What person even slightly interested in history doesn't know those eyes? Burning and possessing, they drill into one's guts, those eyes of Grigori Rasputin, known as the mad monk. To some he was a saint; his wife loved him dearly, and for years after his death she extolled his virtues, even going so far as to have tolerated his many sexual excesses with other women. To others he was a vulgar, drunken pig; in still-existing audio interviews, he was described as loud, filthy and rude, the kind of man who would eat greasy meat with his hands, and then pat a nicely dressed person on the back. To others he was the most dangerous man in Russia, whose affecting gravitas held the Romanov Tsarina (and thus the Tsar) under his control.
In reality Rasputin was never a monk. He was an itinerant Siberian peasant, a wandering proselytizer, well-versed in biblical knowledge, considered by many to have psychic powers, as well as the ability to heal illness. It's the last quality that brought him to the the Romanovs. The Tsar's son, Alexei, still a young child, was a hemophiliac; after a series of helpless doctors and even more useless faith healers, Rasputin came and healed the boy, using only (by his declaration) prayer. From that moment on, until his murder by poison, gunshots and drowning (apparently he was very difficult to kill), a small part of the destiny of Russia was in his hands.
There have been a great many films about this odd figure, but for the Great Villain Blogathon I'll be presenting a two-fer; of all the films I've seen on the subject, these two are my favourites by far. The first of the two-fer is the 1932 stunner Rasputin and the Empress; it shines for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it stars the entire Barrymore family, John, Ethel, and Lionel, in their only film together (although John and Lionel had appeared together that same year, in the classic Arsene Lupin). This is very much an old school film in every sense.
In reality Rasputin was never a monk. He was an itinerant Siberian peasant, a wandering proselytizer, well-versed in biblical knowledge, considered by many to have psychic powers, as well as the ability to heal illness. It's the last quality that brought him to the the Romanovs. The Tsar's son, Alexei, still a young child, was a hemophiliac; after a series of helpless doctors and even more useless faith healers, Rasputin came and healed the boy, using only (by his declaration) prayer. From that moment on, until his murder by poison, gunshots and drowning (apparently he was very difficult to kill), a small part of the destiny of Russia was in his hands.
There have been a great many films about this odd figure, but for the Great Villain Blogathon I'll be presenting a two-fer; of all the films I've seen on the subject, these two are my favourites by far. The first of the two-fer is the 1932 stunner Rasputin and the Empress; it shines for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it stars the entire Barrymore family, John, Ethel, and Lionel, in their only film together (although John and Lionel had appeared together that same year, in the classic Arsene Lupin). This is very much an old school film in every sense.
Made just a few years after the advent of sound films, the aesthetic of this movie is still part of the silent film universe; the use of shadow, full-room staging, and broad hand and facial gestures are all the stuff of silents, and they really work here. Of course, the Barrymores were all accomplished actors by this time (one of the reasons that they're not that well known today), so they really shine on this artistic borderland. There are so many visually stunning scenes that it's easy to forget that there's a story sometimes. I get lost in an image from time to time, and I find myself pausing the player in order to enjoy them.
Rasputin and the Empress, as the title implies, really focuses on establishing the relationship between Rasputin and the Tsarina's fears and obsessive love for her child. There is some pomp and circumstance, but most of the story revolves around the basic Rasputin story: sick child, worried mother, faith healer, suspicion, jealousy, and finally, murder. The politics of the story are certainly there, but they're all conspicuously placed in order to grease the narrative wheels. In this stripped-down state, Rasputin's intensity is in sharp focus; I could really feel why the people around the Tsar felt that he needed to die.
Rasputin and the Empress, as the title implies, really focuses on establishing the relationship between Rasputin and the Tsarina's fears and obsessive love for her child. There is some pomp and circumstance, but most of the story revolves around the basic Rasputin story: sick child, worried mother, faith healer, suspicion, jealousy, and finally, murder. The politics of the story are certainly there, but they're all conspicuously placed in order to grease the narrative wheels. In this stripped-down state, Rasputin's intensity is in sharp focus; I could really feel why the people around the Tsar felt that he needed to die.
