Nicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar
Nicholas II of RussiaNicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra.
The film was adapted by
James GoldmanJames Goldman was an American screenwriter and playwright, and the brother of screenwriter and novelist William Goldman.He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up primarily in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb...
from the
bookNicholas and Alexandra: An Intimate Account of the Last of the Romanovs and the Fall of Imperial Russia is a 1967 biography of the last royal family of Russia by historian Robert K. Massie...
by Robert K. Massie. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.
It won
Academy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for
Best Art Direction-Set DecorationThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(
John BoxJohn Allan Hyatt Box OBE, , was a British film production designer and art director. During his career he won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction on four occasions and won its BAFTA equivalent three times, making him the most decorated film designer of all time...
,
Ernest ArcherErnest Archer was a British art director. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for another in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
,
Jack MaxstedJack Maxsted was an English art director. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film Nicholas and Alexandra.-External links:...
,
Gil ParrondoGil Parrondo is a Spanish art director, set decorator and production designer. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for another in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
,
Vernon DixonVernon Dixon was a British set decorator. He won three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Dixon won three Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:* Oliver! * Nicholas and Alexandra...
) and
Best Costume DesignThe Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
, and was nominated for
Best Actress in a Leading RolePerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(
Janet SuzmanDame Janet Suzman, DBE is a South African-born-British actress and director.-Early life:Janet Suzman was born in Johannesburg to a Jewish family, the daughter of Betty and Saul Suzman, a wealthy importer of tobacco....
),
Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
,
Best Music, Original Dramatic ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
and
Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
.
Plot
The story begins with the birth of the
Tsarevich AlexeiAlexei Nikolaevich of the House of Romanov, was the Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the throne of the Russian Empire. In English, his title is usually given as Tsarevich, a title that has a separate meaning in Russia. Alexei was the youngest child and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress...
in the opulent surroundings of the Imperial Court. The
Russo-Japanese WarThe Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
is on and Tsar Nicholas (
Michael JaystonMichael Jayston is a Nottingham-born English actor.- Early life :He attended the Becket Grammar School in West Bridgford, then worked briefly as a trainee accountant at the offices of the National Coal Board before obtaining a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to train as an...
) is warned by Count Witte (
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
) and Grand Duke Nicholas (
Harry AndrewsHarry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
) that the war is futile and costing too many lives. They also tell him that the Russian people want a representative government, health care, voting and workers' rights, but Nicholas wants to maintain the traditional autocracy left to him by his forefathers. Meanwhile, underground political parties led by
Vladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
(
Michael BryantMichael Dennis Bryant was a British stage and television actor.-Biography:Bryant attended Battersea Grammar School and after service in the Merchant Navy and Army, he attended drama school and appeared in many productions on the London stage. He made his film debut in 1955...
),
Joseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
(
James HazeldineJames Hazeldine was a British film, stage and television actor. He was born in Salford, Lancashire.James started his career in repertory theatre, firstly in weekly rep, then at the Manchester Library theatre and on to the Royal Court Theatre in London's Sloane Square, where he appeared in the...
), and
Leon TrotskyLeon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
(Brian Cox) have formed.
Alexei is soon diagnosed with hemophilia. The Tsarina Alexandra (
Janet SuzmanDame Janet Suzman, DBE is a South African-born-British actress and director.-Early life:Janet Suzman was born in Johannesburg to a Jewish family, the daughter of Betty and Saul Suzman, a wealthy importer of tobacco....
) is frantic. A shy former German princess who is not highly thought of by the Russian royal court, she is isolated, but is befriended by Grigori Rasputin (
Tom BakerThomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
), a Siberian peasant who describes himself as a religious pilgrim or holy man. He has become a curiosity with some people at court. Later Alexandra calls upon him to help her pray for Alexei, and comes to believe in his healing, life-saving abilities.
