The Russian film-maker Sergei Eisenstein intended to present the history of the notorious Ivan IV of Russia in three parts, but he had difficulty reconciling his own vision of the film with the sensitive political requirements of the Russian Ministry of Cinematography. Part 1 was released in 1945, but the second part was banned and Eisenstein died before he could complete the re-editing. This fully illustrated version contains the original shooting script for Parts 1 and 2, and also for Part 3, plus an introduction describing conversations with Eisenstein during the making of the film, and an interview with Stalin.