Nicholas and Alexandra
Encyclopedia
Nicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra.
The film was adapted by James Goldman
from the book
by Robert K. Massie. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.
It won Academy Awards
for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
(John Box
, Ernest Archer
, Jack Maxsted
, Gil Parrondo
, Vernon Dixon
) and Best Costume Design
, and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role
(Janet Suzman
), Best Cinematography
, Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
and Best Picture
.
in the opulent surroundings of the Imperial Court. The Russo-Japanese War
is on and Tsar Nicholas (Michael Jayston
) is warned by Count Witte (Laurence Olivier
) and Grand Duke Nicholas (Harry Andrews
) 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 Lenin
(Michael Bryant
), Joseph Stalin
(James Hazeldine
), and Leon Trotsky
(Brian Cox) have formed.
Alexei is soon diagnosed with hemophilia. The Tsarina Alexandra (Janet Suzman
) 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 Baker
), 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 Gapon
(Julian Glover
). He leads them, joined by many other peasant workers, in a clearly peaceful procession to the Winter Palace
, 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 Sunday
)
Eight years later, on the 300th anniversary of Romanov rule, the family vacations at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea. Alexei (Roderic Noble
) 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 Hallam
). Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin
(Eric Porter
), 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 Kiev
. Nicholas retaliates not only by uprooting the conspiracy and executing the killers, but also by closing the Duma
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 Ferdinand
. 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 Worth
), (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 Warwick
) and Prince Felix Yusupov
(Martin 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 West
) and Nagorny) are forced to leave the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo by Kerensky and are brought to Siberia
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 Bolshevik
party, the one revolutionary group that nobody took seriously. The Russian Civil War
starts very soon afterwards, and the family is transferred to the grim Ipatiev House
in Ekaterinburg, under harsher conditions, and into the keeping of the cold-blooded and unfeeling Yakov Yurovsky
(Alan Webb
) (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 Marson
) and Tatiana (Lynne Frederick
) to scream, Maria (Candace Glendenning
) 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.
.
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas 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 Goldman
James Goldman
James 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 book
Nicholas and Alexandra (book)
Nicholas 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 Awards
Academy Awards
An 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 Decoration
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The 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 Box
John Box
John 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 Archer
Ernest Archer
Ernest 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 Maxsted
Jack Maxsted
Jack 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 Parrondo
Gil Parrondo
Gil 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 Dixon
Vernon Dixon
Vernon 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 Design
Academy Award for Costume Design
The 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 Role
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance 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 Suzman
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....
), Best Cinematography
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The 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 Score
Academy Award for Original Music Score
The 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 Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The 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 AlexeiTsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Alexei 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 War
Russo-Japanese War
The 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 Jayston
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...
) is warned by Count Witte (Laurence Olivier
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...
) and Grand Duke Nicholas (Harry Andrews
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...
) 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 Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir 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 Bryant
Michael Bryant (actor)
Michael 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 Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph 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 Hazeldine
James Hazeldine
James 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 Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon 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 Suzman
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....
) 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 Baker
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:...
), 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 Gapon
George Gapon
Georgiy Apollonovich Gapon was a Russian Orthodox priest and a popular working class leader before the Russian Revolution of 1905.-Early life:...
(Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian 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 Palace
Winter Palace
The 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 Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1905)
Bloody 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 Noble
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:...
) 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 Hallam
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...
). Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr 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 Porter
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...
), 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 Kiev
Kiev
Kiev 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 Duma
Duma
A 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 Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Franz 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 Worth
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:...
), (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 Warwick
Richard Warwick
Richard 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 Yusupov
Felix Yusupov
Prince 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 Potter
Martin Potter (actor)
Martin 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 West
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...
) and Nagorny) are forced to leave the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo by Kerensky and are brought to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia 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 Bolshevik
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....
party, the one revolutionary group that nobody took seriously. The Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The 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 House
Ipatiev House
Ipatiev 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 Yurovsky
Yakov Yurovsky
Yakov 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
Alan Webb (actor)
-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 Marson
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...
) and Tatiana (Lynne Frederick
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,...
) to scream, Maria (Candace Glendenning
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
|
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 Stolypin Pyotr Stolypin Pyotr 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 Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:... (Sergei Sazanov) Maurice Denham Maurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:... (Vladimir Kokovtsov Vladimir Kokovtsov Count Vladimir Nikolayevich Kokovtsov was a Russian prime minister during the reign of Nicholas II of Russia.- Biography :... ) Ralph Truman Ralph Truman was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice... (Rodzianko) Gordon Gostelow Gordon 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) 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... ) Michael Bryant (actor) Michael 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... (Lenin Vladimir Lenin Vladimir 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... ) Leon Trotsky Leon 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 Hazeldine James 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... (Stalin Joseph Stalin Joseph 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 Berkoff Steven 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 Holm Sir 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 (actor) -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 Dotrice Roy 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 Warwick Richard 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 Russia Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia Grand 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 Knox Alexander Knox was a Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.-Biography:... (American Ambassador) Curd Jürgens Curd 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 Glover Julian 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 BennettRichard Rodney Bennett
Sir 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 BotkinEugene 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...
, chambermaid Anna DemidovaAnna 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 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 BolshevikBolshevikThe 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 KerenskyAlexander 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...
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.