In a textile mill, working under ghastly conditions, the people are encouraged by their priest, Father
George GaponGeorgiy Apollonovich Gapon was a Russian Orthodox priest and a popular working class leader before the Russian Revolution of 1905.-Early life:...
(
Julian GloverJulian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
). He leads them, joined by many other peasant workers, in a clearly peaceful procession to the
Winter PalaceThe Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
, intending to present a petition to the Tsar. Hundreds of soldiers stand ready in front of the palace; their commanding officer tells them to shoot up in the air, but he falls from his horse, there is a panic, and the soldiers proceed to fire randomly into the crowd. Nicholas has not been at the palace and is horrified when he hears of the massacre, but admits he wouldn't have granted the people's requests. (
Bloody SundayBloody Sunday was a massacre on in St. Petersburg, Russia, where unarmed, peaceful demonstrators marching to present a petition to Tsar Nicholas II were gunned down by the Imperial Guard while approaching the city center and the Winter Palace from several gathering points. The shooting did not...
)
Eight years later, on the 300th anniversary of Romanov rule, the family vacations at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea. Alexei (
Roderic NobleRoderic Noble is an English former child actor, best known for his role as Tsarevich Alexei Romanov in the 1971 film, Nicholas and Alexandra.-Biography:...
) is a very lively little boy who is constantly prevented from leading a normal life. A close bond, however, exists between Alexei and his bodyguard/protector, the Russian Naval Sailor Nagorny (
John HallamJohn William Francis Hallam was a Northern Irish character actor.- Career :He appeared in many film and television roles including Nicholas and Alexandra , Murphy's War , The Pallisers , The Mallens , Flash Gordon , Dragonslayer , the BBC television adaptations of Prince Caspian...
). Prime Minister
Pyotr StolypinPyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin served as the leader of the 3rd DUMA—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of...
(
Eric PorterEric Richard Porter was an English actor of stage, film and television.-Early life:Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall...
), who succeeded Witte, has commissioned the Imperial Duma and granted some of the people's requests in order to preserve the Russian Empire. Prime Minister Stolypin also presents Nicholas with police reports about Rasputin's dissolute behavior, which is serving to give the Tsar a bad reputation. As a result, the Tsar dismisses Rasputin from the court. Alexandra demands his return. She knows Alexei's hemophilia was inherited from her, and is racked with guilt. She is obsessed with the thought that only Rasputin can stop the bleeding attacks when they occur.
The Tercentenary celebration occurs in a grand fashion with much partying and festivities, but takes a turn for the worse when Prime Minister Stolypin is shot at an opera performance in
KievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Nicholas retaliates not only by uprooting the conspiracy and executing the killers, but also by closing the
DumaA Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
and allowing police to terrorize the peasants and burn their homes.
Alexei has a minor fall at the Spala Hunting Lodge, which leads to the worst bleeding attack yet. It is presumed that he will die. The Tsaritsa writes a letter to Rasputin, who soon responds with words of comfort and confidence. Sure enough, the Tsarevich recovers, and Rasputin is allowed to return.
World War I begins with the assassination of
Archduke FerdinandFranz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
. Germany declares war on Russia immediately after Nicholas has ordered the mobilisation of Russia's forces on the German border. Nicholas decides to command the troops himself in 1915 and leaves for the front, taking over from his much more experienced cousin, Grand Duke Nicholas. This leaves Alexandra in charge at home. Under Rasputin's influence and her own conservative inclinations, she makes unwise decisions. Very few people have been told about Alexei's illness or how Rasputin appears to be helping him, so it looks like the Tsaritsa is losing her mind, or perhaps having an affair with Rasputin. Out on the front lines, Nicholas is visited by his mother the Dowager Empress Maria Foeodorovna (
Irene WorthIrene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
), (who is very outspokenly critical of her son's lack of leadership abilities), who scolds him about not attending to crumbling domestic issues and implores him to eliminate Rasputin (as well as to send Alexandra away to one of the royal palaces out of sight). On a sort of drunken whim, two decadent young princes, Grand Duke Dmitri (
Richard WarwickRichard Warwick was a British actor.He was born Richard Carey Winter, at Meopham, Kent and made his film debut in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of Romeo and Juliet in the role of Gregory...
