Catherine the Great (1995)

Trapped in a loveless arranged marriage to the immature future Czar, a young German Princess proves a skillful political infighter and rises to become Catherine the Great.

Directors:

Marvin J. Chomsky, John Goldsmith

Writers:

John Goldsmith, Frank Tudisco

Stars:

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul McGann, Ian Richardson

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Catherine
Paul McGann	...	Potemkin
Ian Richardson	...	Vorontzov
Brian Blessed	...	Bestuzhev
John Rhys-Davies	...	Pugachev
Craig McLachlan	...	Saltykov
Hannes Jaenicke	...	Peter
Agnès Soral	...	Countess Bruce
Mark McGann	...	Orlov
Karl Johnson	...	Sheshkovsky
Stephen McGann	...	Alexis Orlov
Veronica Ferres	...	Vorontzova
Mel Ferrer	...	Patriarch
Jeanne Moreau	...	Elizabeth
Omar Sharif	...	Razumovsky

Storyline

In this romanticized biography, a small German principality's inexperienced princess, Catherine, becomes the bride of czarevitch Peter, the mad and abusive nephew and heir of the Russian czarina Elizabeth. From Elizabeth she learns the cynical ropes of wielding absolute imperial power at any cost, including sacrificing her lover, young guards officer Saltykov, who must give her an heir that Peter can't and is then sent abroad. After Elizabeth's death, she quickly moves to seize power with military and court support. She then works to enlarge and modernize the empire, again putting statesmanship ahead of her lover, a military genius who defeats the Ottomans and governs the conquered territories for her.

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Plot Keywords:

breasts | buttocks | decapitation | sex scene | blowing out a candle | 

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Taglines:

Through treachery, passion and courage she built an empire.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Final on-screen role of Mel Ferrer.

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Goofs

When Catherine borrows the wooden cross from Potemkin, it is hanging from a simple string. But when she gives it back, it has been strung with matching wooden beads. There is no explanation if this is a different prop or if Catherine added the beads herself.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Catherine: The 21st of August 1745... my wedding day. I was fifteen. The Grand Duke Peter was two years older, and we were both pawns in a political game.

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Alternate Versions

Approx. 80 minutes were deleted from the US version by A&E compared to the original German version which was shown in 2 parts a 90 minutes.

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Connections

Version of The Rise of Catherine the Great (1934)

User Reviews

Superficial? Yeah...but GREAT FUN!!!

Hey guys, After having read the preceding reviews and of course having seen the flick I just had to add this comment: I take my movies seriously and I take my history seriously---in general. I will easily admit that this film is a bit weak on both scores. But everybody obviously had a wonderful time!

And sometimes that counts for something. I had not seen Miss Zeta-Jones before but I am certainly glad to have seen her now. I will admit that Mae West was probably closer to the real Catherine (complexionwise, haircolorwise, and probably even sexualproclivitywise) but it was an absolute pleasure to watch a woman who is imperious as well as beautiful play a part in which she is required to be both those things! I mean, she pulled it off! And she looked absolutely great doing it! I Can't wait to see her again. Well now, the historic issues. I am really sorry that Potemkin didn't get a chance to show Catherine a Potemkin village in this particular version, but other than that the history didn't really bother me all that much. The fact is, I kind of liked the plot, even if it does come from never never land. So put me down as a complete Philistine if you will, I can't help but admit that I enjoyed this thing thoroughly, misguided as I may be. And let me throw in one more kudo. Anyone who cut his teeth on "Gunsmoke" as Mr. Chomsky did, and winds up directing a Russian Czarina quoting Rousseau can't be all bad. I hope you like it too.

Details

Country:

Germany Austria USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 1996 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Catalina la Grande

Filming Locations:

Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

MR Filmproduktion, Patrola Film GmbH, Skylark Cine Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min (2 parts) 60 min (3 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1