Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Edward Bond (additional dialogue)
James Goldman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 December 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Plot:

Czar Nicholas II, the inept monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.

Plot Keywords:

Czar | Execution | Siberia | Rasputin | Russian Revolution

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 11 nominations

Cast

Michael Jayston	...	Nicholas
Janet Suzman	...	Alexandra
Roderic Noble	...	Alexis
Ania Marson	...	Olga
Lynne Frederick	...	Tatiana
Candace Glendenning	...	Marie
Fiona Fullerton	...	Anastasia
Harry Andrews	...	Grand Duke Nicholas (Nikolasha)
Irene Worth	...	The Queen Mother Marie Fedorovna
Tom Baker	...	Rasputin
Jack Hawkins	...	Count Fredericks
Timothy West	...	Dr. Botkin
Katherine Schofield	...	Tegleva
Jean-Claude Drouot	...	Gilliard
John Hallam	...	Nagorny

Runtime:

183 min | UK:189 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | German | Russian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (UK release) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Sa Conca Beach, S'Agaró, Castell-Paltja d'Aro, Girona, Girona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Horizon Pictures (II)

Trivia:

Yul Brynner actively sought the role of Rasputin.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Rasputin continuously mispronounces Matushka (little mother) when addressing Alexandra. The accent is on the first syllable.

Quotes:

Vladimir Lenin: [depressed] In the last ten years I've spent... three months in Russia. I'm out of fashion. No one's wearing me this year, hmmm? I talk and no one listens, and I write and no one reads. Think what we'll be like in 10 or 15 years. Emigres go off their heads in the end, you know.
Mme. Krupskaya: No!
Vladimir Lenin: Mad old cranks with no money, no country, always worrying about the laundry, complaining when the mail's late, being ill in charity hospitals, and buried with paupers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Charlie Rose Show: Quentin Tarantino" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Wiegenlied (Cradle Song) Op.49, No.4

Fair Epic But Let Down By A Lack Of Narrative Drive

I'm still trying to decide if NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRIA is a good film or a bad film . Truth be told it's a bit of both . Unfortunately I'm going to have a problem deciding if the bad overwhelms the good or vice versa .

This is epic film making by Sam Spiegal , but is far from being the best movie he's produced . I had a problem with the script for BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI and I've got a problem with the one here . I know it's an epic film but overlong doesn't equal epic . For instance one of the characters suffers from haemophillia and this is mentioned in one point in the movie , but then it's mentioned 15 minutes later , then 15 after that , then again after another 22 minutes . Just mentioning the condition once would have been quite enough . We also see characters like Lenin , Stalin , Kerensky popping into the narrative and then disappearing without little rhyme or reason . It does become obvious by the end that their inclusion probably wasn't necessary and gives a feeling that when they do appear they are under written anyway . Rasputin especially suffers from this type of scripting and the whole movie would have worked much better if it solely concentrated on his relationship with the Tsar's wife instead of giving us a history lesson on the last two decades of Russian imperial history . If truth be told it's not very good history either

There are good aspects to the movie , and the cast are probably the best one . Perhaps Spiegel wanted so many characters included because he wanted to cast the cream of British talent . We've got Olivier and Redgrave both knights of the British stage alongside Julian Glover , Harry Andrews and Jack Hawkins . What a cast and as you'd expect they give very good performances . But let's not forget the two best performances belong to two unknown actors called Michael Jayston and Tom Baker . It must have taken some courage casting these two actors in such prominent roles Jayston still occasionally appears in TV roles while Baker found world wide fame as DOCTOR WHO . And let's not forget that a few other unknown actors like Brian Cox and Ian Holm appear in cameos .

A good film for those wanting a three hour epic or seeing a host of big name actors when they weren't house hold names in their own household , but not really a film for serious students of Russian history