) and Prince
Felix YusupovPrince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston , was best known for participating in the murder of Grigori Rasputin, the faith healer who was said to have influenced decisions of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna.-Biography:...
(
Martin PotterMartin Potter is a British actor.After the National Youth Theatre and repertory theatre in Guildford and Hampstead, Potter received his first role in British television at the age of 24 in the television drama The Bonegrinder written by Dennis Potter...
), invite Rasputin to an opium party and kill him in December, 1916.
Deprived of her only trusted advisor, Alexandra becomes unable to cope. Workers go on strike everywhere. The army is ill supplied. Starving and freezing, they revolt, and St. Petersburg is overrun with them. Nicholas makes a long return to Tsarskow Selo, but is forced to abdicate in his train at Mogiliev, not only for himself but for Alexei, who is furious when he hears this, and becomes withdrawn, believing that the family will soon perish.
The family (and Dr. Botkin (
Timothy WestTimothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
) and Nagorny) are forced to leave the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo by Kerensky and are brought to
SiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
in mid-1917, where they live under less grand conditions with rough but decent guards. In late 1917, Russia falls into the hands of the
BolshevikThe Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
party, the one revolutionary group that nobody took seriously. The
Russian Civil WarThe Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
starts very soon afterwards, and the family is transferred to the grim
Ipatiev HouseIpatiev House was a merchant's house in Yekaterinburg where the former Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, his family and members of his household were executed following the Bolshevik Revolution...
in Ekaterinburg, under harsher conditions, and into the keeping of the cold-blooded and unfeeling
Yakov YurovskyYakov Mikhaylovich Yurovsky was an Old Bolshevik best known as the chief executioner of Russia's last Tsar, Nicholas II and his family in 1918, during the Russian Civil War.- Early life :...
(
Alan Webb-Biography and Career:Educated at Bramcote School, Scarborough, and RN Colleges Osborne and Dartmouth. He served in the Royal Navy.Webb's early days were spent performing with the Lena Ashwell Players , J. B. Fagan's Oxford Players , The Croydon Repertory Company , and the Old Vic-Sadler's Wells...
) (whom Alexei immediately pegs as an evil man). At one point, some of the guards are physically harsh with young Alexei, so Nagorny leaps to his defense and attacks them. Nagorny is taken away and shot, leaving Alexei even more embittered and withdrawn than he was before. In a near-final tragic scene, the family is shown laughing as they read previously withheld letters from friends, relatives and teachers. Only Alexei remains aloof, sensing what is about to happen. The Bolsheviks are frantically deciding what to do as the White Army is on the verge on capturing Ekaterinburg. In the middle of the night of 16/17 July 1918, the Bolsheviks awaken the Romanov family and Dr. Botkin. Told they're being sent to another city, the family and the doctor pack their things and wait in the cellar. Their keeper Yurovsky and his assistants enter the room, as Alexei kisses his father for the last time. They point their guns at the family, causing Olga (
Ania MarsonAnia Marson , in Gdynia, is an English and Polish Actress.-Biography:She was trained at the famed Corona Stage Academy and began her career in 1963 in the famous series Dixon of Dock Green, then in 1960, in other series like The Troubleshooters in 1968 and "Detective" in 1969...
) and Tatiana (
Lynne FrederickLynne Maria Frederick was an English film actress. In a career spanning ten years she made about thirty films or television drama appearances, but she is best remembered as the last wife of Peter Sellers. She was married twice after his death.-Early life:Frederick was born in Hillingdon,...
