Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

harukahoneyh Yes, I love Alan Rickman (how could I not?), but I happen to love the historical Rasputin even more. That said, Rickman's portrayal is the best ever! He brought Rasputin back to life! I finally saw "Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny" yesterday and it floored me. It was possibly his best on-screen performance! This is the most accurate depiction of Rasputin, hands down. There are some errors, mostly towards the end, but it showed who he really was. Tom Baker was also an excellent Rasputin in "Nicholas and Alexandra," but he sadly had limited screen time. I have yet to watch "Rasputin the Mad Monk" with Christopher Lee, but what I have seen of it shows him as the evil monster people assume he was. Lee definitely looks the most like Rasputin, and I would've loved to see him in a more factual version, alas! Alan Rickman has done a great service, bless his beautiful soul! Finally, we get to see Grigori Rasputin as a real person- he had his flaws, but was generally a good man. (Not to mention, the love scene was to die for!) Everyone involved with the production deserves accolades!

TheLittleSongbird With such a great cast and that it's a film of a riveting, complex part of history and one of history's most interestingly colourful characters, Rasputin had a lot going for it. Historically it's not always very accurate but on its own merits Rasputin is a very impressive film, and much more preferable and of far higher quality to the Hammer film Rasputin: The Mad Monk, which was a fun film and had a towering Christopher Lee but had a shoddy script and didn't attempt to be true to history.It could have done with a longer length and could have gone into more detail as a result, with some parts feeling cliff notes-like, like why and how the revolution started and Rasputin's role in it. It could have focused a little more on Rasputin too and a little less on the Romanov Royal Family. The film looks wonderful though, it's beautifully photographed with lavish colour and evocative sets, whether depicting the contrast between the rich and poor, that captures the atmosphere of the time very well indeed. The music score has haunting power and pathos, but it is not just a great-sounding score on its own but it fits like a glove within the film.Rasputin has an intelligent and well-written script, that doesn't play things too staid and also doesn't feel like soap-opera-like melodrama. The story is well-told, tightly paced and cohesive, and has the right amount of emotion and tension. The film does a great job capturing the atmosphere of the time period, and even though one wishes that there was more of Rasputin there is still enough done with him to still make him a colourful and interesting character, with a reason being given for his carousing. The most effective scene here is the assassination of the Romanovs, a scene that is both terrifying and heart-wrenching. Uli Edel directs beautifully and sensitively yet with enough vigour to keep the drama alive.Alan Rickman is brilliant in the title role, it is one incredibly powerful performance that is dangerously scary but also played with gusty humour and nuanced humanity. Ian McKellen also gives a fine and well-studied account of the Tsar, even depicting some of his habits like with his thumb, his interpretation is very accurate of the man who was a good and loving father and family man but a bad ruler. Freddie Findlay as Alexei, the character from which perspective Rasputin is told, is very good and his is a more sympathetic and accurate portrayal than most of the young prince. Greta Scacchi is the only person who doesn't look anything like the role she's depicting, but she nonetheless touchingly underplays Alexandra and does so with regal dignity. David Warner, John Wood and James Frain acquit themselves very solidly in pivotal supporting roles.In conclusion, a very impressive film regardless of its historical accuracy or lack of. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Ronos Before this film, the Cinematic version of Rasputin was Christopher Lee's evil Dracula-esque version that tried to seduce/murder the Royal Family. But this one is far more accurate. It's a little short and DOES skip alot of chapters in the Mad Monk's life, but nevertheless it's better than the aforementioned Hammer Films version and mercifully shorter than Nicholas & Alexandra. Rasputin was not an evil man as early cinema depicts, but instead a well-meaning one hampered by incompetence and bad habits. Alan Rickman captures both well. Matching him stride for stride is Ian McKellen as Tsar Nicholas II. McKellen's Tsar is a loving father who perhaps can't see very well past his family. When he tells his son that he will preserve the kingdom for him, you realize that a sad end awaits him. But through it all he manages to keep his dignity. And nobody has ever played the Royal doctor better than David Warner has. He mixes loyalty to the Tsar and skepticism of Rasputin's "divine abilities" very well, and has quite possibly the best line in the film: "I have performed many autopsies and never once found a soul." The wisest move, however, was not to end it with Rasputin's death, but to continue to show the fall of the Romanov Dynasty. The entire murder of the Royal Family stands as one of the most evil acts of the 20th Century and those final scenes really hammer home the tragedy.

lord_james_2001 This movie was pretty well acted, written, filmed, and directed. The problem was it was made a bit too soon to do much good. When "Nicholas and Alexandra" was released in 1971, the lavishness of it covered up the historical inaccuracies. "Rasputin", however, came out in a time when new information was just becoming available. Since 1996, the DNA tests have been performed, the bodies have been ceremoniously buried, and the nation of Russia has once again reformed itself. If the producers of "Rasputin" had just waited a few years, imagine the possibilities that could have been added to this film. It is inaccurate in many places. For example, Alexei could not have known that "Aunt Ella" was murdered. She, along with several other relatives, was murdered the day following Nicholas' own execution. It focuses too much on the Romanovs. Perhaps it should be called "The Romanovs" as opposed to "Rasputin". My personal pet peeve is the execution of the Romanovs. As in "N & A", the numbers are still wrong. There were 11 people executed in Ekaterinburg. In "N & A" there were 8, and in "Rasputin" there were 10.The film does flow rather nicely, and gives those interested a fairly accurate glimpse of the lives and deaths of the sadly inept Romanovs and the vile, vulgar Rasputin. I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in Russian history, especially to anyone teaching such a course.Alan Rickman was wonderful in his portrayal. Greta Scacchi and Ian MacKellan were as well, in view of the fact that they were portraying such boring, stupid characters. The supporting cast was a nice backdrop for the glory and pageantry of the Russian Court.