Nicholas and Alexandra

I watched this movie for the first time this weekend (on DVD). It's been troubling me ever since because I still don't know how I feel about the last Czar: flawed man trapped by circumstance or bumbling autocrat responsible for countless deaths, including his own family's??? The movie doesn't portray the last Romanovs as absolute heroes or absolute villains. And this, my friends, is the sign of a well-crafted historical epic!! I've read Robert K. Massie's book; while it is overwhelmingly historically detailed, I think some of the humanity of the characters is lost. That is where this movie excels: it reminds us that Nicholas, Alexandra, Lenin, Rasputin, etc. were flesh-and-blood and not mere historical paper-dolls. I'm not going to comment on the individual actors because this movie is great because of the sum of its parts. The bottom line: I'm still haunted by this movie and I'm deeply affected by the tragedy of errors which affected so many people during this time. I've read many books on the Russian Revolution, but I've never felt the human tragedy as much as when I watched this movie. It may not be the most conventional movie, but it's worth spending the time to get through it.

When Robert Massie's monumental work, Nicholas and Alexandra, first came out in the last sixties, I was amazed he was able to get as much information as he did on a subject that Soviet Russia was petrified of. It became a sort of standard for all future researchers on the fall of the Romanovs. The movie soon followed and it, too, was fairly accurate. Obviously, it was impossible to cover so much of a story in a three hour time-frame, but some important details of Nicholas' and Alexandra's reign was missing: where was Anna Vyburova? Where was Elizabeth Feodorovna, Alix's sister? These might seem small criticisms but they did play a significant part in the story. I was amazed by how much they matched actors appearances with their historical character: Michael Jayston is a spitting image of Nicholas, physically as well as his personality. Laurence Olivier is quite perfect as Count Witte, Janet Suzman is also a mirror image of Alexandra. The movie could have benefitted from more music in the background, especially at crucial moments. I kept waiting for a swell of instrumental music and... Nothing! Fortunately, I saw this movie when it first came out on TV and remembered the scenes that were cut when it came out on video (Why these scenes were cut is beyond me: The deciding vote creating the Bolshevik Party where Stalin and Lenin meet; a touching scene where Nicholas explains to Alexis the meaning of "war in the Balkans (July 1914)" and not to worry; Alexis' fall on the bob-sled on the steps in the house in Tobolsk and after Nicholas' scolds him he shouts in tears, "Why did you abdicate for me? I could have helped Russia!" All in all, however, it's the best we have so far on this period of history and a must-see for all Romanov students.

It may have something to do with the fact that I was at Princeton at the same time as the screenwriter's hemophiliac son, but everyone seems to be falling over themselves in finding fault with this nearly perfect movie. Tom Baker didn't "fade into obscurity," he became the most famous Doctor Who. The principals are exemplary and totally true to every historic account I've read. One commentator mentions inanely that Nikolaus was a cousin of King George while Alexandra was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Excuse me folks, we all know that. It makes them first cousins, which is one of the reasons the heir to all the Russias had a deadly hereditary disease. (Nikolaus, George V, and Kaiser Wilhelm were all first cousins.) This movie knocks one out with its combination of costume drama and realism. I don't make ten favorites lists but if I did it might be there. An absolute must see, over and over again.

Nicholas was King George V's cousin and Alexandra was Queen Victoria's granddaughter, so the casting of British actors Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman was a stroke of genius (and they are hardly "unknown" actors, at least in Britain). You actually believe they ARE the couple. Michael Jayston is truly remarkable as Nicholas and even resembles him. The rest of the cast is superb, especially Tom Baker's portrayal as Rasputin . . . marvelous!

The movie sticks pretty much to the facts. Keep in mind, Nicholas was not a bad man, but he didn't want to be Czar. He would have preferred to be a potato farmer. You feel the fear growing as Nicholas and his family slowly withdraw into their own world because of Alexis' Hemophilia. Nichola's stand that "God meant for me to rule" causes him to rarely listen to the good advice of the people around him and not heed the warning that he not go to the front to "take charge." Add to this the rumor of Alexandra being a German spy, Rasputin's death by Prince Yusupov and Grand Duke Dimitry, the loss of thousands of soldiers, the starving Russian people . . . and Nicholas leaves the door wide open for Lenin and his eventual return to power. After he abdicates, he and his family are shuttled around until they end up in Ekaterinburg and "The House of Special Purpose."

This is a great movie. See it if you have a long afternoon with nothing to do, you won't regret it.

BTW, the DVD version adds deleted scenes that sew up some loose ends.

While this is indeed a long film, it's worth the time spent if you enjoy historical epics. The writing, direction and acting all come together very nicely in creating the peculiar dichotomoy of Nicholas II as doting father, dominated husband, and apparently well-meaning but ultimately naive and incompetent absolute ruler. I'd be curious to know just how true a portrayal of Nicholas as monarch this was. Was he really a paternalistic czar who simply didn't understand that the world was changing around him in ways he couldn't come to terms with? Or was he really as brutal a tyrant as most of his forebears were? Whatever the truth was, in this film you can't help but feel sorry for him as he makes one bad decision after another that inevitably send him down the road to insurrection and abdication, and he and his family into imprisonment and doom. Michael Jayston certainly looks the part, and he's no slouch in the acting department here.

Janet Suzman does a wonderful job as the czarina Alexandra. If it was possible for anyone to be even more detached from reality than Nicholas, she certainly makes Alexandra come across that way. In fact, it's hard to feel as sympathetic for her as one does for Nicholas; the way Suzman plays her, it's no wonder the Russian people disliked her so much.

Tom Baker is utterly believable as Rasputin, especially with those great staring eyes of his, and Laurence Olivier gives an excellent turn as the prescient prime minister Count Witte. The scene where he is vainly trying to persuade Nicholas not to call for the general mobilization and to avoid going to war against Germany and Austria is truly sad to behold. The actors playing Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and Markov all present the Bolsheviks as the most implacable of enemies.

One last character that I thought was particularly well-played was that of the tsarevich, Alexis. I don't recall ever seeing the young man who played him in anything else, but he does a very fine job here. He alternately comes across as tragic, sickly, and wan, completely out of step with the rest of his vivacious siblings, or as possessing a bitter, vengeful, and imperious spirit out of proportion with his age. I thought one of the most chilling scenes was the one where Nicholas is talking with him after Alexis has attempted suicide, in which Alexis is angry with his father for abdicating on his behalf. I certainly came away from it imagining what the consequences to Russia would have been if Alexis had ever successfully come to the throne.

By all means, try to see this film in its uncut, full 189 minute run. There are a couple of important scenes that were cut from the movie for general video release, and some of them help to further develop key characters. All in all, "N&A" spectacularly showcases the tragic final years of a glittering dynasty that makes the Windsors look frumpy by comparison.