I remember well when I first saw that film, which by the way, changed my life forever and after seeing it I became interested in Russia's Romanov period.
I remember well that the scene of Tatiana and the guard was shown in the film in cinemas, and I was shocked because at the time I was 14 years old, and I'm 50 now so as you see this isn't a new film... and I'm not "new" either.
The scene in particular is disgusting because first, as based as in history as the film and the book are, there is no evidence that such thing ever happened. Second, I think that one should have a minimum respect level for those who are dead now, and especially those who were innocent and were yet murdered.
And in the very very remote case such thing would have happened, it doesn't do us any good, nor the memory of the deceased, to know this.
Mr. Massie's "Nicholas and Alexandra", which is considered an important source and is well researched, was the basis for this film. I don't know if Mr. Massie himself supervised the film, but in any case I think it is accurate a broader sense, taking into consideration that at the time, the early 70s, there might not have been too much information coming out of the Soviet Union regarding the Emperor and his family. Whatever information was there, was probably obtained from sources located in the West, that is, there might have been some books and pictures taken in Russia, but they "resided" in the West.
In "The Final Chapter" Mr. Massie complemented his extraordinary work "Nicholas and Alexandra", but I think he was impatient and I for one, would be looking forward to a new final "Final Chapter" now that there's evidence that bodies found last summer are those of their imperial majesties, Grand Duchess Maria an the Heir. If and when they are buried in their proper place, the Romanov saga will come to an end, and maybe then we'll see some definitive material written on the subject, to close it once and for all, and to let those poor souls rest in peace, as they deserve not because of their rank or their heritage, but because of the unfortunate lives they had.
Going back to the book and the film, the first was a success, a best-seller in its time, something very unusual even then, especially for a book regarding the Empire in a time when I'm sure most Russians and certainly a lot of westerners had all but forgotten the IF.
The film was also a success because at the time it was a super-production. If I remember correctly it cost a lot to make, it had a cast of very good actors, some of which never repeated their success afterwards (I'm thinking of Mrs. Suzman, who portrayed the Empress). And who can forget Irene Worth portraying the Dowager Empress?
Filmmakers take some licenses to make their products more interesting, more apealing and thus, more saleable, hence the scenes of Tatiana and he guard, and also the one of Rasputin's murder which was too graphical too in its time. Now unfortunately we are used to worse than that.
I remember watching on Mexican TV a Russian mini-series about Nicholas and Alexandra, produced in the last years of the now fortunately defunct Soviet Union. At first I thought it might have been the film, but it wasn't. About the only good thing it had, is that it was filmed mostly in the places where the actual events happened, which is not the case in the film. I remember that the last scene is about the Empress driving away in her carriage, in winter, with all the snow, after Rasputin's burial if I'm not mistaken. After this is over, Cyrillic characters roll up the screen, adding all deaths attributed to the Emperor, starting with his wedding banquet in Khodynka and finishing with the number the casualties of WWI. I remember also that the IF isn't represented in a bad fashion, meaning no rudeness, no ill-portrayed characters, but clearly they show the Soviet version of the story, which ends, conveniently, before the IF is imprisoned!
Last but not least, now that the final final chapter is about to be finished, I'd like to see a remake of the movie, or better yet, a mini-series that would take advantage of all the information we now have, maybe testimonials of those who survived, and certainly, I would like to have it filmed in the actual locations.
Many years ago, when the Soviet Union opened up, someone made an excellent mini-series about Peter the Great, filmed in Russia and with none other than Omar Shariff representing Tsar Peter, also based on Mr. Massie's biography of him.
