Oh how Terrible.

In comparison to Eisenstein's other movie, I found that he played with the use of shadows a lot. The silhouette on the wall of Ivan's head seems to tower over everything else, reemphasizing the 'terrible.' It also makes the globe and man shadow look small in comparison. This 'terrible wizard of Oz' concept seems to show Ivan in a different light.
Alongside the shadows, is the remarkable imagery during the coronation. As the one man, claims that they must stop Ivan from reaching power, Ivan is shown with a distinct shadow of the cross directly over his neck. I took this to foresee the later conversation where Ivan claims that 'we shall cut off heads ruthlessly,' refering to those who dare disagree with him.

Another strange connection that I made was the coins. During his coronation, the coins are poured over him while the chant 'long life' is continuously repeated. Later however, Ivan uses coins in order to mark how many soldiers they lose in the battle. The contrast of life with the same object is remarkable on Eisenstein's part.

I found the death of the soldier's comical also. [Although I probably shouldn't have] Realizing that they lacked the same special effects present today, I still found it funny as the soldiers lay dead on the fence with arrows only right next to their arms, or necks. This lack of gore/realistic death meant it lacked the tragedy that today's movies seem to produce.

Another aspect of the movie that struck me as strange was the very Wuthering Height's-esque approach to Ivan's heir. The child just seems to appear, without a mention or notice before or during the pregnancy. Not until, this heir has a part to play as Ivan 'dies' is he mentioned.

As for the Tsarina, the first time she truly makes a speech of substance, is after she believes that the Tsar has died. She may feel that she must now fill the role or at least live up to it, and work towards his goal while he was STILL living.

The other concept of his death that struck me was after he dies. He commends his friend for still being faithful at this time when no one else is. He says "I shall raise you higher still" but as he says these words, he pushes his friends to his knees. Which overall seems to contradict what he says and perhaps shows that he mistakes his friends motives [which he later comes to the correct conclusion that he coveted the throne.]

Lastly, I found it comical that Ivan claims the holy sacrament cured him, yet he was able to jump and run around minutes before he died. I found it hard to believe that he was 'near death' and that therefore the holy sacraments were the reason he was still living.