Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.
- Won 2 Oscars
- 3 wins & 11 nominations total
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSir Laurence Olivier first suggested Tom Baker to be cast as Grigori Rasputin. Olivier was the director of the National Theatre in England; Baker was a member of the company.
- GoofsWhen the family is in the basement in the final scene, the Grand Duchesses' hairstyles are based on official photographs from 1914. In real life, when the Grand Duchesses were imprisoned, their heads were shaved due to illness. By the time they were killed in July 1918, their hair had grown to the napes of their necks.
- Quotes
Tsar Nicholas II: Taking someone's life, no man should have that power.
Yurovsky: You had it.
Tsar Nicholas II: Yes. And I have learned that a strong man needs no power, and a weak man is destroyed by it. He's like a child. You don't shoot children, do you? In your new world, are there penalties for innocence?
Yurovsky: Sometimes. It takes a wise judge to know who is innocent and who is guilty. I wish I knew.
- Crazy credits"By courtesy of the National Theatre of G.B." is written underneath Tom Baker and Laurence Olivier's names in the end credits. "By courtesy of the Royal Shakespeare Company" is written underneath Janet Suzman's name.
- Alternate versionsThe present DVD issue is slightly longer than the original VHS versions and includes several scenes not featured in the earlier versions e.g. a Russian general committing suicide and more scenes of the royal family in captivity.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Untold History of the United States: Chapter 3: The Bomb (2012)
- SoundtracksWiegenlied (Lullaby) Op. 49 No. 4
(uncredited)
Music by Johannes Brahms
Words from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Sung by Alexandra
JANET SUZMAN is excellent as the woman who turns for comfort and hope to a madman, Rasputin, while her ineffective husband is unable to convince her that he is a charlatan. MICHAEL JAYSTON is effective as Nicholas, inhabiting the role so completely that you feel he is the man himself. TOM BAKER, who bears a striking resemblance to the real Rasputin, is also up to the demands of his role.
There's a vast canvas of historical background filmed in splendid Technicolor with obviously no expense spared in all the costuming and production design details. The only real drawback is a lack of pacing in several key dramatic scenes, especially toward the end when the family's execution turns into an endless wait for the assassins to enter the room. Many scenes could have been more tightly edited to reduce the running time of over three hours.
The supporting cast includes famous names like LAURENCE OLIVIER and MICHAEL REDGRAVE in what amount to bit roles. The daughters have little to do but the hemophiliac son, Alexis, is played with great sensitivity by RODERIC NOBLE.
The realization that she is responsible for carrying the genes that gave her son his condition, is what torments Alexandra and leads to her unwise decision to take counsel from Rasputin.
Dramatically, the film suffers from the slow pacing--but the story itself is so compelling that it makes up for this deficiency by providing scenes of epic grandeur and stunning cinematography.
It fully deserved its Oscars for Best Art Direction and Costume Design. It was nominated for several other Oscars but Janet Suzman lost to Jane Fonda of KLUTE and the Best Picture award went to THE FRENCH CONNECTION.
- Doylenf
- Nov 7, 2009
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Details
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- Also known as
- Nikolaus und Alexandra
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- Budget
- $9,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime3 hours 3 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1