Nicholas and Alexandra

"The Last Dance of the Romanovs."

1971 3h 9m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 82

DramaWarHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.

“The Last Dance of the Romanovs.”

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Cast

Michael Jayston
Nicholas
Janet Suzman
Alexandra
Roderic Noble
Alexis
Ania Marson
Olga
Lynne Frederick
Tatiana
Candace Glendenning
Marie
Fiona Fullerton
Anastasia
Harry Andrews
Grand Duke Nicholas (Nikolasha)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Writers: James Goldman
Languages: French, Russian, Spanish, English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 189 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

55 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, Russian, Spanish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, shot by Freddie Young. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Rodney Bennett. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ernest Walter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman and Roderic Noble carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Last Dance of the Romanovs.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Franklin J. Schaffner directs. Freddie Young behind the camera. Richard Rodney Bennett scores. Ernest Walter cuts. A long sit — settle in. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in French, Russian, Spanish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 189 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
255 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, Russian, Spanish, English.
4Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, shot by Freddie Young. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Richard Rodney Bennett. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ernest Walter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman and Roderic Noble carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The Last Dance of the Romanovs.".
9IMDB entry: tt0067483 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 82 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Freddie Young
Original score: Richard Rodney Bennett
Editing: Ernest Walter
Production design: Gil Parrondo
Costume design: Antonio Cánovas del Castillo de Rey
Makeup / hair: A. G. Scott
Runtime: 189 min · 3h 9m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Production Design
Academy Award for Best Costume Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Franklin J. Schaffner

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-10-15
★ 6/10
To be fair to Sam Spiegel, he didn’t hold the purse strings too tightly on this sumptuous dramatisation of the lives of Czar Nicholas II (Michael Jayston) and his wife Alexandra (Janet Suzman) and it looks almost as stunning as “Doctor Zhivago” (1965). Sadly, though, that look doesn’t translate into anything very compelling to watch as neither lead actor really has what it takes to enliven either their roles or the tumultuous events at this fascinatingly turbulent time in European history. Luck isn’t exactly on the Romanov side right from the start when their only son Alexis is born with haemophilia, the Czarina finds herself under the sinister influence of Rasputin (the reliably hammy Tom Baker) and he finds his nation involved - on the losing side - in a war against Japan in Korea and with a domestic population no longer prepared to automatically accept the divine right of the emperor. What now ensues uses some large-scale, grand, cinematography intertwined with the excellent attention paid to the costume and production designs to depict historical events but I found this really more a victory for style over substance. Sir Larry Olivier can just about carry of his role as his sagely and increasingly frustrated premier Count Witte and Irene Worth always did possess a certain imperiousness that works well here as the Dowager Empress but I struggled with Harry Andrews, Timothy West and especially with a Jack Hawkins who looked like he had bathed in aspic before attaching a moustache he borrowed from a Marx brother. It comes alive a little with half an hour to go as a certain inevitable mortality impacts on this Imperial family, but I still felt it a passionless and rather sterile depiction of the hypocrisies and double standards that prevailed in a country where a palace and a ghetto existed side by side and where religious mysticism and the positively Machiavellian nature of the political machinations were rife. An opportunity missed, I would say, that really could have benefited from casting that didn’t worry so much about actual resemblance but more on substantive characterisation and perhaps focussed on a shorter, more concentrated, timeframe.

Production companies