) to scream, Maria (
Candace Glendenning-Biography:She remains best known for her work in horror films of the 1970s such as The Flesh and Blood Show, Tower of Evil and Satan's Slave. Known for her great beauty, these films featured large amounts of nudity from her and several sex scenes. She and Kay Lenz were rumoured to have been...
) to run into the doctor's arms and Alexandra to cross herself. Then they open fire, and the first bullet goes through Nicholas' hand. The end scene shows the wall covered in blood.
Cast
- Michael Jayston
Michael Jayston is a Nottingham-born English actor.- Early life :He attended the Becket Grammar School in West Bridgford, then worked briefly as a trainee accountant at the offices of the National Coal Board before obtaining a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to train as an...
(Tzar Nicholas IINicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
)
- Janet Suzman
Dame Janet Suzman, DBE is a South African-born-British actress and director.-Early life:Janet Suzman was born in Johannesburg to a Jewish family, the daughter of Betty and Saul Suzman, a wealthy importer of tobacco....
(Empress Alexandra)
- Roderic Noble
Roderic Noble is an English former child actor, best known for his role as Tsarevich Alexei Romanov in the 1971 film, Nicholas and Alexandra.-Biography:...
(Tsarevich Alexei)
- Ania Marson
Ania Marson , in Gdynia, is an English and Polish Actress.-Biography:She was trained at the famed Corona Stage Academy and began her career in 1963 in the famous series Dixon of Dock Green, then in 1960, in other series like The Troubleshooters in 1968 and "Detective" in 1969...
(Grand Duchess Olga)
- Lynne Frederick
Lynne Maria Frederick was an English film actress. In a career spanning ten years she made about thirty films or television drama appearances, but she is best remembered as the last wife of Peter Sellers. She was married twice after his death.-Early life:Frederick was born in Hillingdon,...
(Grand Duchess TatianaGrand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia , , was the second daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and of Tsarina Alexandra...
)
- Candace Glendenning
-Biography:She remains best known for her work in horror films of the 1970s such as The Flesh and Blood Show, Tower of Evil and Satan's Slave. Known for her great beauty, these films featured large amounts of nudity from her and several sex scenes. She and Kay Lenz were rumoured to have been...
(Grand Duchess Maria)
- Fiona Fullerton
Fiona Elizabeth Fullerton is a Nigerian-born British actress.She is perhaps best known for her role as KGB spy Pola Ivanova in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill and as Alice in the 1972 film Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.Fullerton made her film debut in 1969 with a role in Run Wild, Run...
(Grand Duchess AnastasiaGrand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna....
)
- Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
(Count WitteCount Sergei Yulyevich Witte , also known as Sergius Witte, was a highly influential policy-maker who presided over extensive industrialization within the Russian Empire. He served under the last two emperors of Russia...
)
- Harry Andrews
Harry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
(Grand Duke Nicholas)
- Irene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
(Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna)
- Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
(Grigori RasputinGrigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a Russian Orthodox Christian and mystic who is perceived as having influenced the latter days of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their only son Alexei...
)
- Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
(Count FredericksCount Vladimir Borisovich Frederiks or Adolf Andreas Woldemar Freedericksz was a Finno-Russian statesman who served as Imperial Household Minister between 1897 and 1917 under Nicholas II...
)
- Timothy West
Timothy Lancaster West, CBE is an English film, stage and television actor.-Career:West's craggy looks ensured a career as a character actor rather than a leading man. He began his career as an Assistant Stage Manager at the Wimbledon Theatre in 1956, and followed this with several seasons of...
(Dr. BotkinYevgeny Sergeyevich Botkin was the court physician for Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra and, while in exile with the family, sometimes treated the hemophilia-related complications of the Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia.Botkin went into exile with the Romanovs following the Russian...
)
- Jean-Claude Drouot
Jean Claude Drouot is a Belgian actor.-Biography:Jean Claude Drouot was formed in Young Theater of Université Libre de Bruxelles . Later it leaves settling down has Paris or he follows Charles Dullin's courses and has to leave of 1962, he interprets the big tragedies and rooms plays of Molière...