Lionel Barrymore's Rasputin is a confidence trickster. He heals Alexei with hypnosis, going as far as to dangle a spinning pocket watch in front of the boy's wide, blank stare. Rasputin here is always thinking, always shifting, controlling every situation with a silent glare or a harsh outburst; his glare sees all, and everyone around seems to know that.
Barrymore here is very much like he was as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life. This Rasputin is always the most intense figure in the room, and you can see why the family were taken over by him. Barrymore's ability to mitigate the overwhelming effect of extreme facial expressions (of which there are many here) by longer movements and changes of body position, is really masterful. He's always moving, but somehow he still seems to be a moody, imposing character, which I find impressive.
Overall, Rasputin and the Empress is a must-see for lovers of early sound pictures. It may be more of a hardcore film-lover's movie than something for more casual watchers, but I think that silent movie folk will dig right into it's stark and broadly expressive style.
Barrymore here is very much like he was as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life. This Rasputin is always the most intense figure in the room, and you can see why the family were taken over by him. Barrymore's ability to mitigate the overwhelming effect of extreme facial expressions (of which there are many here) by longer movements and changes of body position, is really masterful. He's always moving, but somehow he still seems to be a moody, imposing character, which I find impressive.
Overall, Rasputin and the Empress is a must-see for lovers of early sound pictures. It may be more of a hardcore film-lover's movie than something for more casual watchers, but I think that silent movie folk will dig right into it's stark and broadly expressive style.
The first thing that I'll mention about the 1971 historical epic Nicholas and Alexandra is the cast. Any fan of UK telly will die when they see some of the names here: Michael Jayston, Lawrence Olivier, Tom Baker, Ian Holm, Julian Glover, Timothy West, Michael Redgrave, Brian Cox, and Maurice Denham...need I say more?
They were really going for an epic with this one, and if it had been made ten years earlier, alongside classic monsters like Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, I think it may have worked a bit better and hit a little harder. By the early 70's, epic movies of this type were waning, and to make it work must have been a bit of a struggle. As it stands, this is still a very good movie; it juggles many different levels, and overall, it does it very well. That's the biggest contrast between Nicolas and Alexandra and Rasputin and the Empress. Between the two films, this is the more political and multi-storied; we see the politicians in the Duma (the Russian equivalent of a Parliament) fighting for democracy against the Tsar's wishes, we see peasants being brutalised (with the expected hatred in their hate-burning eyes), we see Lenin, we see Trotsky, and we even see a young Josef Stalin, all plotting the downfall of the dynasty that had so poorly managed the business of the people.
They were really going for an epic with this one, and if it had been made ten years earlier, alongside classic monsters like Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, I think it may have worked a bit better and hit a little harder. By the early 70's, epic movies of this type were waning, and to make it work must have been a bit of a struggle. As it stands, this is still a very good movie; it juggles many different levels, and overall, it does it very well. That's the biggest contrast between Nicolas and Alexandra and Rasputin and the Empress. Between the two films, this is the more political and multi-storied; we see the politicians in the Duma (the Russian equivalent of a Parliament) fighting for democracy against the Tsar's wishes, we see peasants being brutalised (with the expected hatred in their hate-burning eyes), we see Lenin, we see Trotsky, and we even see a young Josef Stalin, all plotting the downfall of the dynasty that had so poorly managed the business of the people.
Tom Baker is an excellent choice for the mad monk. The same oddness and unpredictable charm that makes his Doctor Who so excellent and memorable combines with a kind of crazed darkness, and it makes for some great watching. He comes off as a highly amused vampire, moving from neck to neck, looking for the juiciest artery. Apparently there had been plans to cast Peter O'Toole as Rasputin (and Vanessa Redgrave as Alexandra), but limits on the budget forced the producer into less exalted levels. I consider that a stroke of good luck. While I like O'Toole, especially during this period, I think Baker is the better choice...in spite of the possibility that it may have effected the longevity of the film overall. In any case, he was proposed for the role by Lawrence Olivier, so who needs O'Toole anyway, wot?
