Nicholas and Alexandra

In 1971 the film Nicholas and Alexandra released to little fanfare. It was an epic retelling of the story of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (Michael Jayston), the last in a long lime of Tsars who, through mismanagement of his rule, devastating wars, and extreme poverty, found himself forced to abdicate his position and was later executed alongside his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna (Janet Suzman) and their children. Their bodies were then burned, doused in acid and thrown down an old mine shaft where they remained until found again in 1979. Their story from 1904, with the birth of their only son, Alexei, through to their execution in 1918 make up the breadth of this epic historical drama. In just over three hours it covers the rise of the Bolsheviks, Alexandra’s increasing reliance on and adoration of Rasputin (Tom Baker), and several wars that led to the rise of Lenin and the end of the Tsars. It’s a large swarth of history to cover in such a short time and consequently some shorthand is incorporated to get across more complicated political situations including the uprising and what led to it.

The story opens with the birth of Alexei Romanov, the only son to Nicholas II and Alexandra. Early in it is discovered that the boy is afflicted with hemophilia, a condition he inherited from his mother. When the doctors can do nothing for him, Alexandra turns to a self-proclaimed holy man, Rasputin, who promises to keep the boy alive. Meanwhile Russia has been at war with the Japanese, a war Nicholas refuses to end for fear of looking weak. He also refuses to accept the demands for a constitutional monarchy for the same reason. There is growing political unrest leading to unarmed protesters being fired upon. With the loss of the Russo/Japanese war and the massacre of the protesters, Nicholas is forced to create the Duma, a Russian assembly with legislative functions.

Years pass by and reports of Rasputin’s dissolute behavior, damaging the Tsar’s reputation, come to light. Nicholas has the man dismissed despite his wife’s wishes. When his son falls down and grows ill, nearly dying, Rasputin is summoned once again and re-establishes himself in the court. World War I breaks out and, despite expectations of a brief war, it becomes long and drawn out, necessitating Nicholas to take personal command of the troops leaving Alexandra behind to rule in his absence, influenced for the worst by Rasputin. This leads to an increase in neglect for the public, further damaging the reputation of the Tsars, leading to an uprising and revolution. When Nicholas returns from the front he is forced to abdicate his reign and go into custody in Siberia. From there his and his family’s fates are sealed. 

This is a dark point in the history of Russia, one that led to the rise of Leninism and the end of over three hundred years of the reign of the Tsars. Nicholas II is portrayed as a stubborn man who is overwhelmed by the power he wields, often making poor decisions that damaged his country. He is a family man, caring deeply for his wife and children but not seeing the people he rules over. It is this indifference coupled with the influence Rasputin has over Alexandra that seals their fate. Rasputin is portrayed as arrogant and self-serving, using his position to satisfy his lust for sexual favors from both women and men as well as his taste for liquor. His influence over the Tsarina Alexandra will eventually lead to his own assassination.

This is an overall accurate depiction of the events of this time period with just a few things shuffled around to serve the narrative. The most obvious of these is the assassination of Peter Stolypin. In the film this takes place in 1913 around the time of the Romanov Tercentenary celebrations. In reality Stolypin was assassinated two years earlier. The film changes this to move events closer to the start of World War I and to tie Nicholas’s response to the assassination more in with the dissolution of the Duma. It serves the narrative of the film better but is an inaccurate representation of how things really happened. 

So much happens over the course of the three plus hours of the film that it can easily become difficult to follow all of it, especially with an untrained ear for Russian names and locations. This severely bogs down the first half of the film making it a struggle to pay attention to all the nuances and details. Once the intermission has passed and Nicholas II is forced to abdicate it becomes more focused. This film is better when it is a family drama less focused on all the different aspects of the revolution that led to the downfall of the Tsars. All that political machinations can be interesting but won’t appeal to the masses as it would to those who study and understand the history of Russia during this period. It is for this reason the film failed to find an audience in 1971 and lost money upon release. 

 The film was billed as an epic historical drama and it is that. The scope of things is very big, encompassing a lot of history and ending in tragedy. Unfortunately it is often unwieldy, trying to do too much leaving it feeling overburdened with all the exposition and historical details and not enough time just developing the characters and giving me a reason to care about them. For close to two hours of the runtime this was a fatal flaw that made it difficult to maintain my attention. Once it shifted focus to the consequences of Nicholas and Alexandra’s mismanagement of the country it became interesting again and when the whole family is lead down to a waiting room, ostensibly to be relocated again, there is a palpable level of dread, even if you didn’t know what happened to them in that room. Their execution was shocking in its portrayal here. Had the film been tighter leading up to it it could have been even better. Instead it is a great capper to half a great movie that ran just a little too long in the end. 

Academy Award Nominations: 

Best Picture: Sam Spiegel

Best Actress: Janet Suzman

Best Costume Design: Yvonne Blake and Antonio Castillo (won)

Best Original Dramatic Score: Richard Rodney Bennett

Best Cinematography: Freddie Young

Best Art Direction: John Box, Ernest Archer, Jack Maxsted, Gil Parrondo and Vernon Dixon (won)

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Release Date: December 13, 1971

Running Time: 188 Minutes

Rated PG

Starring: Michael Jayston, Janet Suzman, Laurence Olivier, Tom Baker, Harry Andrews, Irene Worth and Jack Hawkins

Directed By: Franklin J. Schaffner