Raspoutine

Pierre Brasseur is the best Rasputin I have ever seen;his eyes are so intense he mesmerizes the audience ,his presence is extraordinary.And he never overplays whereas his ham was unbearable in Christian-Jaque's "Barbe -Bleue".Even in the terrifying last scenes ,he remains sparing of gestures .

The movie was shot in color ,which was very rare in the French fifties.And the pictures (unlike "Blue Beard" )have stood the test of time quite well.

The writers made Rasputin a positive character ,a man who can afford to orgy,but can also be a pacifist ,some kind of Russian hippie who became an enemy for the officers.An officer called Youry -the name of the assassin,Felix Yousoupov ,is not used;Yousoupov was not fighting anyway ,he had been staying in Saint-Petersburg and was a close relative of the imperial family;so was his wife:that's why he was not punished ,in spite of the czarina's laments- decides to lure him into an ambush in his own house (which was what happened historically).The death of the monk is depicted as in the numerous other versions.

Like this? try these....

"J'Ai Tué Raspoutine" (Robert Hossein,1967): probably the most reliable version,cause based on the assassin's memories;the murderer appears briefly at the beginning of the film.

"La Tragédie Impériale" (Marcel L'Herbier ,1937) "Rasputin the mad monk" (Don Sharp,1965) unreliable but entertaining