arumbold

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.

I always thought of this as Bill Forsyth's masterpiece -- when Northern Exposure came on U.S. television in the early 90s it quickly put me in mind of this film. (Too bad the residents of Cicely, Alaska didn't stay as charmingly eccentric as the residents of Furness, Scotland as that TV series wore on.) This one has it all -- memorable performances by the great Burt Lancaster, a young Peter Riegert, Peter Capaldi, and Denis Lawson; an ethereal soundtrack by the incomparable Mark Knopfler; and scenery to die for. Every time I see this movie I long to visit the coast of Scotland. I thought Norman Chancer was absolutely hilarious as Moritz, Mr. Happer's psychiatrist, especially the "I'm still here!" sequence. Also, Christopher Rozycki gives an inspired performance as Victor. I loved his rendition of "Lone Star Man" at the ceilidh, as well as his questions to Old Ben about Ben's ownership of the beach ("Any papers?" -- sounded like a cheery KGB officer). A friend of mine told me that he saw numerous parallels in the dialogue and events in the film to Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain;" I wonder if anyone else noticed this. If you like offbeat humor, you'll love this wonderful movie; give it a watch.