Product Details

• Actors: Emily Bruni, Dan Badarau, Paul Burgess, John-Paul Davidson
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: May 23, 2006
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000EHQUGC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,434 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Catherine the Great" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

A colorful true story about an obscure german princess who transforms herself into russias most powerful regent. She is influenced by western ideas & does much to strengthen russias standing in europe. She has an astute intellect & is able to survive court in intrigue to retain her crown. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/23/2006 Starring: Catherine Zeta Jones Ian Richardson Run time: 178 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WAIT A MOMENT....REVIEW THE RIGHT DVD GUYS!!!, May 17, 2006

By 

Kaoru Hiratsuka "Linguist" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catherine the Great (DVD)

There is OBVIOUSLY some confusion here. Amazon.com has somehow gotten the not-so good Catherine Zeta-Jones series mixed up with the EXCELLENT PBS documentary!!! (This happened once before, see my BURN review for the mix-up in formats on that release.)

If you look at the box, you will see that it is NOT Catherine Zeta-Jones, but EMILY BRUNI (who does a wonderful job as Catherine.) This is the PBS documentary, not the Zeta-Jones series!!! Amazon.com needs to fix the mix-up, or a lot of people will be very confused here. This PBS documentary is EXCELLENT, and Emily Bruni is GREAT. So, if you want to order the PBS documentary, I'd suggest you wait until it's finally released to make sure you get the right one...(I'd be pretty upset if I got Catherine Zeta-Jones instead of Emily Bruni.)

The PBS documentary is wonderful, and Emily Bruni is a seductive, intelligent and fascinating Catherine. As for the Catherine Zeta-Jones version...well...she was good in Chicago...

Once in a while Amazon.com does mix things up, it is rare, but it does happen. So make SURE you are getting the PBS documentary,and not the Catherine-Zeta Jones version.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Catherine the Great PBS, June 6, 2006

By 

History teacher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catherine the Great (DVD)

I have both versions of Catherine the Great, A&E in their version was lacking in many areas and I was dismayed that they turned one of the great people of the world into something trival. The PBS version which with Bruni is exceptional, though with all documentaries and movies time is trunicated and not all history is told PBS does an admirable job and presenting the basic facts.

The documentary was a joy to watch and the scholars from Europe comparing her to other great people fits.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be careful about using this one to write your history paper, June 5, 2006

By 

A. J Terry - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Catherine the Great (DVD)

Not the Zeta-Jones version, but not the best documentary either. For example, during the documentary I kept wondering why Tsar Elizabeth imprisoned her "son" Ivan, naming her childish and unfit-to-rule nephew Peter as her heir. Then she was so anxious for Peter to have an heir that when none appeared after several years of marriage, she encouraged Catherine (Peter's wife) to have an affair with a young officer so she would get pregnant somehow. If Elizabeth was so very anxious for an heir to solidify her dynasty, why did she imprison her own son?

Answer (from further research): Ivan was not Elizabeth's son, but the son of a previous empress. Elizabeth had deposed the child Ivan and his regents in a coup d'etat.

If this documentary can make, and repeatedly mention, an error of such magnitude . . .

Also, the "period" dancing scene often shown to set a mood has absolutely nothing to do with period dances of the time. In general the costuming etc. is not very good.