Nicholas and Alexandra (Film 1971)

Nicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 British epic historical drama film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, from a screenplay by James Goldman and Edward Bond based on Robert K. Massie's 1967 book of the same name. Audio in English with English subtitles (click on CC for subtitles in English).

It tells the story of the last ruling Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (Michael Jayston), and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra (Janet Suzman), from 1904 until their deaths in 1918. The ensemble cast includes Tom Baker as Grigori Rasputin, Laurence Olivier as Sergei Witte, Brian Cox as Leon Trotsky, Ian Holm as Vasily Yakovlev, Vivian Pickles as Nadezhda Krupskaya, and Irene Worth as The Queen Mother Marie Fedorovna.

The film received six nominations at the 44th Academy Awards, including for Best Picture and Best Actress (Suzman), and won two: Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

Historical accuracy: There is at least one anachronism; Peter Stolypin had been assassinated in 1911, two years before the Romanov dynasty tercentenary in which he is portrayed as being alive before being assassinated.