Nicholas and Alexandra

A film about the last tsar of Russia. Nicholas is on the throne and is not interested in governing. He likes family life, trusts his advisers, and avoids decisions. A son is born. Alexei is haemophiliac; the smallest fall can kill him, and this is kept secret at court. Alexandra finds no remedy among the doctors. Then a man arrives. Rasputin calms the child. The bleeding stops, the boy sleeps, and from that day she makes no decision without him. From there the film is a story of collapse. A declaration of war, defeats at the front, hunger, strikes, and news reaching the palace. Nicholas goes to the army. In his absence the country is left in practice to his wife and to the man advising her. The revolution comes. The family is removed from the throne and sent first to a palace, then to Siberia, and finally to a house in Yekaterinburg. What the narrative is interested in is not revolution but private life: the film shows history from inside a family, which creates closeness and also pushes the politics into the background. The last section is hard. The scene in the cellar is not decorated and the narrative offers no consolation. The production is large in scale. The palace scenes, uniforms and crowds place it among the most expensive productions of its period. The film won Academy Awards for art direction and costume design. Michael Jayston, Janet Suzman, Tom Baker and Laurence Olivier are in the cast. Franklin J. Schaffner directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes long historical productions and court drama. Who it is not for: anyone expecting political analysis; the film passes over the causes of the revolution on the surface and runs close to three hours.