Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

[azrael7171918]

 The nose bleed scene was in Rasputin made for HBO back in 96. I do not recall another N&A film entitled Nicholas and Alexandra ever being made.

The only real films that have been released are Rasputin and the Empress 1933
                                                                  Anastasia  1955 Bergman
                                                                  Anastasia 1955 Palmer
                                                                  Assorted Rasputin films back in the early 60s
                                                                               Mad Monk Hammer films
                                                                               The Last Night of Rasputin
                                                                  Most of these were cheaply made European films
                                                                   Nicholas and Alexandra 1971
                                                                   Anastasia 1986 Amy Irving
                                                                   Rasputin HBO 1996

These are films released in the West.

There was also Agony made in the 70s in Soviet Union and shelved because it was too sypathic to Nicholas. It was released after the fall of the government.
Assassin of the Tsar McDowell 1991 was done in Russia and the first Russian film to go to Cannes.
Then of course Romanovy 2000

There have been documentaries called Nicholas and Alexandra but no other films

Az

[Greenowl]

Thanks Az! I now THINK I have solved the mystery/riddle....what probably happened is as follows: I did see "Nicholas and Alexandra" shortly after its release in 1971, but as I was so young then and it is, after all, 36 years ago, I obviously don't remember anything about it, except for the fact that our history teacher transported the whole class from the school to the city centre in a bus in order to get to the cinema. As I mentioned above, I saw "it" again "about ten years ago"....ten years ago would be 1997, and thus what I probably saw then was indeed the Rasputin film (the nose bleed scene is very clear in my mind) but for some reason (no doubt due to the similar subject matter) I confused the two and believed that I had seen the same film twice. How silly of me and thank you all ever so much for putting me on the right track. Amazing how one forgets things due to the passage of time.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi Greenowl,

Well, join the ranks of confused & melded minds of the rest of us!!!

It's easy to get all this lumped into one story:  after all it's about Nicholas, Alexandra, Alexei and Rasputin and we tend to meld their stories all together.

I remember watching "Anastasia" (1956) last year and waiting for Helen Hayes to be wheeled into the room in a wheelchair and then get up and walk over to Ingrid Bergman.  But, she didn't;  she walked into the room and no wheelchair.
It was later that I remembered that it was Olivia De Havilland in the TV movie, "Anastasia" (1986) where she did that!!

We tend to meld things together sometimes - - it's normal, it's human, join the ranks!!!!

Larry

[Greenowl]

Thanks Larry! Its good to know I'm not the only one to get things mixed up, but as you say, the subject matter in both films  is pretty similar, as basically they are telling the same story. I'll have to look at them both again some time soon!

Cheers
GREENOWL

[RonnieLee88]

Was it just me or did the guys who played Lenin and Botkin look way too much alike? I wasn't at all affected by the scenes at Spala because the whole time I was trying to figure out why Lenin was in their house (palace, whatever). It took me a while to realize that the man in those scenes was Botkin, and I had trouble telling them apart for the rest of the film.

[mr_harrison75]

Well, they had a little resemblance, but the actor who did Dr. Botkin looked uncannily like the real one, but as he was in the 1890's. Yevgueny Sergueyevich Botkin was much older in 1918, and had a beard, he looked a lot like he was portrayed by Ernst Romanov in Romanovy: ventsenosnaya semya.

Also, I wonder why many seem to be at odds with the idea that Nicholas and Alexandra quarreled in the movie. Do you really think that they never quarrelled even once during their lives? Maybe they acted it a little over the top, but I found realistic that they quarrelled.

[anna11]

No no! I liked that they quarelled, I found that Nicky and Alix in this film had a very realistic realtionship and I loved that. What I didn't like, like you said, is that it was over the top.

[RonnieLee88]

I agree with a previous poster in that I really didn't like the "It was you!" comment. Saying something like that to Alexandra in real life really would have destroyed her, and Nicholas wasn't malicious enough to do that even in anger.

Overall, though, I liked this movie, and it made me happy because I love Alexandra and Janet Suzman completely stole every scene that she was in.

[NAOTMAA Fan]

I would LOVE to get my hands on the Sissi trilogy and I have not even seen it.

They sell it here in Canada at relatively common movie stores....but it's always in French without subtitles x___x. I'm always tempted to buy it but never do...anyways I love this movie because of all the fond memories attached to it...

....but I can't but agree that the homicidal Alexei came off as annoying, and even had my dad asking "Was that kid really like that??". Not terribly good for those who know nothing of the Romanovs....anyways Janet Suzman and Michael Jayston were superb in their roles, I thought they did well to inherit N&A's characters.

[historylover]

I am watching the Fall of Eagles TV series at the moment and I think that the actors who play Nicholas and Alexandra are much better in this.  The script is also much better.

Janet Suzman as Alexandra rather annoyed me.  She is more likeable in this series.

Best,
Lisa
www.bookaddiction.blogspot.com

[wildone]

Just saw the movie, and for me, I found the scene where Nicholas, Alexandra, and Alexei stand on the balcony at the start of WWI both sad and strange.  The way they all suddenly go still and turn black and white, as if we're looking at pictures from an already long-gone era.

[drronnie]

I have order the DVD and I am eagerly waiting to watch it.

[sckkr]

Yes but films are films and you have to try to educate a public in one and a half hours. I think it got the message across if it did,nt maybe a lot of us would not be on this wonderful forum. It was great for the time.

[drronnie]

Yes but films are films and you have to try to educate a public in one and a half hours. I think it got the message across if it did,nt maybe a lot of us would not be on this wonderful forum. It was great for the time.

Yes, I agree this site is wonderful and very informative as well.

[tom_romanov]

my favorite scene has to be the one when - OTMA are dancing at tobolsk ( just out of interest it looks like they are living in a log cabin)

my funniest scene has to be the bit where the feed rasputin the poisoned cakes and Dimitri is laughing ( its his laugh the makes me laugh- not the intention of murder)

my saddest scene happens to be the one where IF&DR.B are stood in the cellar and are just waiting looking at the clock