1996 drama Rasputin also known as Rasputin Dark Servant of Destiny and also known as Le Fin de Romanov starring Alan Rickman, Greta Scacchi, Ian McKellen, David Warner, John Wood and directed by Uli Edel.

The Story: Alexi, son of Tsar Nicholas II (McKellan) and his wife Alexandra (Scacchi) and sole heir to the Romanov dynasty, is suffering from hemophelia. Conventional medicine of the era is failing to help him. Alexandra looks for other treatments and finds Father Grigori Rasputin (Rickman). Rasputin was a destitute monk who claimed he had a vision from the Virgin Mary telling him that the Tsar needed his help! Though Nicholas and the royal doctor are skeptical of Rasputin's healing abilities, young Alexei quickly bonds with the charlatan-prophet. But Rasputin's constant boozing and womanizing angers the aristocracy and worsens the already unstable tensions between Nicholas and his subjects. With the seeds of revolution brewing, it becomes increasingly apparent that a bad end awaits the entire royal family.

Comment: Gorgeous cinematography with wonderful contrasting colors illustrate the richness of the Romanov life and the bleak coldness of the Siberian plains and the stark conditions of the common people of the Russia. Alan Rickman is sensational as Rasputin, portraying the moody and incoherent monk with fabulous zeal. Ian McKellum perfectly portrays a cold and aloof Tsar Nicholas II. Ever beautiful Greta Scacchi makes a wonderful Tsarina. Be warned - no happy endings await anyone in this film.

New factory sealed disc, case and label imported from Australia. Per the label, the film running time is 100 minutes. The film is presented in fullscreen 4:3 format; English audio with no subtitles. The opening and ending credits are in French, as are several chapter titles throughout the film. This DVD disc is NTSC format and designed to play on DVD players in North America. It will probably not play on PS/2 - PS/3 or similar game devices. The DVD disc contains no extra features.

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