SIFF Part 7: "Alexander Nevsky"

Last night after work we went to Benaroya Hall downtown for a 7:00 screening of Sergei Eisenstein's "Alexander Nevsky," with the original score by Sergei Prokofiev performed live by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Chorale, under the direction of guest conductor Xian Zhang. "Alexander Nevsky" was made in 1938 and was the product of a close collaboration between the director and the composer.

I hadn't really watched an entire Eisenstein film before, and it was especially interesting in light of the screening of "In the Land of the Headhunters" I had seen three nights earlier. While "Headhunters" seemed primitive, "Alexander Nevsky," made just fourteen years later, seemed completely modern as a film. Although the acting style is mannered in a way that seems old-fashioned today, which garnered some unintended laughs from the audience on Friday night, the way the film is shot and edited tells the story in much the same way filmmakers tell stories today. I was especially struck by how skilled Eisenstein is in creating powerful, memorable images, and, ironically, his use of color. Being a black-and-white film, the only colors on the screen in "Alexander Nevsky" are black, white, and an infinite number of shades of gray, but Eisenstein uses those shades, as well as light, to brilliant effect.

The Prokofiev score is delightful. (I think it's hard not to like Prokofiev's music; when I was a kid listening to classical music — before I was old enough to discover rock and radio — I used to love listening to Prokofiev.) And it was a great experience to see this film projected on a screen suspended over the live orchestra and chorale. It was especially exciting to see the members of the chorale, who were seated behind the orchestra when they weren't singing, stand up in unison a couple of measures before their cue, because it always happened at some point in the film when you knew something significant was about to happen, and to have the singers rise to their feet as one just added to the anticipatory rush.

Another one of David's excellent picks! I told him he was promoted to Film Program Director for the household.