Nicholas and Alexandra

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Jacqueline K @RT91436801 May 30 That's an afternoon I'll never get back! If Michael Jayston was cast because he plays apathy and incompetence very well, then it was perfect casting - I ended up hating him, as I was meant to do! The photography was superb and the cast of course is magnificent. How sad some of those fine actors must have been when they saw the final cut. It could have been a great film - it's as though the screenwriters wanted to make sure that those who did not know the history that led up to the Russian revolution and their civil war did not have to read around the subject - the film was over long and drawn out. Tom Baker was fabulous as Rasputin but even he could not find a way to centre the film. See more Alec B @Alec97 01/09/2024 For the most part the movie is your typical old school Hollywood epic bolstered by some fine performances. I wish Schaffner was a little more bold like he was with "Patton" but there are hints of that here. See more Kyle E @Horrorbouy 12/10/2022 I was really interested in seeing this film, I am intrigued by the story of the Romanovs and when I saw the cast I was like it looks as though I was in for a good film. When I did see it, I was impressed. It isn't perfect though, for one thing at 165 or so minutes it is too long, consequently some scenes felt drawn out and very padded. Pacing was a problem too, I am not saying that Nicholas and Alexandra is the only film to suffer from this problem because it isn't, but there are moments where the film does drag. Finally, there were moments towards the end where it could have done with more drama. The Romanovs's deaths especially could have been chilling, instead whereas I felt sad and angry at how any family could be killed in such a way, the actual scene itself wasn't quite as powerful as it could have been. Flaws aside, Nicholas and Alexandra is sumptuous to look at. The cinematography looks fabulous and fluid, the costumes are colourful and lush and the scenery and buildings are both imposing and beautiful. The score is also beautiful, there are some parts in the film when there is no music and even no dialogue(not a problem at all, merely an observation), but regardless when the music was playing it was rich and sensitive. I also liked the quality of the script, it was thoughtful and intelligent, with a film like this that's what it needed to be. The direction is solid, and the story while some scenes could have done with more drama as I have mentioned already is still absorbing. The strongest asset though is the cast, Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman are both wonderful as the Tsar and Tsarina, Alexandra is the more interesting character but both actors did superbly. Tom Baker is a very charismatic and cunning Rasputin, and the ever great Laurence Olivier is impeccable as Witte. Overall, not absolutely superb but it is absorbing and it looks great. Plus it has the benefits of being impeccably acted by a strong cast and a good script. 7/10 Bethany Cox See more Sue C @RomaBestTomato 12/05/2022 "Nicholas and Alexandra:" I read the tragic, lengthy, intricate historical book by Robert K. Massie well before seeing the film. The focus both of the book and this 3-hr long British movie is the reluctant, soft-spoken and inept czar's need for a male Romonov heir who, when finally born in the opening scene, arrives deathly ill with the genetic, incurable bleeding disorder hemophilia thanks to his beautiful British mother Alexandra who unwittingly carries the fatal flaw she and other European royals of the time inherited from their prolific mother-Queen Victoria. So what is the unlucky and stubborn Russian royal father (whose passel of teen daughters also carry the fatal flaw) to do? In those pre-TV days, people - especially the Romanovs who have been in command for 300 years - kept their personal problems personal. Sadly, the doomed, incompetent, henpecked, lovesick czar has problems of all sorts: a fretful czarina who is ever begowned, coifed and bejeweled even in the royal sick room, their beloved but bruised and bleeding baby boy surrounded by sumptuous clouds of lace-trimmed bedding, a vast world war in progress, a broken economy, scheming politicians, violent anarchists and helpless starving peasants in their millions who are in desperate need of a leader who cares rather than aims and fires at them. To the rescue comes the God-blessed small town prophet and faith healer with all-too-lusty appetites Rasputin played by the amazing young Tom (soon to be Dr. Who #4) Baker who at this point was an unknown fair-haired actor made up to resemble the wide-eyed, dark and outspoken mad monk. According to his autobiography, Mr. Baker was recommended for the part of Rasputin by no less than fellow cast member Sir Lawrence Olivier while the film production was well underway in Spain. The roughly homespun Rasputin outdoes Dr. Phil and liver transplants as he dispenses helpful healing to the little czar-to-be along with charming anecdotes and comforting blessings spoken with gentle humor to soothe his alluring mother. Were the two dynamos - czarina Alexandra and peasant Rasputin - getting it on behind the royal curtains? We'll never know for sure but at the time, the public believed the worst. In truth, the lovable Tom Baker who in real life once tried and failed to become a priest is the main attraction in "Nicholas and Alexandra," a story so confused by the political, military and world events of c. 1916 that the viewer may have trouble making sense of the chain of events which lead not only to the rise of communism and with it the death of old Russia but also the ruination of all its royals - some of whom were responsible for the brutal, lengthy, hands-on murder of tough-as-nails peasant Rasputin - in truth, Rasputin's actual death was even worse than the criminal brutality shown on screen, for, after being poisoned and bludgeoned, he was tossed still alive into a wintry cold river. ~ If you haven't watched this saga and can be patient viewing the slow downfall of a vast windswept nation, by all means take time for "Nicholas and Alexandra" - the musial score is bracing and movie-makers just don't lavish such cost and care on films like this any more. And maybe try to find the other films of Tom Baker, all of which I've seen at one time or another - the velvet-voiced Liverpool legend can be seen in a turban or in nothing at all before he began saving the universe via the Tardis and the BBC. See more 11/13/2020 For the most part the movie is your typical old school Hollywood epic bolstered by some fine performances. I wish Schaffner was a little more bold like he was with "Patton" but there are hints of that here. See more steve d @RT35616104 07/17/2020 Far too long and the script is fairly weak. See more Read all reviews

Nicholas and Alexandra

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