First of all - it would be a mistake to treat
Ivan the Terrible as a biopic, as a historical film. The stylization after opera and
Shakespeare's plays, such as
Hamlet,
King Lear,
Macbeth, is deliberate: Eisenstein himself defined
Ivan the Terrible as a "
tragedy in the Shakespearean mode". Indeed:
Ivan the Terrible tells about real Ivan IV, the first Russian tsar, as much as
Hamlet tells about real 12th-century Amleth.
Ivan the Terrible sacrifices historicity for the sake of aesthetics and story: the
chronology is not correct, many important events are simplified or omitted
(to name a few - Ivan IV was officially married at least 4 times, he was
crowned by
metropolitan Makarius
- not bishop Pimen, Efrosinia Staritskaya wasn't the sole head of the boyar
opposition, Vladimir Staritsky wasn't mentally deficient, Grigory "Malyuta"
Skuratov entered the tsar retinue well after the depicted events, the
Basmanovs weren't commoners, etc.)
By many deliberate inaccuracies and generalizations Eisenstein makes the
point that he creates neither biopic nor historical epic but a many-layered
timeless parable. As the first opening credits say, in large letters: "
This is a film about a man...". It’s hard to add anything more specific because of all the
themes
Ivan the Terrible incorporates. Is it about tyranny? Or about a man assuming the role
of god? Or being "
lonely at the top"? Or is it a desperate outcry against cruelty and autocracy? Or about the
road to hell which is paved with good intentions? About revenge and
retaliation - the cycle of violence which never breaks?... Like with Mona
Lisa's smile - a multitude of interpretations is possible.
Ivan the Terrible combines both the elements of the classical European theater based on
Shakespeare's plays, and the Asian theatrical tradition with its emphasis on
gesture, pose, movement. The characters' faces seem to be inspired by
Renaissance paintings but the body language is strongly influenced by Noh
and Kabuki performance. And the Peking opera, of course: not surprising,
considering Eisenstein's friendship with
Mei Lanfang, the famous performer of female roles, whom he filmed during Mei Lanfang's
visit to USSR in 1935.
The actors speak in over-the-top theatrical, unnatural manner. Their
movements are symbolic and suggestive, rather than realistic. Similar to
the Peking opera, Ivan the Terrible presents idealized, generalized images, that convey spiritual
likeness of people, which stimulates viewer's imagination - not just a
formal, physical resemblance.