Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna - Amy Irving

[gorgeousbutterfly]

Yes, i've seen this cover, and at first i really doubted that its that but my memory is really blured and probaly not accurate. so i will have to rent it.

thanx you so much!

[TheAce1918]

Another Anastasia movie? Lord above! 

For some reason or another...this one looks a little more interesting than its predecessors.

[Bob_the_builder]

It would have been good if it hadn't had that fictional "Prince Eric" character who played Anna Anderson's lover, which she didn't have one at all in real life. And the Amy Irving character is just nothing like the real Anna Anderson who was very mentally disturbed. This character here seems like she had a pretty happy life and lived happily ever after. This is nothing like the true life of Anna Anderson who was a very sad and disturbed person.

I also hate the part when Anna A. arrives in America and waves to the reporters and the audience like she just loves it, but the real AA covered her face upon arriving to New York and wouldn't leave until some of the reporters had left, but she was still hounded nonetheless.

[Bob_the_builder]

There's a complete Romanov filmography by Greg King on his website which gives some good info on this movie. I was horrified to read it claimed to be historically accurate!

In 1983, Little, Brown published Peter Kurth’s critically acclaimed book “Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson.” Given the appeal of the subject matter, coupled with the success of previous film adaptations of the Anastasia story, it was perhaps inevitable that Hollywood would once again turn its attention to the mystery of the missing Grand Duchess.

Telecom Entertainment purchased the pre-publication film rights to the book. Already in the midst of planning their own Anastasia movie, they wanted to prevent a rival production based on Kurth’s book. “I was of course naive,” Kurth says. “I didn’t know Hollywood then as I do now. All they want is a book between covers that they can wave around at meetings as ‘the property.’ They don’t actually read it. I was horrified when I read the shooting script.”(1) NBC-Television bought the broadcast rights from Telecom, and hired Kurth to serve as a consultant for the resulting mini-series. “At the time,” he recalls, “I was naive enough to think that the network would actually consult me when they got around to filming.”(2)To write the screenplay, NBC hired Marvin Chomsky and James Goldman. Chomsky, who had already won Emmys for “Attica,” “Inside the Third Reich,” and “Holocaust,” also took the helm as director. Goldman, who had won the Academy Award for best screenplay for his adaptation of “The Lion in Winter,” had also been responsible for “Nicholas and Alexandra” in 1971.These developments seemed promising. Soon, however, there were other concerns. “I might have guessed I was in trouble,” says Kurth, “when the producers called me up to ask if Anastasia had ever had ‘boyfriends.’ They wanted to know who they were. They wanted to know how many there were. They wanted me to agree with them when they said that if she hadn’t had any they’d have to ‘make one up.’”(3)Chomsky and Goldman were under orders from NBC President Brandon Tartikoff to churn out a piece of romantic melodrama. “I want more romance,” Tartikoff declared after skimming through a draft of the script. “When I think Anastasia, I think romance.”(4) Kurth, meanwhile, could only watch helplessly as fictional incident after fictional incident was piled on to the storyline, in an attempt to satisfy Tartikoff’s romantic aspirations.

Further problems lay ahead. “I had written a serious book about one of the great mysteries of the century,” Kurth declares. “Anastasia was a Russian Grand Duchess, and I’d imagined that for the film version of her story an actress would be found whom we might, at least, suppose was Russian. I certainly wasn’t prepared for it when the network announced it had given the part to Lindsay Wagner.”(5)Wagner, a statuesque blonde, was best known for her role as the “Bionic Woman,” a series spun-off from the successful ABC Television series “The Six Million Dollar Man.” Desperate, Kurth rang his agent, and tried to convey his frustration to the producers. Eventually, they relented, and cast a German actress in the role of Anna Anderson.(6)  This, too, proved a mistake, and finally Amy Irving won the coveted role.

“The role of Anna Anderson was so appealing,” Irving explained, "the transition she makes, the depths of emotion she experiences...all of that was so tempting, I couldn’t resist.”(7) Irving also brought something unique to the portrayal: conviction. “What was amazing for me was to see photographs of Anna Anderson and of the Tsar’s daughters,” she said. “Putting them together, it’s just so obvious....I do admire Anna Anderson. She was a real quirky character, but if you went through seeing your family murdered and survived, you’d be quirky, too.”( At the end of the production, Irving’s then husband, Stephen Spielberg, presented her with a small Faberge egg adorned with an “A” on a gold chain that had belonged to the real Anastasia, and which the actress proudly wore to several interviews promoting the motion picture.

