Eisenstein's film about a Russian defense of their motherland from the evil German forces can easily be interpreted, well, too easily actually, as a call to arms to Russia's people against, YES! The Germans! The film is somewhat laborous to sit through until the actual war scenes take place, but until that happens, there's a little bit of a lecture (and some songs) from Alexander and friends about why this has to happen and What Makes Russia So Great! But the main focus of this is the epic battle sequence that features heaven knows how many extras waving their axes and swords around occasionally hitting something, (usually someone's head) It seems the extras get carried away in several scenes, you can see several of them attacking each other lol. Though masterful, the whole thing DOES become a bit repetitive after awhile, eg people swinging weapons around, people riding horses, people getting bopped on heads etc.

Finally, I have no idea whether exportfilm (which I guess handled subtitling for this film?) has corrected the English subtitles, but the version I saw had more or less the correct dialog for the film,.but was presented in a very yoda-like manner. eg "Fight, we must!"

I'd like to first say that the version of the film I saw had some of the worst audio-visual quality I've ever had to endure. The sound effects and voice literally sounded like static on my television, and the picture was washed and fuzzy. Therefore, I probably did not experience the film the way it was meant to be seen, and as a result my opinion of it has been tainted.

"Alexander Nevsky" is a decent propaganda picture released during Stalin's reign over the Soviet Union. It is filled with patriotism and proud declaration of Russia's greatness and willingness to fight. However, much of this enthusiasm didn't carry over for me, and I felt very lost and detached the entire film (again, most-likely due to the technical quality of the DVD). Also, the translation and subtitles were awful and made it even harder to follow the film. However, it did have one long, rousing battle sequence that surely set the standard for many to come, and a memorable score added to the excitement. Overall though, it was all a bit underwhelming for me.

I can only hope for a newly restored, updated version to be released some day so that I can fully enjoy the film the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

"Alexander Nevsky" is a mythohistorical recounting of a portion of the life of the Russian leader. He is called upon to defend Novgorod against invasion by the Teutonic Knights of the Holy Roman Empire. This seminal battle for the religious and political roots of Russia made Nevsky the main hero of Russia's history per a popular vote in 2008.

Director Sergei Eisenstein's film is notable for its clear, impactful images. But otherwise I consider it inferior to many other films of its era.

The battle action is often cited as one of the film's best features, but the swords don't pierce and the axes don't cleave---and this is shown quite clearly. The activities of the men on the field of battle are amateurish and not even remotely convincing. The Teutonic Knights are depicted as little more than mindless fodder.

The acting, in general, is exaggerated and stiff. Here again, the film should be compared to others of its time, e.g. "The Adventures of Robin Hood".

Eisenstein has a solid place in Russian film history and this film is certainly a seminal part of his oeuvre, but it fails to inspire.