Customer Reviews

Rasputin & The Empress [VHS]

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

 

 

This is the only sound film in which the three legendary Barrymore siblings ever appeared together. Never considered a dynamic classic, it nevertheless gives viewers a glimpse of America's Royal Family of the Theatre at work. In 1913 Russia, Czar Nicholai Alexander and Czarina Alexandra opulently celebrate 3OO years of the Romanoff dynasty, unaware that their empire is crumbling down all around them....The working title for this film was simply RASPUTIN. Although Charles MacArthur is solely credited for the dialogue, Lenore Coffee, Mercedes de Acosta & John Meehan were all originally involved with the screenplay. The film took 17 weeks to film: both John and Ethel earned $1OO,OOO apiece, Lionel's salary was $4,OOO a week (!). Princess Irina Romanoff Youssoupoff - who was the model for Princess Natasha in this film - filed a damage suit against M-G-M in 1933. She was awarded a hefty quarter million dollars. Now for a REAL piece of trivia: this was NOT the three Barrymore's only film together. They appeared in a 1917 silent allegorical film entitled NATIONAL RED CROSS PAGEANT - the purpose of which was to raise money for the Red Cross during WWI.

The main interest in this film is to see the three renowned Barrymore siblings act together, and though it is rather stiff and heavy handed, ultra melodramatic, and the direction often looks "staged", as if it were a play rather than a film, it also has lavish sets and costumes, and some history on the side.
The plot starts in 1913, and runs through the assassination of the Romanov family in 1918. Rasputin is here portrayed as part Svengali, as he hypnotizes Alexis with a big watch on a chain, part debauched barbarian, and mostly, a power-mad nut case.

Lionel Barrymore plays the Mad Monk almost to the point of caricature, and his hands are fascinating to watch, and often take on the appearance of talons.
John Barrymore is Prince Paul Chegodieff, and is sporting rather a lot of makeup, even along the hairline. "Prince Chegodieff" was a thinly veiled alias for Prince Felix Yusopov, who saw Rasputin for what he was, and who finally arranged and had a hand in Rasputin's death; the studio changed his name to avoid a law suit, but to no avail, as Yusopov sued them anyway . Ethel Barrymore plays the Czarina theatrically, as a doting, emotional mother. Diana Wynyard as Princess Natasha comes off the best, in a sincere and lovely performance.

Crisp and with a lot of definition, the restoration of this film is miraculous; only the sound is lacking in some clarity and depth. I don't think I have ever seen a film of this age look this good. Of great interest to anyone who is fascinated by the Barrymore family, and interpretations of what happened to the Romanov Dynasty. Total running time is 101 minutes.

This is truly a great MGM extravaganza! 3 x Barrymore (the only one movie!!!).
The Art Direction are stunning and also the acting of the 3 Barrymore's. Also Tad Alexander is acting very good.

Of course its not real biography or something. the movie just based on any real person. Any names was changed and are fictional. But well... its interesting to watching AND VERY ENTERTAINING.

THE DVD: the picture quality is very good (for not restored or remastered). The Soundtrack is mono.

The only Minus I always have with those Warner Archive Collection: there are no english subtitles!!!!!

The film has two very notable distinctions: (1) due to the skills of Irving Thalberg, it's the only film in which all three Barrymore siblings appeared, and (2) as a result of a successful lawsuit by Prince Felix Yusupov (played by John Barrymore as Prince Chegodieff), all subsquent MGM films carried the caution "No resemblence to persons living or dead is intended"

(BTW - the focus of the lawsuit was a rape of the Prince's future wife Natasha by Rasputin (Lionel Barrymore), and after the lawsuit, this scene was removed from the film, making it a little hard to follow as to why Natasha suddenly dislikes Rasputin.)

The film covers the seminal years 1913 to 1918 before the Russian revolution, and remains reasonably true to the facts, even while portraying the Romanovs in a extremely positive light. Extensive use is made of documentary footage from that time, and they are flawlessly woven into the fabric of the film, which is very impressive given that the film was made in 1932.

Lionel Barrymore (still walking at this time) does a great job as Rasputin, although it takes him a little time to warm up, and his beard looks like it was homemade. His arch nemesis is played by brother John, shot mostly in profile sufficient enough to please even his most ardent fans. The conflict between Rasputin and the Price was mirrored off screen in the conflict between brothers Lionel and John, a conflict that started when Lionel married John's former girlfriend, Irene Fenwick - for two years the brothers didn't speak.

The only disappointment is Ethel, who looks on occasion like Boris Karloff in drag (BTW - Karloff was a friend of Lionel). This is a shame since Ethel Barrymore was a great actress, nominated for Best Supporting actress 4 times and winner once ("None But the Lonely Heart")- a fact even more impressive when you consider she only made 14 films.

