Anastasia

long time, I was very critic about this film. for its status of one of many films in Hallmark style. for a predictable story who could be presented in better manner. and long time I perceived as only good thing the performance of Olivia de Havilland. but the new technology is the best enemy of prejudices. it is not great. but it is beautiful. Amy Irving does an admirable job and Omar Shariff gives one of the most interesting Nicholas II portraits. and, sure, it is almost a crime to ignore Christian Bale in the role of Alexei , if you really are his fan. but, more important, it is a coherent story. and useful adaptation of a case who impress not for its last verdict but for the circle of illusions. story of a myth, it is one of films who gives more than a historical sketch but who reminds the wounds of a period.

It's a shame, because although this film is entertaining (in an American soap-opera sort of way), the fact that it's so loosely based on the story of Anastasia and the book by Peter Kurth, means it doesn't really live up to it's potential.

The real characters of the Romanovs, the uprisal of the Bolsheviks, imprisonment and execution, royal conspiracies, and in general, an accurate portrait of Anna Anderson's life, all take secondary place to beautiful setting, pretty costumes, an attractive cast (most of the acting is quite good) and an unfortunate 80's tinge (too many perms).

The film goes off on a tangent, eventually delving into the realms of fantasy and sickly Mills&Boon-style romance. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun film to watch, but had it been more intelligent, more ACCURATE and more sinister & mysterious, it would have been so much more captivating and entertaining. I gave it 6/10.

There can be no doubt that this was an entertaining piece to watch. It had a mixed ability cast with many of the main roles very badly miscast. The pre revolution scenes were too sickly sweet for words. I think the real Anastasia would have found them difficult to stomach. The whole series was loosely based on Peter Kurth's book on "Anastasia". It would have been so much better, given the huge budget, if it had been more historically accurate. It is more Mills and Boon than serious drama. It was more a love story between Anna Anderson and Prince Eric than an accurate account. I would have liked to have seen more about the trials. An interesting drama would have not painted the other side all bad like this did. I guess there was an agenda established from the very beginning that there was no possibility of denying that Anna was not Anastasia. That is where the whole thing disintegrates, sadly.

This is a richly produced, atmospheric telling of the Anastasia legend set against the time of the Russian revolution. It has the look of an authentic, handsome movie of the kind made during the golden age of Hollywood. In the title role, Amy Irving gives what is probably one of the finest performances of her career. Others around her are equally impressive: Rex Harrison, Olivia de Havilland, Claire Bloom, Omar Shariff, Jan Niklas and Susan Lucci.

The epic story begins with the start of the revolution and the exile of the family of Nicolas and Alexandra. After fleeing execution, the story follows Anastasia's years of struggle to regain her royal heritage--and the opposition of forces around her who call her an imposter.

Winner of two Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and much acclaim from critics and public upon its video showing in 1986. Well worth viewing.

The poor woman who was portrayed in this movie would be convincing except for DNA evidence proving she wasn't Anastasia Romonov. Either you believe she was who she said she was or the member of the British royal family who provided DNA and shared a common ancestor with the Romonov's in Queen Victoria wasn't who they said they were which is unlikely, this aside the woman probably believed she was a Romonov even though she obviously wasn't the film seems to make her out as a callous actress who was playing everybody for fools as an alternative for her mental problems said by the surviving family even so this film was entertaining and doesn't end the mystery which was unsolved at the time of it's making but shows it as it was a mystery and I'm glad the DNA evidence is conclusive since there would be people on the internet arguing whether she was who she said she was.