Franklin J Schaffner directed this three-hour epic released in 1971, complete with Intermission.
Michael Jayston’s portrayal of the mild-mannered Tsar is excellent, including his failure to stand up to his highly-strung, unsociable but domineering wife [Janet Suzman] when he insists upon Rasputin’s [Tom Baker] dismissal.
Suzman captures the Empress’s worries and guilt over her haemophiliac son, Alexei [Roderic Noble] and her belief Rasputin can heal the boy. Nicholas resents interference from his wife and Rasputin in political matters.
Nicholas is regarded as inept and insensitive to his people’s needs, but the film does point out it wasn’t entirely his fault. The Tsar was not informed of Father George Gapon’s [Julian Glover] petition, or the peaceful protest, until after the massacre. Civilians were slaughtered like cattle. Gapon remains with a child wailing for his mother surrounded by dead bodies.
He has the additional worries of any parent with an extremely sick child, as haemophilia was untreatable at the time.
One light-hearted scene involves the Grand Duchess Anastasia [Fiona Fullerton] discussing career choices with her sisters Maria [Candace Glendenning], Olga [Ania Marson] and Tatiana [Lynne Frederick] before involving their tutor Pierre Gillard [Jean-Claude Drouot] in a paint fight!
Laurence Oliver stars as Count Witte, and Michael Redgrave as Sazanov. (This was Redgrave’s last cinema film.)
Historical Inaccuracies
The Bolsheviks’ importance in Nicholas & Alexandra is played down as a political party whom nobody takes seriously. (Actually, the Bolsheviks attracted a large proportion of the urban working class and soldiers. They overthrew the government and took power after the October Revolution in 1917.)
However, the film contains many other historical inaccuracies as the Soviet Government, still in power, restricted Massie’s access to “approved” documents and facts. New evidence became available to researchers after the Soviet Government’s fall in 1991.
Rasputin was not spontaneously murdered whilst high on opium, as depicted it in the film. (Felix Youssoupov and four accomplices plotted his murder even though it was a bungled attempt! Rasputin was poisoned, shot, severely beaten and thrown to the river, where he actually died from drowning!)
Pyotr Stolypin’s [Eric Porter] assassination was accurately portrayed, but it actually occurred in 1911 so he was not present (as portrayed in the film) at the Tercentenary two years later. The actual programme at the Kiev Opera House was Rimsky-Korsakov’s Tale of Tsar Saltan, not Ginka’s Russlan and Ludmila.
Three other faithful servants were massacred with Tsar Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, their four daughters, son Alexei and Dr Eugene Botkin in real life. The Empress’s lady-in-waiting, Anna Demidova, cook Ivan Kharitonov and footman Alexei Trupp were omitted from the script.
Academy Awards
Nicholas & Alexandra won two Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design and nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Music—Original Dramatic Score and Best Picture. Janet Suzman was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
© 2009 Carolyn Cash
Robert K Massie, Nicholas & Alexandra, 1967
Carolyn M Cash - Carolyn M Cash is a freelance writer residing in the Sutherland Shire (aka God's Own Country), Sydney, Australia, whilst studying ...
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