Peter the Great (1986)

For me Peter the Great was excellent. It is the kind of topic and life that the mini-series concept was invented. It would take six hours to go into both the policy achievements of his reign and the various struggles for power with all the intrigue surrounding them during his reign.Peter Romanov, Peter the first of Russia was born to Czar Alexis who was the second Czar under the new Romanov dynasty. Alexis had two wives and Peter was born to his second wife. Alexis had several children by both wives, but only two sons, one by each wife. Peter was clearly the one with the abilities and personality to rule, but Ivan who most charitably can be described as a dullard, but dullards have their uses if they can be manipulated by ambitious people. Maximilian Schell plays Peter as an adult and the mini-series allows him to develop all facets of his character. The western quarter of Moscow intrigued him, the foreign colony where people dressed so differently and seem to be always innovating. His Russia resisted all change be it technological, be it fashion, be it in its special brand of Christianity the Russian Orthodox Church. Because of that they were hemmed in and he decided things had to change. He meets resistance with those with a built in interest for resistance and the general inertia. But before he's done he has a modern army and navy, a new capital and functioning seaport on the Baltic named St. Petersburg, and certain changes in fashion come to at least the intelligentsia of the regime.But history has its ironies and Peter who won the succession battle dies without a named heir and for the next 15 years there are several czars among Peter's descendants until 1740 when his daughter Elizabeth becomes Empress and has a 22 year reign that was very popular. He also married twice and the children of both wives were rivals. Peter had a son also named Alexis and that proves to be the biggest tragedy of his reign.Some familiar faces are in the cast in supporting roles. Peter made a grand tour of Europe the first czar to see what was beyond Russia's borders. He met with such people Isaac Newton played by Trevor Howard, King Frederick William of Prussia played by Mel Ferrer and a much too old Laurence Olivier playing William of Orange King of Great Britain and Statholder of the Netherlands. If I had to single out one in the cast for special praise it would be Vanessa Redgrave as Peter's scheming half sister Princess Sophia.If you find that Peter The Great resembles I Claudius you'll be in agreement with me. What this series does represent is fine history and fine entertainment.

Vanessa Redgrave plays a brilliantly wicked Sophia in this mini epic. I just purchased this film and watched all 6 1/2 hours in one setting and believe me, it didn't feel that long. The acting was good, and the story kept my interest. I'm surprised Maximilian Schell wasn't nominated for an emmy. Redgrave, as I stated, was just wicked and her facial movements were classic and evil as she watched Peter move up. I would greatly recommend this film for anyone. I've never been interested in Peter the Great, so this was a very interesting film that, as I've read, was full of falsehoods, which most bio pics are. I will admit that I purchased this because of Redgrave and so didn't know what to expect. It was, once again, a great film. Also, whoever did the make-up deserved that win, if i remember correctly, because when they aged Redgrave she looks exactly the way she does now. A must see for anyone with a free day.

Russia, the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. Tzar Peter, much ahead of his times, attempts at turning his country into the modern world. However, it is a real hardship to achieve the goals. He has to cope with conspiracies, even in his own family, and the objection from the church and the mob. That's more or less a brief summary of the mini series Peter the Great. Although the movie entails several serious historical inaccuracies, a viewer does get a general picture of the Russia of that time, of tzar Peter and his genius. What is more, it is very good as a movie.Any director has the right to change something in history, interpret it in his/her own way. That is no problem. The real distortion comes when there is a travesty of the times and of historic figures. But that is out of question when applied to this movie.The action is great! The mini series, though quite long, is made in such a way that once you start watching it, you will watch it till the end. The director's main focus is the figure of tzar Peter, his life, his goals, his dreams for Russia, and his disappointments. Looking from this perspective, the movie is a masterpiece, highly underrated. In most of the scenes with Peter, one can follow his thoughts, his experience with ruling, his goals that are hopelessly destroyed by the patriarchs, who say that Peter lost his soul, the blind mob, and, most tragically, his son Alexis. I can't forget the scene when Peter says "I've lost my son. He doesn't love me" The tzar Peter is beautifully portrayed by two actors: young Jan Niklas, really worth noticing, and Maximilian Schell, and undoubtable talent, not only as an actor but as a director too (see for instance his Erste Liebe).Other cast are also very, very good. Lawrence Olivier as the English king, William of Orange, Trevor Howard as Sir Isaac Newton (consider Peter's memorable meeting with Sir Newton); Ursula Andress as Athalie, and especially, Vanessa Redgrave as Peter's rebellious sister Sophia. She plays equally well as in another Russian epic, Young Catherine (1991) by Michael Anderson with Julia Ormond in the main role. I want to make one more notice about the movie. There are a lot of scenes that the movie is worth watching for. But especially, watch the part that shows Peter's journey to Europe. Marvin J. Chomsky wonderfully presents a huge contrast between the Europe of that time and Russia. Then, you will definitely understand his goals...Peter the Great is a Russian epic that is highly underrated and seriously forgotten. The movie is very well made, it gives a clear picture of that reality, and a memorable interpretation of Peter's life. The whole story proves one sad fact very clearly:Great people are usually GREAT after their death! Isn't that an irony of human fate?

I liked this series very much although it started to drag during part 4. I was vaguely familiar with Russian history and thought the series was accurate; that is until I read some of the comments from those truly knowledgeable of Russian history.But my main contribution to this forum is to recount what my wife (a Russian) said about the movie as we watched it. First of all, how would we Americans like it if a movie about Abraham Lincoln portrayed him as a man of average height? Peter the Great was about 6'8" or 6'9". She also wishes that they would have shown how Russians built boats in the North and had to carry them a long way over land (I think she meant when they attacked the Turks at Azov). The movie also neglected to show how Peter established Universities and sent students to study in Europe.And as one other person commented, I wish they would have shown more of St. Petersburg and how it was built.It seems that there is enough material here for a ten part series rather than four.