What struck me most of all about Nicholas and Alexandra, is that, unlike the equivalent British films (and telly shows) about royalty, there is nothing grand or sexy about the majestic lives of these rulers. There are very few dramas, even in Russia, that portray the lives of the old Russian aristocracy without an underlying darkness. History, as they say, is written by the victors, and in Russia, the royals...lost. Nicholas and Alexandra really tried to mix in a glamorous love story between the titular twosome, but for any reason other than context, it failed to draw me in. To be honest, the only truly powerful character in the entire movie is Rasputin himself, and I think that, as in reality, was the reason that he had to die.
Power is for the powerful...not for hedonistic holy peasants.
I would really recommend this movie to people who love to watch good actors doing what they do best. The plot is a little uneven, but the quality of the filming, sets, and costuming balance out whatever the story lacks.
What struck me most of all about Nicholas and Alexandra, is that, unlike the equivalent British films (and telly shows) about royalty, there is nothing grand or sexy about the majestic lives of these rulers. There are very few dramas, even in Russia, that portray the lives of the old Russian aristocracy without an underlying darkness. History, as they say, is written by the victors, and in Russia, the royals...lost. Nicholas and Alexandra really tried to mix in a glamorous love story between the titular twosome, but for any reason other than context, it failed to draw me in. To be honest, the only truly powerful character in the entire movie is Rasputin himself, and I think that, as in reality, was the reason that he had to die.
Power is for the powerful...not for hedonistic holy peasants.
I would really recommend this movie to people who love to watch good actors doing what they do best. The plot is a little uneven, but the quality of the filming, sets, and costuming balance out whatever the story lacks.
As a side note, here are a few of the legion of actors that have played the so-called mad monk to greater or lesser degrees of success: Conrad Veidt in Rasputin, Dämon der Frauen (1932), The Suspense TV episode The Black Prophet with Boris Karloff (1953), the over-the-top Christopher Lee in the Hammer film Rasputin, The Mad Monk (1966), Aleksey Petrenko in the maniacal Russian production Agoniya, and two more television efforts: Alan Rickman in Rasputin (1996), and Gérard Depardieu in the French production Raspoutine (2011). I'd really love to see the Veidt version!
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To be honest, this is a bit of a trick review. The point of this, for the Great Villains Blogathon, was to present a film or two that featured a fantastically villainous figure; I've thus far focused on the amazingly dark character of Rasputin, for seemingly obvious reasons. The true villain of the story, to me, was the Tsar himself. The decadent excesses of the Romanoff family (contrasted against the most extreme poverty imaginable), the vicious and merciless treatment of the Russian people (Bloody Sunday and the Khodynka Tragedy), Anti-Jewish pogroms, the losses in the war against Japan over Korea, the incompetent management of the first world war, all leading to his execution by the Bolsheviks, who, in their Soviet incarnation, ruled the Russian people with an iron hand for the better part of a century. By comparison, the manipulative debaucheries of Grigori Rasputin seem like kid stuff. It's no surprise, at this point, that both the films that I've reviewed here end with the execution of the Tsar, his family, and household staff.
I recall a scene near the end of Doctor Zhivago, in which the soldiers, battered by the brutalities of WWI trench warfare, were marching toward home, revolution, and true change. There was a determination in their eyes, and nothing, including mass murder, was off the table to make that change happen.
I recall a scene near the end of Doctor Zhivago, in which the soldiers, battered by the brutalities of WWI trench warfare, were marching toward home, revolution, and true change. There was a determination in their eyes, and nothing, including mass murder, was off the table to make that change happen.
That determination, the motive force of the Bolsheviks, was born in the actions of the Tsar...the true great villain.
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 This is my entry in the great Villain Blogathon, hosted by Ruth, of Silver Screenings, Karen, of Shadows & Satin, and Kristina of Speakeasy. Click on each of their names to check out their pages, and click on the banner to the right to see some great villains in film on many other killer blogs! |
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