Andrei Abrikosov

Andrei Abrikosov looks at home among men who expect to be obeyed. As Boyar Fyodor Kolychev in Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944), he has the physical assurance Sergei Eisenstein’s severe court requires. That makes him persuasive casting, even when the formal style gives us little access to private feeling. We were stirred by Eisenstein’s forceful images and Nikolay Cherkasov’s severe performance, though we wanted to feel closer to the people.

His film career began with Grigory Melekhov, the lead in the silent And Quiet Flows the Don (1930). By Alexander Nevsky (1938), in which Eisenstein cast him as Gavrilo Oleksich, his imposing appearance was being put to use in a historical warrior role. The title role in Stepan Razin (1939) extended that pattern. These parts require an audience to accept a man’s authority quickly, and Abrikosov’s physical presence gives a director a firm starting point.

The formality is less rewarding in Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot (1958), where he plays Archbishop Philip, formerly Kolychev. Carrying the same figure across both films gives his contribution continuity, but the second film is harder going. Its stiff performances and heavy pacing leave too little room for absorption in the story. The colour banquet and Sergei Prokofiev’s score reward patience; they do not make the acting more involving. We would recommend it to someone interested in Eisenstein’s methods before someone looking for an introduction to Abrikosov.

Outside Eisenstein, later work included Prince Vladimir in Ilya Muromets (1956) and Balyasny in the comedy Wedding in Malinovka (1967). His work with the Vakhtangov Theatre also included Othello and Jean Valjean, so the screen’s succession of commanding historical figures was only part of his acting life. Those other roles are worth remembering before treating the stiffness of an Eisenstein film as the sum of his abilities. Start with Ivan the Terrible, Part I, allowing for a style that keeps its people at a distance.