Might it be possible to open the film with a shot of how the place of execution and/or surrounding looks today-am I correct in thinking that a church has been built there-before going back to the night when the atrocities occured?
You're talking about the Church on Blood/All Saints I presume? I like the idea but think that this kind of scene might work better at the
end of the film. For a little sympathetic flair show the Ipatiev House being torn down and fade the scene into the beautiful church that now stands on the grounds, tourists roaming about, people worshipping, etc. Probably the procession of 50,000+ who gather there each year on the anniversary to pay homage would work best...very emotional and fitting!
Interesting,. I would go along with the walk down the stairs, but, flash back to the beginning of the story before the executions. Some suspense should remain to keep interest. Such as "what led up to this?" Like, contrast that walk to another scene where they are walking up or down some grand palace staircase in formal dress. If the murders were shown first, that might be the end of the story before it had a chance to be told. The technique has been used before to mixed reaction.
Yeah this is a good call, and I agree with you that it would work. I like your vision of the walk down the stairs toward the cellar suddenly flashing back to the palace staircase where they attend a ball or an important state function from a few years earlier...in full formal dress like you said. We don't see them enter the cellar circa-1918 until the last episode of the series. The suspense angle is probably important too as you mentioned, my only minor objection (and perhaps this is just coming from a devoted fan, so feel free to disregard) is that you're putting the audience through this traumatic sequence
twice. Furthermore if you don't show the actual murders at the beginning of the series, as I suggested, then you are naturally compelled to show them towards the end. This adds to the growing anxiety as we work our way through the series, and I can definitely see a lot of people saying something along the lines of
"this is a really good series, but I'm not sure I want to stay with it because we know how it ends and it's all so sad...".One last thought to leave you with...is there to effectively merge both (Robert & mine) concepts for the death scene at the end? My idea is to show them awakened in the middle of the night (7/17/18) and getting dressed for the last time...it then cuts away periodically to N&A and the GDs putting on their fancy attire in preparation for a formal event a few years prior. As they make the walk down to the cellar of the Ipatiev House the scene is interspersed with images (Robert's idea) of them making their way down a palace staircase. No voices or sound other than music playing. We then see them enter the cellar and take their places all the while we are cutting away to them entering a hall before smiles & gazes of family/friends/admirers. The slowly building classical score then reaches it crescendo during both the brutal images of the murders and the "flashbacks" of the dancing, laughing and joyous splendor at the ball/party.
I think this sort of thing provides a nice touch. Eases the shock certainly by drawing some of the attention away from the murder scene all the while offering up an honest portrayal of it. Thoughts?
