Ivan the Terrible, Part 1 (1945)

Oh, damn. Like nearly all the Russian films I've seen so far, this suffers from a certain amount of stiffness (my kingdom for a Russian film that doesn't move like it's swimming through maple syrup)... but any boredom is easily overcome by Sergei Eisenstein's astonishing command of the cinematic medium. (Has anyone since his death used editing in such a forceful way?) Every shot is worthy of being framed, so why carp about pacing problems?

Grade: A-