If You Were Casting a Romanov Movie - Which Actor Would You Choose?

[Martyn]

What did you guys think of Gayle Hunnicutt as Alexandra in Fall of Eagles?

I haven't seen this, is it good?  She looks rather pouty to me (can't imagine Alix ever pouting except with Nicholas in the privacy of her boudoir!)

[rskkiya]

Fall of Eagles was wonderful, but as I remember it (it has been centuries since I last saw it...) Alix was a bit too attractive after all, she had suffered from numerious health problems {although I am persuaded that soome of them were psychosomatic conditions} and had born five children!
Ah well -- it's just my biased perspective.

rskkiya

[rskkiya]

Martyn,

Speaking of voices, I'm very fond of listening to the sound of British actors. What do you think of the voices of the late Sir Jonh Gielgud, Sir Laurence Olivier and Richard Burton?

Anna

Richard Burton might have wished to point out he was no Englishman --HE WAS WELSH! LOL

rskkiya

[helenazar]

Fall of Eagles was wonderful, but as I remember it (it has been centuries since I last saw it...) Alix was a bit too attractive after all, she had sugffered from numerious health problems {although I am persuaded that soome of them were psychosomatic conditions} and had born five children!
Ah well -- it's just my biased perspective.

rskkiya

 Thanks. I really liked Fall of Eagles, just watched it for the first time last week, but I just didn't buy Gayle H. as Alix. I would have never chosen her to play that role if it were up to me, she just didn't capture Alix at all, IMO. She didn't look anything like her and I also found her portrayal of the character a little bit annoying and unsympathetic for some reason, although I can't explain why. I was just curious what everyone else thought who saw it because I was thinking it may have been some sort of a personal bias...

[helenazar]

She looks rather pouty to me (can't imagine Alix ever pouting except with Nicholas in the privacy of her boudoir!)

Yes, Martyn, this is probably the part that I found to be on the annoying side, she was acting very pouty all the time, and this is not something you think of when you think of Alexandra. I don't know if this is just this actress's style or if this is how she interpreted Alix's character, but it just didn't work for me! I would highlyrecommend this show though, the rest of the actors are really good, especially Patrick Stewart as Lenin (but I may be biased here since I simply love Patrick Stewart - another Brit with an amazing voice  ! )

[anna]

What did you guys think of Gayle Hunnicutt as Alexandra in Fall of Eagles?

I think Gayle Hunnicutt did a guite good job. Tho' you can't compare G. Hunnicutt's part with that of J. Suzman, because she portrayed Alexandra in a tv series which was not only focused on the Romanovs and not a movie. I think G. Hunnicutt's portrayal emphasizes being the drive or influence Alexandra had over Nicholas. She's playing the haughty, inscrutable Empress, precisely as Alexandra is described in so many books. She never showed the vulnerarble side of Alexandra.
I thought her part much stronger than the part of Nicholas played by Charles Kay.

Anna

[anna]

Richard Burton might have wished to point out he was no Englishman --HE WAS WELSH! LOL

rskkiya

So what, the sound of his voice was wonderful to listen at (LOL)

Anna

[Colleen]

I'd have to say Janet comes in first, hands down, with Greta a close second.  Ethel comes in third.  With the rest, I'm not sure. :-/

[rskkiya]

As far as Alix being "pouty" well - yes I do think that it would have been very easy to perceive her as a pround or aloof individual. Although we might believe her to have been chronically shy- she was quite aware  of her position in society - so for any actress to portray her as proud and even pouty is quite understandable.

still looking for a region 1 copy of FOE (sulk)
rskkiya

[Martyn]

Richard Burton might have wished to point out he was no Englishman --HE WAS WELSH! LOL

rskkiya

Rskkiya, I'm still going to claim him, HE WAS BRITISH LOL.

[Martyn]

As far as Alix being "pouty" well - yes I do think that it would have been very easy to perceive her as a pround or aloof individual. Although we might believe her to have been chronically shy- she was quite aware  of her position in society - so for any actress to portray her as proud and even pouty is quite understandable.

still looking for a region 1 copy of FOE (sulk) :-[rskkiya

'Pouty'.  Nope, I don't buy it.  Haughty, aloof, reserved all those, but not 'pouty'.  Never.

[Martyn]

I think it's perfectly possibly for a woman to be aware of her high rank and be chronically shy at the same time. One characteristic reinforces the other. Alix would probably have felt less shy if she could have led an informal life. Her awareness of her high position and the attention she would get, only made situations more difficult for her. For an actress to portray her as proud only means that this actress  has not prepared herself for her role properly. Or perhaps it's not the actress who is to be blamed, but the director.

I agree entirely.  I also happen to think that any actress who undertakes this role has a responsibilty to attempt to portray her with some depth (call me naive).  Alix possessed many faults, many qualities but she was a complicated woman first and foremost.  And I have to stick my neck out (not having seen it) and say that I don't think that Gayle Hunnicutt has the depth to portray a woman as complex as Alix.  Blame should be shared nonetheless with the director and scriptwriter, as they provide the actress with the framework and tools, and if they aren't up to it, she really has no chance anyway.......

[helenazar]

It seems that Alix tended to see things in black and white and in that sense she was not complex. She was not a stupid woman by far but she was not an intellectual and did not have the inclination or the ability to evaluate people and life in a complex way. She seemed to think "what you see is what you get" which is a simplistic way of looking at life. So in that sense, yes she was quite transparent and not complex. On the other hand, we only know this from reading her diaries or from what others said about her and not first hand, so who knows what she was really like....

[georgecl]

Hi
I was looking for one of the posters of Natalie Wood as Anastasia.  She was going to act in the stage play about Anastasia just before her untimely death.

Thanks
George

[helenazar]

Wasn't Natalie a little too old to be Anastasia? She was in her 40's when she died...