disturbing moment of the film comes early on when the Crusader knights round up the Russian peasant children and cast them into the purgative holy fires reserved for Islamic heathen and Cathar heretics. It recalls the infant sacrifices of ancient Carthage depicted in Giovanni Pastrone's CABIRIA - to say nothing of the Nazi atrocities and 'scorched earth' immolations that were to happen later at the Battle of Stalingrad. Even stranger are the Klimt-like arabesques of the final Russian Orthodox ceremonies and the suppressed hints of mercenary trading along the Baltic coast and collusion with the Mongol rulers of the Golden Horde (Eisenstein's original ending was abandoned under official pressure from Moscow). If anything, ALEXANDER NEVSKY is a curiously double-edged hagiography for the venerable 'fisher prince' of Novgorod, which doesn't seem to appreciate its own historical ironies nearly enough.
Rating: 
Summary: TIME FOR HEROES
Review: Alexander Nevsky. This is a story of war, pain and glory,
Tragedy, slavery, death and the sorrow,
Heroes and honesty, strength of denial,
Life on your knees - rather die in a fire,
Even when all seams so lost, non-existent,
Heroes step forward to lead the resistance, This movie was made in the middle of war,
The country seamed lost and the millions died,
But spirits of heroes from the ancient world
Called people to rise in the righteous fight.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing, but
Review: All the complaints about this DVD in the previous reviews are valid. The sound is so bad, you should familiarize yourself with the music before you watch it so that you know what you are missing. But still, this is one of the greatest films ever made and until we get a better version, this is a must have DVD for any serious film lover. This is a 5 star film with 1 star for the transfer
Rating: 
Summary: WRETCHED sound makes DVD worth one star
Review: Although I truly love the film (and the video tranfer is great), this DVD has the horrible 1930's recording of the soundtrack. Prokofiev's great score sounds like it is playing from an AM radio placed undera mattress. Unless you are truly wedded to DVD format, get the BMG video which includes an excellent re-recording of the score in modern stereo (along with a great video). We can only hope that the BMG version gets to DVD soon.
Rating:
Summary: A classic but try to find the LaserDisc version
Review: Although the film-to-DVD transfer was excellent, the rendering of Prokofiev's score suffers due to the limitations of 1930's sound track technology. BMG produced a restgored version on laserdisc with the score re-recorded in stunning, state-of-the art sound. If you can find it, this is the one to have.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding art just before WW2
Review: Eisenstein in this soviet film is probably at the highest point in his career. He uses the technique of the silent film entirely for a talking film, and associates this technique to that of acting and speaking and to what he is famous for, mass action and the movements of masses most of the time shown through the actions of one character, but with a swift movement from a complete army or a scene on a frozen lake to the concentration on one or two details, be they characters, a bird, a sled, a tree, or anything that looks brittle or human. That enables the director to focus his film on human feelings and defocus his film from mass action. He is helped in this task by the text that emphasizes the general idea that Russia will never accept to be conquered and at the same time the simple human feelings of some particular characters, like love and heroism. That enables him to mix dramatic elements and more entertaining events. The music by Prokofiev helps the film tremendously by giving it a dramatic depth when necessary and a soft and human dimension the rest of the time. Even the patriotic songs retain a great human value. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating:
Summary: Superb Eisenstein classic
Review: For those familiar with this classic of the Russian cinema, little need be said. For others, here are the high points: the story is set in medieval Russia and it essentially is about a great warrior who is drawn out of seclusion to lead the fight to defend the homeland against invading barbarians, who are German; there is much bravura acting from the loyal patriots, who deal not only with a vicious enemy from without but also with insidious traitors from within; the hero-warrior who leads them is suitably understated and dignified, striking a memorable portrait of nobility and grandeur. All this is dramatically heightened by some of the best cinematography ever, climaxing in a final battle over the ice which is done entirely with striking visuals and music-only sound. The result is one that rises far beyond the level of a mere costume picture or any cartoon story of battling types. This is a rich treasure from cinematic history, with all talents (including Sergei Eisenstein, one of the greatest directors ever, seen at his best) in brilliant form. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Queen Mary's Dolls' House
Review: Help ! I am a doll house owner and was given this tape for Christmas. However, I cannot view it on any of my three VCR'S, as it skips constantly. It is quite obvious that something is wrong with the tape. How can I get this back to Home Vision the fastest way to have a replacement sent to me? Hope you can be of some help. Happy New Year
Rating:
Summary: DVD Quality Is An Insult To This Eisenstein Masterpiece
Review: I agree completely with Dan Sherman from Washington, D.C., the Image DVD is horrible compared to the BMG VHS version of Sergei Eisenstein's "Alexander Nevsky". This true masterpiece of cinema is presented in a poor print with a muddled Prokofiev score on the DVD. Image should be praised for releasing such classics as F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" and several of Eisenstein's classics on DVD, but it is truly disappointing that this DVD version of "Alexander Nevsky" is not preferable to a VHS version already available. I was very excited when the DVD was released, but when I put it in my player and played the Battle on the Ice to see how good it would be on DVD, I was absolutely depressed after having seen the beautiful print and new recording of Prokofiev's score that BMG had used for their VHS version. Hopefully, BMG releases their version on DVD someday.
| 