(Mr. GilliardPierre Gilliard was a Swiss academic, who was French language tutor to the five children of Tsar Nicholas II from 1905 to 1918. Years after the Imperial Family was assassinated by the Bolsheviks in July 1918, Gilliard wrote a book Thirteen Years at the Russian Court, about his time with the family...
)
- John Hallam
John William Francis Hallam was a Northern Irish character actor.- Career :He appeared in many film and television roles including Nicholas and Alexandra , Murphy's War , The Pallisers , The Mallens , Flash Gordon , Dragonslayer , the BBC television adaptations of Prince Caspian...
(Nagorny)
- Guy Rolfe
Guy Rolfe was an English actor born in London.He made his screen debut in 1937 with an uncredited appearance in Knight Without Armour. Notable roles include: Prince John in Ivanhoe , Ned Seymour in Young Bess , Caiaphas in King of Kings , and Prince Grigory in Taras Bulba...
(Dr. Fedorov)
- John Wood
John Wood, CBE was an English actor.-Biography:Wood was born in Derbyshire and studied law at Jesus College, Oxford where he was president of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Changing to drama, Wood became known as a stage actor, appearing in numerous West End productions as well as on...
(Colonel Kobylinsky) |
Eric Porter Eric Richard Porter was an English actor of stage, film and television.-Early life:Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall...
(Pyotr StolypinPyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin served as the leader of the 3rd DUMA—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of...
)
Michael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
(Sergei Sazanov)
Maurice DenhamMaurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
(Vladimir KokovtsovCount Vladimir Nikolayevich Kokovtsov was a Russian prime minister during the reign of Nicholas II of Russia.- Biography :...
)
Ralph TrumanRalph Truman was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice...
(Rodzianko)
Gordon GostelowGordon Gostelow was a New Zealand actor. He was educated in Australia at North Sydney Boys High School and Sydney University where he graduated in Economics....
(Guchkov)
John McEnery (Alexander KerenskyAlexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
)
Michael BryantMichael Dennis Bryant was a British stage and television actor.-Biography:Bryant attended Battersea Grammar School and after service in the Merchant Navy and Army, he attended drama school and appeared in many productions on the London stage. He made his film debut in 1955...
(LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
)
Brian Cox (TrotskyLeon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
)
James HazeldineJames Hazeldine was a British film, stage and television actor. He was born in Salford, Lancashire.James started his career in repertory theatre, firstly in weekly rep, then at the Manchester Library theatre and on to the Royal Court Theatre in London's Sloane Square, where he appeared in the...
(StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
)
Steven BerkoffSteven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. Best known for his performance as General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy, he is typically cast in villanous roles, such as Lt...
(Pankratov)
Ian HolmSir Ian Holm, CBE is an English actor known for his stage work and for many film roles. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear...
(Commissar Yakovlev)
Alan Webb-Biography and Career:Educated at Bramcote School, Scarborough, and RN Colleges Osborne and Dartmouth. He served in the Royal Navy.Webb's early days were spent performing with the Lena Ashwell Players , J. B. Fagan's Oxford Players , The Croydon Repertory Company , and the Old Vic-Sadler's Wells...
(Yurovsky)
Roy DotriceRoy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
(General Alexeiev)
Richard WarwickRichard Warwick was a British actor.He was born Richard Carey Winter, at Meopham, Kent and made his film debut in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of Romeo and Juliet in the role of Gregory...
(Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of RussiaGrand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia was a Russian imperial dynast. He is known for being involved in the murder of the mystic peasant faith healer Grigori Rasputin, who he felt held undue sway over Tsar Nicholas II.-Early life:Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich was born at Ilinskoe near Moscow, the...
)
Alexander KnoxAlexander Knox was a Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.-Biography:...
