Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

An Exercise In Nonsense

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Nicholas and Alexandra is one of those films that no one has ever seen, and unfortunately no one ever will. It's essentially one of those long-forgotten epics. But if you have seen the film, it's a film you'll never regret seeing. It's long and sometime can be tedious to sit through, but it's a very fascinating history lesson. One of the big films of 1971 was "Fiddler on the Roof," which viewed Russian life through the eyes of the peasantry. Now this film takes place during the Russian Revolution, through the eyes of the monarchy. The film talks about the tragic rule of Czar Nicholas ll, which led to the abdication of the throne and the collapse of the monarchy. The film is very romantic in the sense of being very beautiful to look at. The art direction is splendid and the costume design seems realistic for the time period it was set in.Franklin J. Schaffner's film tells the story about Czar Nicholas ll, the monarch who showed indifference towards the peasants, in which caused over seven million deaths. Now being forced to fight in the Great War, the Russian people have had enough. The cities are being torn apart with riots. People and factions, such as the Bolsheviks, are plotting to overthrow the government. So Nicholas decides to abdicate the throne and he and his family are exiled in the frigid land of Siberia.I think the acting was solid. The two leads are actors I have never heard of until my viewing of the film, but I was impressed at what I saw. Michael Jayston does well as Nicholas ll, and even has similar looks. He does a good job at showing indifference towards practically everything. Maybe he overacted with his facial expressions, but he did a rather good job. I really liked Janet Suzman's performance as the influential wife of Nicholas, Alexandra. She has great chemistry with not only Jayston, but also Tom Baker who portrayed the mystical Rasputin, a self-proclaimed man of God. We also get some good supporting turns from the likes of Laurence Olivier, Ian Holm, Brian Cox, and Jack Hawkins.Overall, Nicholas and Alexandra is a beautiful film to look at mainly because of those fantastic period designs. The story is also very meaningful as it describes one of the world's most infamous revolutions to ever have happened. This is not the best epic set within this era. I believe that honor goes to Doctor Zhivago. I would have loved to see more about the revolution. The story itself seems impacted because the revolution itself wasn't the most significant part of the story. I would have loved to seen more of Lenin or Trotsky. But on the whole, I really enjoyed watching this tragic story of what happened to end Czarist Russia.My Grade: A-

Lavish production design and Shakespearian performances elevate this handsome looking production. Story-wise it's quite emotionally poignant and sticks close enough to history to bring enjoyment to anyone patient enough to put up with the slow pace and talky nature of things.An air of apocalyptic unreality engulfs the Romanov family through their downfall from 1904-1918. If you think about it, had any one of the factors presented here not happened, we may never have had a Stalin, a Lenin, a Hitler, a Cold War, or any 20th Century as we know it. What if the Tsar never had a son? What if he hadn't been born with Hemophilia? What if Rasputin, the bizarre mad monk hadn't been there at just the right time? We will never know. It's astonishing though that such small things represent such pivotal cornerstones in our history.According to this film, the insecure and controlling Tsarina Alexandra was largely if not fully responsible for Nicholas II's inept leadership and decision making, with the addition of a hemophiliac son certainly not helping much to keep him from being utterly distracted from sound running of the country. I have to call this film quite successful though in terms of finding a way to make him into a very tragic figure and most of the revolutionaries like Kerensky are presented as quite human and multidimensional.While this film has much in common with DOCTOR ZHIVAGO including some extremely top-notch cinematography, lighting, and set design, it also suffers from a lot of the same downfalls like not being able to maintain its energy over its full running time. Despite all the big sets, it doesn't feel as big of a film due to largely shying away from action and bloodshed during this very violent time. Things start to feel quite sad and listless as the film bears down upon its inevitable climax, but along the way there are plenty of notable moments of greatness:* Any scene involving Tom Baker's mesmerizing personification of Rasputin. This certainly was a role requiring that delicate balance of humor and intensity that no one could ever hope to surpass this largely (at the time) unknown actor with. This led directly to his casting as the villain in THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD and then to his becoming a TV legend.* The subplot of the factory family turned revolutionaries who lose their matriarch during Bloody Sunday.* The rapid buildup to war and hijacking of the peace process by his Hawkish Generals followed by rapid disintegration of the Russian army after its many crippling defeats. There's just something so fascinating to me about watching armies crumble under poor morale and desertion, maybe as it feels unthinkable to anyone who grew up in a fairly patriotic American military household like I did.For a fuller picture of what was going on at the time, I'd recommend watching the films BATTLE OF THE SEA OF JAPAN (for a view of the humiliating defeats of the Russo-Japanese War mentioned during the first part of the film), TIKHIY DON, and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO for a window into the chaotic nature of the Russian Revolution and Civil War.

Opening with the birth of Alexis - the hemophiliac son of Nicholas II (the last Czar of Russia) and his wife Alexandra, this then traces the history of the Romanovs from that point until their eventual execution by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. As far as the big picture is concerned, this is reasonably accurate. All of the major events of those years are portrayed, so one gets a sense of the course of Russian history during the era. When we move into the details, the fictionalized material that's added in is believable enough for the most part. The viewer gets a feel for what life was like in Russia during this period, and the point is also made of how isolated the Royal Family was from the struggles of the average Russian family.Having said that, I still thought this movie was lacking. Mostly, it lacked real and believable emotion. I didn't get a sense of passion from any of the cast. They performed their parts well enough. I could "buy" most of them in their roles. But the feeling was strangely absent, which made this very long (3+ hours) movie seem even longer, to be honest. I was somewhat surprised by the somewhat limited amount of time that was given to Rasputin - who in reality became a surprisingly influential figure in the Russian court, but I appreciated the scenes following the Czar's abdication. Somehow I was able to enter into what must have been the extremely humbling (and even humiliating) circumstances into which the Romanovs fell afterward - they, who had held absolute power over the Russian people as the successors to a dynasty that had ruled for 300 years, suddenly at the mercy of those who held them prisoner. The movie depicts them as very dignified in the circumstances, and the final scene is quite brutal, leaving one with feelings of sympathy for the family, and especially their children, who were surely not responsible for whatever evil their father may have been accused of.This has plenty of weaknesses, but is still worth watching if only to get something of a "grand sweep" of the revolutionary era in Russian history.

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