Films of Nicholas II and the Romanov Family

Adaptations of the Abdication of the Last Czar of Russia

Mar 15, 2009 M.L. Costa

Imperial Russia, Revolutionary Russia, the tragedy within both opulence and poverty have been dramatized for cinema and television.

In 1917 on March 15, the Ides of March, Nicholas II of Russia was forced to abdicate. This brought about the end of a more than three-hundred year rule of Russia by the House of Romanov.

Just over a year later, having been kept in captivity, Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and their five children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei were killed by the Bolsheviks.

Ever since the initially hidden massacre, the story of their lives and death have motivated speculation, script creation, and screen adaptation.

Nicholas and Alexandra

This 1971 film starring Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman as title couple is by far the best English-speaking film version of the story of the final Czar and Czarina of Imperial Russia. There are some historical inaccuracies, but it enthralls as it follows the story of the family of Nicholas and Alexandra from the birth of their hemophiliac heir, Alexei to the brutal execution of the Russian royals.

The Fall of Eagles

Originally aired by the BBC in 1974, this 13-part miniseries, although intended to be a look at the World War I-Era fall of several of the royal houses of Europe, comes to focus on the doomed House of Romanov.

Sadly, although the high-quality series attempts to take a serious look at events leading up to the toppling of royal crowns, Charles Kay (Nicholas) and Gayle Hunnicutt (Alexandra) give rather disappointingly uninteresting performances, but the series does depict some earlier events which are omitted from Nicholas and Alexandra (1971).

Romanovy: Ventsenosnaya Semya

Translated to be titled, The Romanovs: An Imperial Family (2000), this recent Russian film recounts the plummeting events of the final eighteen months of the family of Nicholas II. It is available on DVD with subtitles in English.

The Lost Prince

This 2003 miniseries told the story of the epileptic son of British King George V and Queen Mary, but it contains many segments pertaining to their Russian cousins, Nicholas and Alexandra.

George V was related to both Nicholas and Alexandra. Through their mothers, George and Nicholas, who greatly resembled each other in appearance, were first cousins, and George was related to Alexandra through his paternal relations. Historically, George is said to have always been plagued by the worry that he could have saved his Russian relations.

Rasputin

This HBO biopic starring Alan Rickman in the title role is a dramatization of the involvement of Gregory Rasputin with the Romanov family. This film version of his life is historically inaccurate, and omits a large amount of import information. However, it is fairly entertaining.

Historically, Rasputin is considered to be among the factors of the downfall of Nicholas, but Alexandra believed Rasputin to have healing powers, which she believed he used to keep her hemophiliac son alive. Rasputin was murdered more than a year before the death of the royal family, but he supposedly predicted that if he were killed the royal family would not live more than a year after his death.

Anastasia

In 1956, Hollywood fictionalized the story of Anna Anderson, a woman claiming to be the surviving Grand Duchess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last czar of Russia. It stars Yul Brynner, Ingrid Bergman, and Helen Hayes.

Set in 1920s Paris, it makes many references to factual knowledge about the family of Nicholas and Alexandria, but it does not depict any of the events which took place in Russia.

This is a very good movie in itself, and an especially moving performance is given by Hayes. However, it hinges on the idea of the Grand Duchess Anastasia having survived the massacre of her family.

A cartoon version rooted in this movie was made in 1997. Songs and magic spells were added to the story. Taking a great deal of poetic license, the animated motion picture is unsurprisingly factually inaccurate, but if one disregards history, the animated feature is entertaining.

Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna

Made in 1986, not long after the death of Anna Anderson, this miniseries fictionalizes the story of Anna Anderson. The opening segments show some of the events in the lives of the final year of the Romanovs, but the majority of the story focuses on Anna attempting to prove that she is Anastasia Romanov.

The miniseries itself is highly fictionalized, with certain accuracies about the experiences of Anna but not Anastasia. The most notable aspect of the televised miniseries is the featured performances of respected actors such as Rex Harrison, Edward Fox, and Olivia de Havilland.

Fact, Fiction, and Film

Many of the film versions about the Romanov royals have focused on the speculative stories about somebody having miraculously survived a shocking fate, but with the recovery of the remains of the Romanovs, it would seem that the only earthly remains of the royals are relics.

Of the few that have attempted to accurately depict actual historical events, some have made for intrinsically compelling and incredible viewing.

While Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) and Fall of Eagles (1974) are perhaps the most accurate English-speaking dramatizations, perhaps, the most informative screening about the Romanovs was the A&E Biography made in the 1990s.

The copyright of the article Films of Nicholas II and the Romanov Family in Film Dramas is owned by M.L. Costa. Permission to republish Films of Nicholas II and the Romanov Family in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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