The supporting cast is excellent, with Ralph Morgan as The Czar, Edward Arnold as a friend of the Prince, and C. Henry Gordon as Grand Duke Igor. Ralph Morgan may not be well known to most people, but his older brother, Frank is known to everyone as the wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Despite the age of the film, it moves quickly and still retains much of its appeal. although the film can be faulted for rushing the ending in a film that is more than 2 hours long. 1933 was a year for comedies (Mae West's "I'm No Angel", Victor Flemin's "Bombshell", George Cukor's "Dinner at Eight" (also starring Lionel Barrymore), the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup", Laurel and Hardy's "Sons of the Desert", etc.), so an historical drama with such heavy overtones was clearly out of sync with the times. Nonetheless, the appearance of Hollywood's first family made this a box office winner. Louella Parsons said - "When the 3 Barrymores swing into action at Metro Hollywood forgot all about its Garbos, Dietrichs, and Gables."

Although a very early talking movie, this fils is an extremely satisfying film that creates a reality out of the last years of the Romanoff dynasty as it overlaps with the outbreak of World War I and the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The performances are very good (John Barrymore is the weakest) in establishing reality out of a combination of fiction and real life film clips from the period. Ethel and Lionell are outstanding, especially Ethel as the Empress, and the supporting cast is also first rate. I highly recommend this movie to all those who are interested in the history as well as first rate performances by the players. J.H. Cohen , J.D., Ph.D.

There are 2 things I want to say up front: I've watched RASPUTIN & THE EMPRESS several times on TCM hosted by the wonderful movie archivist Robert Osborne & did not buy the DVD. I say this because I see one reviewer was angry about the quality of the product. Taking that into consideration plus the current price for the DVD, I have to say that, while an entertaining film, I wouldn't shell out for it & encourage readers to check out TCM if you receive it. That being said, here's my review:

RASPUTIN & THE EMPRESS is wildly innaccurate from a historic perspective. The ill-fated Romanovs & the Russian Revolution have always been of great romantic interest to people, and recently the Russian Orthodox Church bestowed sainthood on the entire Royal Family. It was just this sort of veneration the Bolsheviks feared and that led to the family's execution. The King of England (directly related to both the Tzar & Tzarina) might have saved them by offering refuge in the UK, but was too afraid of public opinion.

The famous 3 Barrymore's appear together in the film, but Lionel's Rasputin absolutely steals the show. In one scene he screams at a German minister, "You lousy kraut, you old sausage!" The film does capture the hysterical frenzy of Rasputin's devoted followers (including women from the upper class & aristocracy.) Often called The Holy Devil, Rasputin took delight in degrading the nobility and liked to shove his hold on the Royal Family in their faces. He went so far as to boast that he fondled the Empress and her young daughters. In the film you see his rebuffed attempts to realize this personal fantasy. Many commentators say that he was directly responsible for the downfall of the Romanovs in Russia.

John Barrymore is very handsome in the movie & many camera shots exploit the famous Barrymore profile. His best bit is during the Rasputin murder scene. As a member of the nobility who has come to realize just how dangerous Rasputin is, his character attempts to kill the Mad Monk first with enough poinson to knock off a platoon & then by shooting him at close range. Nothing seems to work. Fleeing through an open window, Rasputin screams, "I'm going to tell the Empress!" Barrymore chases his victim outside, then in an absolute frenzy of fear & hatred he tries to beat the fallen Rasputin to death with heavy chains, repeatedly yelling, "Why don't you die?" Then the still living Holy Devil is bound with the chains & thrown into a freezing river. This part was true as far as it goes. When Rasputin's corpse was recovered from the river Neva, it was obvious that his death was due to drowning, not poison, shooting or beating--although clearly he had been subjected to all three.

Ethel Barrymore is noble as always. Unlike history, her Empress comes to realize that all is not right with her beloved peasant priest. The reality is that the Empress was so dependent on Rasputin to cure her hemophilic son that she never did lose faith in him (the accusations of a sexual affair were false.) Rasputin predicted that if he was killed by a member of the nobility, then the entire family would be history. When he did die the Empress basically lost all hope & appeared to age 20 years overnight.

It's a tragic tale made almost comic in the movie--but it's worth seeing at least once. The film does contain some interesting archival footage of the real Russian World War I mobilization & the Royal Family. Although there are plenty of Rasputin photos in existence, I'm not aware of any film clips.

The condition was described as "good". When it came in the mail it had a cancellation sticker on the front of it. The sound quality was garbled throughout and viewing was just as poor. This tape should have been thrown out.