Other cast members had their own beliefs and doubts. “I talked at one point to a man whose grandfather, the former King of Denmark, was present when Anna Anderson was tested,” said Omar Sharif, who portrayed Nicholas II. “When the grandfather came out, he said, ‘Things that this girl knows no one else could possibly know.’ So if she was a charlatan, she was a brilliant charlatan.” And Susan Lucci, who played the fictional character of Princess Darya, loosely modeled on Princess Xenia of Russia, declared, “I really believe she was Anastasia.”(9)Claire Bloom, who portrayed Empress Alexandra, felt differently. “I’m a realist,” she said. “After all, the family was shot and bayoneted and chopped up, and God knows what indescribable things. And I can’t believe the Bolsheviks wouldn't have said: ‘Where’s the fourth girl?’ On the other hand, extraordinary things have happened. I mean, she did know things....But it’s the story that attracts people, it’s a marvelous, romantic story-Cinderella without a ball.”[i/]

read the rest here: http://www.kingandwilson.com/filmography/

[scarlett_riviera]

Wow, I didn't know the actors actually believed she was Anastasia. But I liked the first part of this film, it was a bit gripping and I felt sad when I watched the execution scene.  And YES, I was annoyed with that fictional prince! He even LOOKED annoying. lol

[TheAce1918]

Other cast members had their own beliefs and doubts. “I talked at one point to a man whose grandfather, the former King of Denmark, was present when Anna Anderson was tested,” said Omar Sharif, who portrayed Nicholas II. “When the grandfather came out, he said, ‘Things that this girl knows no one else could possibly know.’ So if she was a charlatan, she was a brilliant charlatan.” And Susan Lucci, who played the fictional character of Princess Darya, loosely modeled on Princess Xenia of Russia, declared, “I really believe she was Anastasia.”i/]

read the rest here: http://www.kingandwilson.com/filmography/

Interesting.  Keeping DNA out of reach here...the fact that Anna knew more than any other soul would know immediately about the Romanovs is truly mind boggling.  Something that not even medical science has yet to conquer.  It only leaves this open to the minds of speculation about the small print during Anna's life.

[Bob_the_builder]

Other cast members had their own beliefs and doubts. “I talked at one point to a man whose grandfather, the former King of Denmark, was present when Anna Anderson was tested,” said Omar Sharif, who portrayed Nicholas II. “When the grandfather came out, he said, ‘Things that this girl knows no one else could possibly know.’ So if she was a charlatan, she was a brilliant charlatan.” And Susan Lucci, who played the fictional character of Princess Darya, loosely modeled on Princess Xenia of Russia, declared, “I really believe she was Anastasia.”i/]

read the rest here: http://www.kingandwilson.com/filmography/

Interesting.  Keeping DNA out of reach here...the fact that Anna knew more than any other soul would know immediately about the Romanovs is truly mind boggling.  Something that not even medical science has yet to conquer.  It only leaves this open to the minds of speculation about the small print during Anna's life.

Yes, before the DNA I really believed that Anna Anderson had to be Anastasia. You can only imagine how shocked I was when the DNA proved she was someone who was the exact opposite of Grand Duchess Anastasia, a Prussian factory worker! I've accepted the DNA results, simply because there has yet to be any evidence that has come to light suggesting that the DNA was flawed. But if there ever were to be, I wouldn't be that suprised. Even as Franziska, AA is still an interesting subject, an enigma of sorts. No imposter in history has ever been so successful! I'm fascinated by how long her court case to get the death certificate overturned began in 1938, but a final verdict wasn't handed down until 1970! And because of that, it was acknowledged for the very first time in a court of law that the death of Grand Duchess Anastasia in Ekaterinburg had never been considered a historically proven fact. And even though it's now been proven AA wasn't Anastasia, the true fate of the tsar's youngest daughter is still unknown. The rumors of her possible escape have been around since the massacre happened in 1918. The Russian scientists have obviously attempted to destroy this myth by placing the tallest female skeleton in Anastasia's coffin, yet AN was the smallest of all the Grand Duchesses. I really hope the riddle of Anastasia can be conclusively solved during my lifetime.

[TheAce1918]

I don't want to sound too cross here.  But I hope that it is never solved.  Now before you all crucify me...hear me out.  Of course, on a spiritual level as well as common sense and decency...I wish all of the conflict and mystique regarding the fate of the Romanovs came to a peaceful end.  It's been over nine decades already!

But on an academic, philisophical, and moral level...the fate of the Romanovs is what has spread so much interest.  Look at everyone on this forum for Lord's sake!  Personally, my interest and study of the Romanovs, helped launch my history major into new realms.  First it was just learning about the imperial family themselves....then the music of their time, as well as the food, entertainment, and on, and on, and on...!

