Rasputin (1981)

Details the life of the Russian monk Rasputin. The film shows his rise to power and how it corrupted him. His sexual perversions and madness ultimatly leads to his gruesome assasination.

Director:

Elem Klimov

Writers:

Semyon Lungin, Ilya Nusinov

Stars:

Aleksey Petrenko, Anatoliy Romashin, Velta Line

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aleksey Petrenko	...	Grigori Rasputin
Anatoliy Romashin	...	Nicholas II
Velta Line	...	Aleksandra Fyodorovna
Alisa Freyndlikh	...	Vyrubova
Aleksandr Romantsov	...	Yusupov (as A. Romantsov)
Yuriy Katin-Yartsev	...	Purishkevich
Leonid Bronevoy	...	Manasevich-Manuilov
Pavel Pankov	...	Manus
Mikhail Danilov	...	Andronnikov
Mikhail Svetin	...	Terekhov
Nelli Pshyonnaya	...	Baroness
Aleksey Vanin	...	Vospitatel cesarevitcha
Lyudmila Polyakova	...	Paraskeva
Olga Grigoreva	...	Yurodivaya
Boris Romanov	...	Balashov

Storyline

Russia, 1916. Be it by craft or madness, Rasputin exercises power over the indecisive Nicholas, and the religious Czarina worships the Siberian as God. He manipulates the Czar in his relations with the Duma and influences the choice of a new premier. Rasputin assaults a baroness; her husband is jailed for defending her, and she must offer sexual favors to Rasputin to save her husband. The Czar finally orders Rasputin from St. Petersburg, but somehow he enters the palace and, in a disheveled trance, convinces the Czar to make a disastrous change in war strategy. A cadre of nobles take matters into their own hands and arrange a last dinner party for the interloping monk.

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Plot Keywords:

czarina | russian politics | political corruption | world war one | aristocracy | 

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Taglines:

Monk.Heretic.Messiah.Madman.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The Soviet government held up the film's release for six years.

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Goofs

The episode where Rasputin was lured into a trap by clergymen didn't take place in 1916 but 5 years previously. It didn't go exactly as shown in the picture (no singing 'female lure' has ever been mentioned), though accounts differ as to what actually happened during the encounter.

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Alternate Versions

Unlike the versions released in other countries, the Russian deletes all the refrences to Rasputin's sexual desires and perversions, making the film lose its "Caligula-esque" edge.

User Reviews

about Russia

a special film. at first sigh, about a man who was in many others movies used as exotic character. in this case , he represents only the pretext. for a story about a profound crisis, for the chronicle of the fall premises of a monarchy. in same measure, it is a manifesto. the reaction of Soviet authorities about it is the basic argument. because the realities presented by Elem Klimov are against the entire portrait of Tsarist regime presented by official sources. and Rasputin himself is not exactly the expected one. but the film is, in same measure, less than a tool of political opposition. it is an analysis of Russia. the Russia from yesterday and today. the Russia of illusions and leaders and incertitude, hope and faith. and this facts does it a special film. because the fragments of documentary film reminds the powerful shadows behind the artistic purposes.

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

15 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rasputin

Filming Locations:

Soviet Union

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1