The score is by Prokofiev. This particular piece is called “Battle of the Ice.”
This is a Soviet film from 1938. The director was Sergei Eisenstein, and it recounts a battle on the frozen Lake Peipus that happened between Alexander Nevsky, the prince of Novgorod, and the Teutonic knights in 1242.
The Teutonic Knights are German, and if you watch this film, you get the impression that it’s about something else. It’s actually political propaganda. The Germans come and burn your babies!
After Molotov-Ribbentrop was signed, this film was suppressed. It was then recirculated during the Great Patriotic War.
It’s not a bad film. It’s a kind of a communist Braveheart.
