Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

[anna11]

Janet Suzman stole every scene she was in in the film, so she was simply marvelous imo. I think the scene where she's fiddiling with the icons is great. And that one line 'Tell them they are mistaken. My son is perfect'

What I liked about the film was that Nicholas And Alexandra, while obviously loving each other immensly did not have the 'perfect' relationship. I thought Micheal Jayston and Janet Suzman had great on-screen chemistry, and I liked the scenes where they fought, as well as the affectionate ones.

And yeah Irene Worth was great as Marie also, the scene at Starvka is also one of my favorites.

Excuse bad spelling.

[royaltybuff]

My two favorite scenes were very sad, but it shows the despair that the Romanovs were in.

1.) When Nicholas came in and told Alexandra that he had abdicated. The agony that I felt for him was so overwhelming. But almost immediately I felt kind of embarrassed as if I were an intruder in a very intimate moment between two very important people, who were still at the core just people with the same emotions and reactions you and I have. We often forget the human aspect.

2.) When Nagorny was shot after defending Alexei. Being a person with a disability myself, I can understand only having a limited number of people around you who see you at your worst physically. Nagorny knew Alexei like few others were allowed to know him. Alexei lost his best friend and caregiver when he heard the gunshot. Horrible.

[Joyann1]

yes it was very sad when they shot Nagorny but alexei almost didnt showed any sad feelings in that scene

[royaltybuff]

Yes, it was like he had endured so much that nothing shocked him.

[historylover]

I didn't mind Nicholas and Alexandra but the film annoyed me somewhat because they appeared to argue a
lot and Alexandra was extremely unlikeable.  Also Alexai was a bit strange.

Romy Shneider didn't strike me as sickly sweet in the Sissi films which I bought recently.  She stood up to her
mother-in-law fairly well, I thought.  However, apparently the actress herself agreed with you and she spat at anyone who
called her 'Sissi' which was pretty bad-mannered!

Regards,
Lisa
www.webwritereditor.com
www.bookaddiction.blogspot.com

[Imperial.Opal]

 Hi anna11
N & A was available on video in Australia over 20 years ago,  the DVD  of it is available from Amazon, you must have a multi zone DVD player

[anna11]

Thanks, but i've downloaded it from frozentears.org

After watching it again, I sill think it's a good film, but I have these problems.

-Nicholas And Alexandra seemed to fight more than not. I don't mind that really, but I thought the IT WAS YOU comment was totally unnessasary and unlike Nicholas. It kind of made me wonder if the writers actually read the book.
-The scene were Nicholas and Alexandra see each other after his abdication. I was rolling on the floor laughing.
-I also didn't like Nicholas's attitude after the abdication. The 'I created these men' attitude, it was just strange, like he had some kind of epiphany (spelling) and yeah...it was just weird.
-Nicholas in general. I've said this alot, but i'm not fan of Michael Jayston as Nicholas.
-Alexei.  I don't think he was well written, and he was annoying. I know my reasons are shallow 

But Janet Suzman was just fabulous as Alexandra, I don't think the movie would be nearly as good without her.

[robors]

For me it's right before the execution and after.First the before part is when the guards point the guns at them and Olga and Tatiana holdon to each other, AF makes the sign of the cross and Maria holds on to Dr.Botkin.I noticed that Anastasia was the only one who didn't hold on to anyone.The sad part after the execution is when you see the wall with all the blood and the end credits music starts to play.

[dmitri]

I guess with some editing that placed the film in correct historical order that would be a good start. Also with the benefits of computer technology in film today the same actors could be used to deal with some gaps. That would be interesting.

[Annie]

I noticed that Anastasia was the only one who didn't hold on to anyone.

Yes, I noticed that too, she didn't seem to show any fear or emotion at all. Was it bad acting, or was it that they her thinking 'what do I have to worry about, I have a cart waiting outside to take me to Romania.'  I hope not.

[azrael7171918]

 I remember when I saw the film in it's original release back in 71 that there was a pull back shot of the family in those positions. I also remember that Anastasia closed her eyes as though I don't want to see what's going to happen.

Somewhere on the net is a picture taken from the camera on the right with Marie and Dr. Botkin that clearly shows Anastasia's eyes closed.


Az

[Greenowl]

I saw the film twice. When it was first released in late 1971 my whole class was taken to see it one afternoon by our history teacher. I saw it for the second time about ten years ago, either on TV or on video (probably the latter). Having read the various posts on this thread I began to wonder whether had I seen a different film, as in my opinion the film I saw was a bit "flat" (if you know what I mean), in that it did not leave any lasting impression on me. The only scene that I can vividly recall is the one in which Alexis suffers a nose bleed at what I assume were supposed to be part of the Tercentery celebrations. That particular scene was well done, as it expressed a great deal of the distress and helplessness associated with the dreadful situation, as well as the futile attempts to keep Alexis' condition secret (despite the fact that I don't think that particular scene was based on an actual incident...please correct me if I am wrong about that). However, apart from that I cannot remember any other scene, although I usually have a fairly good memory, especially when it concerns history or historical events....odd! 

[Ally Kumari]

Greeowl: Aren´t you mistaking Nicolas and Alexandra with Rasputin (the leading role was Alan Rickman)?

[Cambria_Coheed]

yea, i thought that was a scene from Rasputin...

[Greenowl]

I don't think so, as I don't recall ever having seen the film entitled "Rasputin". When was it released? What I do wonder, however, is whether there was another film about Nicholas and Alexandra released in the early 1970s, shortly AFTER the actual "Nicholas and Alexandra" film referred to above, as in retrospect, I would have only been about 12 years old in 1971, and I think I was older (about 14 or 15) when the history teacher brought my class to see the film, which had just been released....thus that would place the release of the film in about 1974. Mind you, if Rasputin was released at around that time, perhaps it was Rasputin I saw, and somehow got the titles "mixed up"....what do you think?? Odd how the mind can play tricks...must be old age!!!

Cheers,
GREENOWL