Customer Reviews

Peter the Great [VHS]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the annals of TV movie mini-series this one was one of the greatest. I know that other people that have left their own reviews have made similar comments. The initial time that this series was shown on television, I watched it from the beginning to end faithfully. It is based, I think on Robert K. Massie's voluminous tome, Peter the Great, His Life and His World. I later read the book, which is quite an undertaking, but well worth the time. This mini-series is, as far as I could tell, is as accurate and true to the spirit of what Peter was trying to do not only for mother Russia, but for himself. He had many faults, suffered terribly from paranoia, and could be extremely cruel. Then, on the other hand, had great compassion, and kindness. He had no patience with incompetence, whether it was with his own soldiers or the religious leaders. He wanted to pull, push or drag Russia out from the dark ages and into the light of the new industrial and cultural revolution. To do this, he knew that he would have to expose his people to the modern world. He wanted her to be a progressive nation in the new Europe.
This is truly the quality our television is missing today in exposing our people to things we really need to know about. This mini-series needs to be shown again, and it needs to be available in DVD format for those of us that would like to own it.

My favourite TV mini-series of all time... I've watched it countless times and recommend it to everyone. Its wonderful acting and production definitely set a very high standard that all TV shows should strive to achieve. It needs to be reproduced on DVD format for many, many fans like me.

I remember seeing it a while ago and I became facinated with Russian history. This is well worth your money although I would much prefer DVD

I saw this television mini-series when I was young. What an astounding epic! It truly does justice to the life of Czar Peter, and the turbulent saga of Russian history itself! In this glorious narrative, see how Peter the Great, through the very force of his imperious will, dragged Russia into the modern age, and ultimately made his land a world power. witness his struggle with another great man, King Charles XII of Sweden, and the war they fought against each other to decide whose nation would dominate the Baltic region. It was a time when empires prevailed...or perished, in the great game of nations. Czar Peter was a man of great drive, intellect, and passion. In his contrasting character, he was harshly cruel and vengeful to those who opposed him, yet he was also kind and generous to those who earned his respect. He commited his share of atrocities, but his enemies would have done the same unto him if they could. He was a warrior-king, who possessed great paternal love for the soldiers and sailors of his army and navy, a force he built from the ground up. In fact, Peter the Great died of pneumonia, after an incident in which he dove into the freezing Baltic sea one winter, to rescue a foundering boat of his troops. This incident alone was an indicator of the true nature of the man. There were not many monarchs in history who would have done this for their fighting-men.
The big question regarding this film is: WHEN WILL WE HAVE A DVD VERSION?

This is an unbelievable series, with fantastic images of Russia, as well as providing an ineresting image of one of the most revolutionary figures in history. Besides being very historically informative, it has a great and world renown cast, with Maximillian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave, and Omar Shariff giving performances equal to their other masterpieces. The soundtrack is also unbelievable. It is has a strong Russian national feel, as well as having other European influences. It is one of my dreams to own the soundtrack and DVD of this series, I hope it comes out to those of us who are fans.

An international all-star cast appears in this sumptuously detailed epic, which deserves to be on DVD. The original miniseries was much longer than the 6 1/2 hour VHS tape that is currently available, so it would be nice to have the missing footage reinstated. It would also be wonderful to have DVD extras such as cast interviews and "bloopers" (hey, I can dream, can't I?).

Jan Niklas plays the young Peter and Maximilian Schell the middle-aged Peter. These actors are both brilliant and perfectly matched to share the lead role. Helmut Griem gives a strong performance as Peter's close friend and advisor.

All in all a great moment in TV history.

This is a wonderful mini-series about the life of Peter the Great. It is well written, excellent acting, beautiful scenery - filmed on location in Russia - and the music in the background adds to the experience. I highly recommend this to anyone that loves history. It is unfortunate that it only aired ONCE on television. It would be well-worth the networks to bring this type of film back to television - it is a great story for both adults and children (11 and older).

This is one outstanding and primarily historically accurate video on one of Czarist Russia's most intriguing and successful leaders of all time. From his successes to his failures, this film takes YOU through the emotional fluctuations of his rule, affairs, intentions and consequences. It is one of the finest historical dramas ever produced. The cinematography is flawless and exquisite. Its 6 1/2 hours seem like 3 or 4. AWESOME, Truly AWESOME... in the original sense of the word.

The mini-series was great. It is based on the book written by Peter Masey. If you are a history buff this mini-series stayed true to form. It is accurate and well directed. The series has some of the best performances I have ever seen from Maximillian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave, Lawrence Olivier, and Omar Shariff.

The mini-series addresses the high points in the reign of Peter the Great. Begining with the first attempted coup in which Peter saw his favorite uncle killed; and ending with the treason charges against Peter's own son Alexis. In fact, Peter ordered Alexis be tortured until he confessed to plotting his over-throw. In between you get to see Peter's interaction with foreigners living in Russia, his great embassy (his trip around Europe), and his execution of the dreaded Strelsi. A great mini-series to own, a must for a European history teacher (college or high school). Use it as a treat and show it at every Friday class until the 6 1/2 series is finished. It may even peak a student's interest in history.

I hope it comes out on DVD soon my VHS copy is starting to wear.

Where the hell is it!? I wore out my VHS. I lent it to enough people. Wanted to buy it on DVD. Absolutely the best mini-series ever produced! Come on already; there is enough people who would love to own it. Hey Amazon, how about having a sign up sheet like the one you had for "Northern Exposure". That got results. I signed it.