"Romanovy:Ventsenosnaya semya" vs "Nicholas and Alexandra"

[TsarAlexeiII]

For "Tsar Alexei II":     Hello, and welcome to the Forum!  Just a note of interest on your remark concerning L. Sednev:  Leonid Sednev was "released" from the Ipatiev House (and death), being told that his Uncle wished him to come to him.  In reality, his uncle had been executed earlier. The boy was sent across the street to basicly be held until he was placed on a train a bit later to go to relatives. There is a thread here on the Forum re Leonid Sednev.              Regards,  AP.

Yurovsky was evil, but I said in some ways he was portrayed nicer in Romanovy than he was N&A.

[Alixz]

Yurovsky was shown as an old "teddy bear" of a great uncle in Nicholas & Alexandra.  I still don't understand why the actor who was picked to portray him looked nothing like him in age or coloring.

The real Yurovsky would put a chill in one's bones if he opened the door to Ipatiev House to let someone in.

[Naslednik]

My memory of N&A's Yurovsky was that he was old, skinny and silently devious...you didn't know what he was thinking, which seemed sinister.

[Alixz]

But the real Yurovsky was younger and heavier and had dark (in the pictures of course it looks black) hair.

I know that I put a comparison of the two photos on the forum somewhere, but I don't remember where.

[Robert_Hall]

What difference does it make ?  The end point is that theses are FILMS, not historical thesis. The actors were chosen for their ability,  the screenwriters to translate the story and the rest to the production teams.  Costumes, make up,  scenes, etc. Of course  nothing is going to be totally historically accurate.
 As was mentioned, Peter Ustinov's  so called narrative of Russian history was superfluous.
 But, it supposedly entertained. That is the whole point- to entertain.
 
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[Alixz]

When I went to N&A in the movies, I found the introduction of that inaccurate "Yurovsky" brought comic relief to the audience.  Most everyone either chuckled or laughed out loud.

That was I didn't like it.  The audience which consisted of many who knew nothing of the real participants thought that Yurovsky was funny!

I didn't see any benefit to making the man look older and and almost senile even though he was, of course, not senile at all but the brutal executioner of the whole family.

It made no sense to someone who knew the story and provided a false impression to those who didn't.  I am not saying that movies should teach, but the producers went very far in trying to make the major characters, Nicholas, Alix, Rasputin, Nicholas Nikolaevich and even Dowager Empress Marie look the part, the complete reversal of Yurovsky to look like someone he wasn't made no sense.