Alexander Nevsky (1938)

 Encountered this classic gem of a movie when I watched some Berserk related fan made videos. For a movie made in 1930s Soviet Union, the production value is very good actually that it still hold up quite well against the passage of time to this day and apparently lead some innovations in filmmaking at its time. Alexander Nevsky is a historical epic movie depicting the Heroic feat of Slavic Rus Prince, Alexander Nevsky in rallying his people to defend their motherland against invasion of Teutonic Knight. The Storyline of this classic movie maybe very simple and straightforward, yet no doubt, it is more than capable to evoke some powerful emotion for its targeted audiences.

  Go and tell foreign lands that Rus lives, they can visit her without fear. But whoever shall come to us with a sword, shall perish by the sword.

  Considering this movie was produced in Soviet period before World War 2 occurred, no doubt there will be propaganda incorporated into the movie but overall Alexander Nevsky is still a movie with solid production value which I found the Medieval Armor prop quality particularly stand out the most. I am very surprised that this movie was able to predict the eventual German attempted aggression through Operation Barbarossa 3 years in advance mirrored through Teutonic Knights serving as the antagonists. Or perhaps the brewing sentiments between Russia and Germany were at critical level already at that time. 1960 Polish Knights of Teutonic Order movie was equally epic movie and had similar vibe with Alexander Nevsky. But the latter just had stronger impact simply because it was able to foresee things ahead of its time.

Nevertheless Alexander Nevsky is still quite relevant to this day as it provide a good insight on the general Psyche of Russian people when it comes to their expected reaction toward matters that threatens against their sovereignty. Among any things the clearest thing the movie convey is that the no-mercy-shall-be-spared attitude towards the collaborators that conspired with anything that tried to invade their homeland. 

Honestly I watched Alexander Nevsky just to expect some good Medieval actions but came out obtaining insights on something else. Seriously If you want some good Medieval action movies on epic scale, This movie and Knights of Teutonic Order are certainly good movies. Perhaps at some point I will spare my time to watch Battleship Potemkin too.