1932 movie "Rasputin and the Empress"

[azrael7171918]

I have it on VHS and it just became available on DVD.  If you go to Turner classic movies, you can order it.

You can go to Warner Archives on the Warner website as well.

Sorry didn't know it was already posted

[clockworkgirl21]

My dad recorded it for me. I didn't even know it was coming on!

I watched it up to the part with the fly and the ant. That's when I decided I had enough and turned it off.

[helenazar]

I saw it recently on DVD, and since I was expecting something really godawful, I didn't think it was that bad... There was some obvious editing going on, where the rape scene was supposed to be (which I think they were sued over?), so I guess they were forced to do that, but on the whole I didn't think it was terrible...

[CorisCapnSkip]

I need to see that film!

It's a shame that Rasputin's murderer was successful in sueing MGM. It just doesn't seem fair to me. He not only got away with murder, but he was proud of it.

And, it seems, made such a reputation with lawsuits that studios came to him!  http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/382552%7C0/Cult-Movie-Picks-May-2011.html/

[CorisCapnSkip]

My dad recorded it for me. I didn't even know it was coming on!

I watched it up to the part with the fly and the ant. That's when I decided I had enough and turned it off.

That's the part where I came in.  I was mistaken about when it was playing on TCM (the times were given in east coast and I'm west coast).  I went to the website and can't tell from this movie's page there if/when it will be played again.  Can anyone have better luck than I?  I did find that some of the deleted material appears in the trailer, which can be viewed on the TCM website.

What I did see was a hoot.  Lionel Barrymore as Rasputin decrying the poor masses sounded just like Mr. Potter trashing the poor of Bedford Falls in It's a Wonderful Life!

[blessOTMA]

They play it about twice a year lately...what I find remarkable are the uniforms...military and nursing...they seem to have been  just be taken out of personal  trunks...it was made not too long after the events...about 15 years.  I think Ethel's  performance well worth watching ...the murder scene is pretty powerful...of course the film's not  actuate etc

[CorisCapnSkip]

Yes, except for the last scene with the glaring error of backless evening dresses at the party, I was pretty impressed with the wardrobe.  It looked so much like the original pictures.

I am also very impressed that Ethel Barrymore met Alexandra and sought the direction of people who knew her in modeling her performance.  It gives this movie a special connection that others don't have.

[Olga Bernice]

I didn't think the movie was very bad at all. It was one of my introductions to the Romanov family, and I didn't know much about Rasputin, or anybody else for that matter, before I saw the movie.
Some parts weren't quite true, that I'll admit. But you must remember, it was made in 1932. This was before Nicholas and Alexandra, before any of the Romanov books that we now have the luxury of having were ever in print. So the people had to kind of take what they knew and had to make it enough - and they also had to weave a good story out of it.
So thinking of it in those standards, I would say that it wasn't that bad - for the time, in my opinion, it was quite good.

[Clemence]

in the IMDB the title is ''Rasputin the Mad Monk'' and not ''Rasputin and the Empress''? anyone knows why that is?

[CorisCapnSkip]

in the IMDB the title is ''Rasputin the Mad Monk'' and not ''Rasputin and the Empress''? anyone knows why that is?

There is more than one movie about Rasputin.

[Clemence]

yes, thank you,  but we are discussing one in particular in this topic, and I cannot find it in the imdb, have you been able to perhaps?
all I can see is that the title has at some point been changed, who knows when and why ...

[Laura Mabee]

Here you go Clemence:

IMDB

[CorisCapnSkip]

TCM showed both Nicholas and Alexandra and Rasputin and the Empress (1932) Wednesday evening/Thursday morning for the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution so I finally got to see both all through.

[CorisCapnSkip]

A friend of mine got into the VCRs,and videos,when they 1st came out, about 25  to 30 years ago.Hes said that it was a very expensive pursuit.  Around 20 years ago, I would rent the big,clunky box of a VCR player , and videos,from a local supermarket.Twas a big production.Talking about when VCRs and videos 1st came out;are we not dating ourselves!?

I am actually old enough to remember when it was possible to check out a movie projector and 16 mm film prints from certain libraries (not all had them)!  People would invite neighbors to viewings as it was too big a deal for just one family to enjoy!

[TimM]

When this movie was made, many of the people depicted in it were still living.  Some were not too thrilled.