Vintage Romanov Footage

[Ortipo]

Have seen plenty on assorted video sites but this just popped up recently - http://the-lost-empires.tumblr.com/page/3

Does anyone know where the original uncut footage may be found?

[Anna Francisevna]

Try frozen tears.  (it's a .org site.) Then go to videos, and underneath film and documentary should be home videos with silent (longest is probably up to a minute) footage of the Romanovs' family footage.  Hope this helps?    By the way is the silent footage of the Tricentenary (sp?) available anywhere?  I just keep finding clips from National Geographic...  

[Bryndis]

This Youtube video shows some of it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLlULxjfNcY&index=6&list=LLUqcfZu4G0ObxMJPbZP1GOQ
But it's probably on Frozen Tears like Anna said

[TimM]

Good to see some footage still exists, a century later.

[Anna Francisevna]

Wow, Bryndis!  Thaks alot, I mean it!    But are you sure that's the Trecentenary, or when they visited their extended Romanian family?  I'm only saying this because I recognize prince Nicholas and princess Ileana. Still a great find though!

[Bryndis]

The first part of the video that I posted is from their visit to Romania in 1913
Youtube has a lot of Romanov footage btw
I've only seen clips and clips from the Tercentenary in various documentaries

Here's another one you might like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32cbbFrRkII

[wakas]

The first part of the video that I posted is from their visit to Romania in 1913

They visited the Royal Family of Romania in 1913? I thought it was in 1914?

[Bryndis]

Oops sorry sorry 1914! 1914! 1914!
In the summer before the war wasn't it?
I was thinking about the tercentenary >_<

[nena]

Oops sorry sorry 1914! 1914! 1914!
In the summer before the war wasn't it?
I was thinking about the tercentenary >_<

Correct, June of 1914. But amazing thing that we have opportunity to see all those gems (I mean videos).

[TimM]

They had one last trip abroad, before the Great War.

[Ortipo]

тяв-тяв,

Thanks for the links and the quick replies!

[Inok Nikolai]

A related note from another thread:


http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=204.msg501118#msg501118

Perhaps this should be a new thread, but since I mentioned Alexandre Tarsaidze (1901-1978), I thought that I should say a little more about him.

In the 1950s, fearing that much material in the Soviet Union on the Imperial family had been destroyed or lost, A. Tarsaidze scoured the world to find all the film clippings he could of the Imperial family.
Then in 1956 he put them together into a full-feature film (approx. 50 minutes long) called "Emperor Nicholas II; Last Czar of Russia".
His monarchist colleagues were still showing it to groups in the 1980s. We had a showing here at the monastery. It was delightful.
Some of the scenes I have not seen again, even among all the clips available now.

In 1958, A. Tarsaidze published a fascinating study of the friendly relations which existed between the Russian Empire and the USA before the Revolution.
It's called: "Czars and Presidents". I highly recommend it.

*************************

PS:

Hoover Archives has his papers and the film clips from which it was made:
http://findingaids.stanford.edu/xtf/view?docId=ead/hoover/reg_185.xml;query=;brand=default

A review of the film when shown at Vassar in 1957!
http://newspaperarchives.vassar.edu/cgi-bin/vassar?a=d&d=vcchro19570309-01.2.18

Copies are still out there:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060000109

Object description
A chronological compilation of footage of Nicholas II and his family, taken between 1896 and 1914 (three years before his abdication).
Full description
Film is introduced by Ivan Obolensky, "an American", who also provides voice-over narration to the chronological sequences of film. 1896: Nicholas's coronation. 1904: Nicholas reviews troops. Opening of Duma. 1912: visit to Moscow. 25th anniversary of Nicholas's enrolment into the army, at Peterhof (the Romanovs' summer residence). Centenary commemoration of Battle of Borodino. 1913: tricentennial celebrations of Romanov dynasty. Nicholas visits Wilhelm II. Nicholas inspects first Russian aeroplane. Parades at Tsarskoye Selo (the private residence of the Tsar and his family) and also at Peterhof. 1914: Nicholas and family move to their winter residence of Livadia Palace in the Crimea. Nicholas watches troops performing gymnastics, and reviews the Black Sea Fleet at Sebastopol. Several engagements in the Crimea - Easter celebrations, unveiling of monument, charity bazaar organised by Alexandra. Visit of French President - Saint Petersburg, Peterhof shown. Review of troops at Krasnoye Selo (another summer residence); "the last peace-time parade in the history of the Russian monarchy". August 2nd - huge crowd gathers outside the Winter Palace to see the Tsar. The start of "a new and tragic era", in which the monarchy would be abolished.

Physical description
16mm

[Inok Nikolai]

I forgot to add that in the 1980s, when we inquired of the Hoover Archives to have a copy made of Tarsaidze's film, they explained that, since it was a composite film of many shorter clippings, the exposures differed greatly.
Thus, to copy it all at one setting would have made some parts too light, while others would be too dark.
To have someone make manual adjustments for each section was too costly.

Perhaps the advances in such media make it more possible now?

[TimM]

Perhaps the advances in such media make it more possible now?

That's very likely.  Social Media has opened up many roads that were closed before.

[KarinK]

1896: Nicholas's coronation. 1904: Nicholas reviews troops. Opening of Duma. 1912: visit to Moscow. 25th anniversary of Nicholas's enrolment into the army, at Peterhof (the Romanovs' summer residence). Centenary commemoration of Battle of Borodino. 1913: tricentennial celebrations of Romanov dynasty. Nicholas visits Wilhelm II. Nicholas inspects first Russian aeroplane. Parades at Tsarskoye Selo (the private residence of the Tsar and his family) and also at Peterhof. 1914: Nicholas and family move to their winter residence of Livadia Palace in the Crimea. Nicholas watches troops performing gymnastics, and reviews the Black Sea Fleet at Sebastopol. Several engagements in the Crimea - Easter celebrations, unveiling of monument, charity bazaar organised by Alexandra. Visit of French President - Saint Petersburg, Peterhof shown. Review of troops at Krasnoye Selo (another summer residence); "the last peace-time parade in the history of the Russian monarchy". August 2nd - huge crowd gathers outside the Winter Palace to see the Tsar.

This list is fascinating! I hope at least some of the rare footage becomes more widely available in the future. I don't know about American archives and libraries, but British Pathé and the British Film Institute have made a lot of their old footage public on YouTube.