But this is just my own opinion...right now, as we speak, I'll bet you anything that half of the people here are already hiring hitmen to come find me...

[Bob_the_builder]

You better watch out Ace just kidding.

But you are right, how many people have become interested in the Romanovs because of the mysteries which surround them?

[koloagirl]

 

Aloha all!

Sorry for reviving this very old topic!   But I saw some clips from this 1980's era TV movie on YouTube yesterday -- and while it is certainly a hodgepodge of scattered historical truths and inaccuracies (not to mention fantasies!) -- I was amazed to see so many
big-time actors and actresses of that time!  And one that was completely unknown at the time as well!

Omar Sharif -- well, what can I say?  He was a dreamy Dr. Zhivago in revolutionary Russia, but here, he looks more like Alexander III than Nicholas II -- his acting was sympathetic and if you could get your mind off the fact that physically he bore absolutely no resemblance to Nicky -- he was emotionally more of what I at least think Nicky was like - especially with OTMAA.  But what a casting choice!

Claire Bloom -- again, a big-time actress of her time.  Physically, not really Alexandra, but not as far off as some others. Not a terribly umsympathetic portrayal -- certainly not as bad as the majority (other than Janet Suzman, who I thought was a really great Alexandra).

Olivia DeHaviland -- a legend!  And a little "zaftig" for Marie Feodorovna, but at least she seemed sympathetic in her portrayal of Minnie.

Rex Harrison -- again, a legend!  And while I really have no personal conception of what Cyril was like in real life, he seemed to fit the part of a arrogant Grand Duke very well!

Christian Bale -- I was so surprised to see him playing Alexei -- I wasn't sure it was him, until I looked it up on IMDB and found that this was his very first film role ever.  Amazing example of a child actor who has grown up and had a successful film career!  I also thought that his portrayal of Alexei was quite good -- maybe better than the somewhat bitter portrayal in "Nicholas and Alexandra."

How ever did they get such big time names to play in a lowly TV movie?  They certainly went for star-quality in this, that's for sure!

Other than that -- I did like the little girl (too little) who played Anastasia as a youngster -- looking her up on IMDB shows that she has maintained a successful stage and TV career right up to the present as well. 

Okay, enough of my blathering on -- just my thoughts!  That's what you get when you have too much time and spend some of it on YouTube!
 

[dmitri]

Omar Sharif was hilarious as Nicholas II. Nobody beats Michael Jayston in Nicholas and Alexandra. Bloom was good as Alexandra. Olivia De Havilland was very badly miscast as Maria Feodorovna. Irene Worth was so much better in Nicholas and Alexandra. It was such a load of rubbish. It was loosely based on Peter Kurth's rubbish so it was not surprising. Amy Iriving and Rex Harrison had some good scenes and Jan Niklas was good as the fictional Prince Erich.

[PrincessSophie]

Hi, Janet_W:

                          Well, I must agree with you. A good movie portraying Ana, view through Ana's own eyes, would be just perfect! But perfect historical movies will never exist!   I'm not very optimist in this. I must said that I never like a single historical movie completely. " Nicholas and Alexandra" is good, but have too many mistakes to said I like it.

                             Amy Irving performance is great. I think I said it somewhere. A wonderful actress, and a convincing Ana Anderson. Rex Harrison was excellent too...Olivia de Havilland is a fine Empress Marie in this movie. But the rest...Hmmm. I repeat it. Bad stuff.  

RealAnastasia.

Whatever you say about this movie (Anastasia: Mystery of Anna (1986)), it had great actors in it.

Amy Irving | Olivia De Havilland | Omar Sharif | Rex Harrison | Edward Fox | Claire Bloom | Elke Sommer | Jan Niklas.  You may not know this but the movie also starred a very young Christian Bale as Alexei!

One of the problems with the movie is in the run up to their execution, Anna is played by a young actress so physically unlike Amy Irving (who plays the adult "Anna") that it actually lends weight to the doubts about her identity later on!

I understand that was largely based on "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson" by Peter Kurth, and is touching in bits despite its fiction-augmented recounting of history.

[PrincessSophie]

My apologies for repeating the list of characters summarised by Koloagirl!

[nena]

You are right, RealAnastasia, that movie is bad.....

[dmitri]

Yes so many of the leads are badly miscast. The show goes in for names rather than actors who are suited to the roles. The script was really poor and very corny. It was fiction from start to finish.