[Eisenstein, Sergei, director].

Ivan the Terrible [1944].

[San Francisco]: Larry Jordan, [c. 1958?].

Oblong 12mo, with a b/w frontispiece drawing by Eisenstein and 31 black and white photographs of scenes from the film. Original buff printed wrappers, browned and with the bottom wrapper trimmed below the imprint (possibly removing an inscription or mark of ownership).

§ Limited to 100 copies printed in San Francisco by Larry Jordan (born 1934), the renowned California experimental filmmaker known for his use of animation. His most famous film was Our Lady of the Sphere which followed a boy, a deep-sea diver, and a mystical lady with an orbital head on a surrealist dream-like journey.

Ivan the Terrible (1944) was a two-part biopic of Ivan IV of Russia starring Nikolay Cherkasov. It was Eisenstein's final film and was said to have been commissioned by Joseph Stalin who admired and identified with Ivan. Part 1 was released in 1944; Part 2 should have been released in 1946, however Stalin was so displeased by the depiction of Ivan that he banned the film and it did not appear until 1958, years after Stalin's death. Part I has the uncommon accolade of have been included in both The Fifty Worst Films of All Time by Medved and Lowell and Scheider's 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. This tribute by Larry Jordan is further testament to the film's cult status. Item #124944

Price: $575.00