(American Ambassador)
Curd JürgensCurd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens.-Early life:...
(German Consul)
Julian GloverJulian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
(Georgy Gapon) |
|
Soundtrack
This soundtrack was written by
Richard Rodney BennettSir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
.
- Overture (02:19)
- Nicholas and Alexandra (01:26)
- The Royal Children (01:23)
- The Palace (01:00)
- Sunshine Days (03:21)
- Alexandra (01:18)
- The Romanov Tercentenary (00:52)
- Lenin in Exile (01:21)
- The Princessess (02:20)
- The Breakthrought (02:35)
- The Declaration of War (02:55)
- Extracte (02:40)
- The Journey to the Front (01:02)
- Military March (02:40)
- Rasputin's Death (01:28)
- The People Revolt (01:19)
- Alexandra Alone (01:11)
- Farewells (02:30)
- Dancing in the Snow (01:11)
- Departure from Tobolsk (01:30)
- Elegy (01:38)
- Epilogue (01:50)
Fact vs. fiction
Some elements of the movie take creative license:
- Stolypin's assassination is portrayed accurately, but actually took place in 1911; he is shown attending the Tercentenary, which occurred in 1913.
- The party at which Rasputin is poisoned is based on evidence left by Prince Felix Yussupov. Rasputin is seen surviving the poisoning and numerous gunshot wounds, but there is evidence to suggest that Rasputin died from drowning after his body was pushed under the ice of the River Neva.
- The Tsarina Alexandra's German heritage is blamed for some of the family's unpopularity, but Alexandra was really never popular with the Russian people; her German background particularly burdened her during World War I when Russia was at war with Germany.
- When the Romanovs are executed, not a word is spoken to them prior to their death. Historical accounts indicate that an execution order was read to them beforehand.
- The house where the Romanovs were imprisoned in Tobolsk is depicted as very austere, when in fact they were housed in the former governor's mansion in great comfort. It was only in Ekaterinburg that their living conditions became much worse.
- Only Nicholas, Alexandra and Marie arrived together at the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg; Olga, Alexei, Tatiana and Anastasia arrived later due to Alexei' illness in Tobolsk.
- The Romanov family was executed together with four faithful servants: doctor Eugene Botkin
Yevgeny Sergeyevich Botkin was the court physician for Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra and, while in exile with the family, sometimes treated the hemophilia-related complications of the Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia.Botkin went into exile with the Romanovs following the Russian...
, chambermaid Anna DemidovaAnna Stepanovna Demidova was a maid in the service of Tsarina Alexandra of Russia. She acquired posthumous fame because she was murdered alongside her employer in 1918....
, cook Ivan KharitonovIvan Mikhailovich Kharitonov, , was a cook at the court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. He followed the Romanov family into internal exile following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and was executed with them by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918 at Ekaterinburg.Like the Romanovs, Kharitonov was...
, and footman Alexei Trupp. However, in the film only the family and the doctor are finally executed; the other characters do not appear in the film.
- There is no evidence that the scene with Tatiana exposing herself to a Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
soldier ever occurred.
- Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
informed Nicholas in summer 1917 that England would not accept him and the royal family as refugees. Britain did not wish to accept the Romanovs as they were seen as bloody tyrants; King George V in particular feared for his own throne if his Russian cousins came to Britain. When it was made public that the Romanovs would be sent abroad, the public outcry against it was so overwhelming that the provisional government decided to keep them as prisoners, as its own future was on shaky ground. It is claimed MI6 had proposed an idea of a covert extraction of the tsar and his family, but this is considered speculation as no such a mission could be accomplished.
Historical sources
Although Robert Massie wrote the book upon which this film was based, he did not have complete information, for the Soviet government (in power at the time) would not permit the release of all relevant records. Twenty years after the film debuted, the Soviet Union fell and the records of the Romanovs were released. Massie later wrote a continuation,
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter.
External links