Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (TV 1986)

Story of Anna Anderson, who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov, the only "surviving" child of the last Czar and Czarina of Russia.

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers:

James Goldman, Peter Kurth (book)

Stars:

Amy Irving, Olivia de Havilland, Jan Niklas

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amy Irving	...	Anna Anderson
Olivia de Havilland	...	Dowager Empress Maria
Jan Niklas	...	Prince Erich
Nicolas Surovy	...	Serge Markov
Susan Lucci	...	Darya Romanoff
Elke Sommer	...	Isabel Von Hohenstauffen
Edward Fox	...	Dr. Hauser
Claire Bloom	...	Czarina Alexandra
Omar Sharif	...	Czar Nicholas II
Rex Harrison	...	Grand Duke Cyril Romanov
Jennifer Dundas	...	Anastasia
Christian Bale	...	Alexei
Andrea Bretterbauer	...	Sonya Markov
Sydney Bromley	...	Herbert
Arnold Diamond	...	Dr. Markov

Storyline

Story of Anna Anderson, who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov, the only "surviving" child of the last Czar and Czarina of Russia.

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Plot Keywords:

czar | russia | female protagonist | russian history | 1920s | 

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Taglines:

The Great Romantic Enigma of the Twentieth Century

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA Austria Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anastasia

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Telecom Entertainment Inc., Consolidated Entertainment, Reteitalia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

200 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christian Bale's first movie.

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Goofs

At the end of the film, the narrator says "The trial began in August, 1939..." In reality, this trial began in 1938.

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Connections

Version of Anastasia (1997)

User Reviews

Entertaining but more like a fairytale than history

There can be no doubt that this was an entertaining piece to watch. It had a mixed ability cast with many of the main roles very badly miscast. The pre revolution scenes were too sickly sweet for words. I think the real Anastasia would have found them difficult to stomach. The whole series was loosely based on Peter Kurth's book on "Anastasia". It would have been so much better, given the huge budget, if it had been more historically accurate. It is more Mills and Boon than serious drama. It was more a love story between Anna Anderson and Prince Eric than an accurate account. I would have liked to have seen more about the trials. An interesting drama would have not painted the other side all bad like this did. I guess there was an agenda established from the very beginning that there was no possibility of denying that Anna was not Anastasia. That is where the whole thing disintegrates, sadly.