YMMV / Nicholas and Alexandra

• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Nicholas is an incompetent and stubborn jerk who deserves to be overthrown. But his personal struggles, the shame of abdication, and his rather horrific fate make him a pitiable jerk.
  • Alexandra frequently treats Nicholas like a Henpecked Husband, to the point that Nicholas confesses in a frustrated tirade that he had cut ties with many friends and his mother because Alexandra never liked them. Not to mention that her prioritising her personal issues over the good of Russia puts it in an even worse situation than before. But she's a mother who's suffering from guilt that she's responsible for her son and heir having haemophilia.
• Retroactive Recognition: The film features a whole host of actors who would later become better known for other roles.
  • Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor himself, as Rasputin.
  • Brian Cox makes his first film appearance as Trotsky.
  • Ian Holm in an early film role as Vasily Yakovlev.
  • Steven Berkoff as Pankratov.
  • Julian Glover as Gapon.
  • A pre-fame Robin Askwith has a memorable supporting part as a starving Russian soldier who skins and eats a rabbit raw before shooting his commanding officer when he tries to stop him.
  • Stephen Greif (the first Travis from Blake's 7) as Martov.
  • Lynne Frederick as Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna.
• Spiritual Successor: To Doctor Zhivago, a Russian-set epic about the same historical period, with the same producer, cinematographer, and production designer.

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