Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) on Netflix
GP19713h 9mBiographyDramaHistory
In 1904, Tsarina Alexandra gives birth to Alexei, the son Nicholas II expects to inherit the Romanov throne. Unrest shakes his rule, and she turns to the holy man Grigori Rasputin.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb7.2/106,325 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes69%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1904, Alexandra, the wife of Tsar Nicholas II, gives birth to the couple's fifth child and first son, Alexei. Grand Duke Nicholas and Count Sergei Witte urge the Tsar to end the war with Japan and accept a constitutional monarchy. He refuses, saying that either step would make him appear weak and put the Romanov dynasty at risk. Public anger grows, and workers march to the Winter Palace carrying a petition for political representation. Troops fire on the marchers, and the upheaval that follows pushes Nicholas to establish the Duma. At a party for the birthday of the Tsar's mother, Alexandra is introduced to Grigori Rasputin, who calls himself a holy man. When court physicians diagnose Alexei with hemophilia, she looks to Rasputin for spiritual guidance, and the family's friendship with him draws mockery.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Producer Sam Spiegel took on Nicholas and Alexandra after being shut out of David Lean's Doctor Zhivago, another film about revolutionary Russia; the two had fallen out on Lawrence of Arabia after Spiegel pushed the perfectionist Lean to finish on schedule.
- Spiegel initially tried to make the film without buying the rights to Robert K. Massie's biography, arguing the history was public domain, before eventually paying $150,000 for them and hiring James Goldman, writer of The Lion in Winter, to adapt the book.
- Tighter Columbia budgets forced Spiegel to give up his preferred casting of Peter O'Toole as Rasputin and Vanessa Redgrave as Alexandra, while Rex Harrison turned down a supporting role as too small and Grace Kelly turned down the part of the Empress outright.
- Actor Jack Hawkins, who played Count Fredericks, had lost his voice to throat cancer, so all of his dialogue in the film had to be dubbed afterward by another actor, Robert Rietti.
