Trivia for
Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938) More at IMDbPro »

• Joseph Stalin wanted this film to be a propaganda tool to warn Soviet citizens to be wary of German aggression. However, it was rejected at first due to it being "too anti-German", as it came out shortly before the Soviet-German non-aggression pact of 1939 was Stalin reportedly demanded that it be shown in every Soviet movie theater as a rallying cry against the invasion.
  
  
• The battle on the ice was inspired by Sergei M. Eisenstein's love for the D.W. Griffith film Way Down East (1920), in which the climax is a chase over a vast river of melting ice heading toward a waterfall.
  
  
• The battle is reflected in both Old Russian and German chronicles. But information about specific details differs. One of the main differences is the amount of warriors on Teutonic side, presented as 300 in German chronicles and 2000 in Old Russian. One of the assumptions is that only Teutonic knights were mentioned as battle units in the German, not their servants. Historians still seek for the exact place of the battle.
  
  
• Propaganda 1 Pro-communism/ Russia: the call for peasants to rise up and defeat the invaders; the involvement of a woman (Vasilisa) in the army and at the forefront of the struggle; the banishment of the moneyed men (the bourgeoisie) from the town as the peasants arrive; the forgiveness of the Russian people to the foot soldiers of the Teutonic knights (as these foot soldiers were forced to serve the knights).
  
  
• Propaganda 2 Anti-Christianity: the Teutonic knights bear crosses on their capes, pennons and shields; crucifixes borne on rods by knights; the religious figures in the service of the knights and the religious services held; the destruction of the tent after the battle by the Master Armourer; the lack of religious figures and services/ celebrations on the Russian side (despite the crosses on top of the buildings).
  
  
• Propaganda 3 anti-German/ Nazi: the symbol on the back of the gloves of the Archbishop is simultaneously reminiscent of Christian symbolism and of the swastika; some of these Teutonic figures closest to the tent chapel display crossed daggers on their tunics reminiscent of a swastika; many of the Teutonic knights carry flags and shields or wear clothes emblazoned with a figure resembling the imperial German eagle Note that the arms of the Order of Teutonic Knights also incorporate a similar eagle); the Archbishop bears a minimally disguised swastika on his mitre/ headdress during the battle; many of the Teutonic foot-soldiers wear helmets reminiscent of the German Army of World War 2; the treachery of the knight who kills Master Armourer despite having surrendered to him.
  
  
• Despite the anti-Christian approach, Alexander makes a biblical reference when addressing the Russian people near the end of the movie stating that they "... will be Judases all ... " if they betray the victory just won.
  
  

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