Anastasia
starring
Ingrid Bergman ■ Yul Brynner ■ Helen Hayes
(1956)
WHEN THESE TWO MEET...it is the beginning of the most amazing conspiracy the world has ever known!
| Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her he comes to believe she is really Anastasia. In the end the Empress must decide her claim. Decades before the animated movie Anastasia there was a live action film of the same name it starred Hollywood greats Ingrid Bergman as Anna(stasia) and Yul Brynner as the man who finds her and wishes to profit from her resemblance to the long lost Grand Duchess. I'll admit that I never watched the animated film but I did pick up the 1956 live action film when I found it on VHS at my local Friends of the Library book sale. I've long been fascinated by the mystery of what happened to Anastasia. I've read online articles, a non-fiction book, and a couple of novels. Like many people I pondered the story and wondered “what if she really did survive?” And, like those people I was saddened when the DNA tests were negative on the woman known as Anna Anderson as well as when the last two Romanov skeletons were found in Siberia. But, back to the movie. I suspect that Anastasia may have been loosely based on the claims of Anna Anderson, as I noticed quite a few similarities and the timeframe the film is set in is pretty much lines up. The story is something of what I would call a psychological drama. The emphasis is not so much on romance, though there is some, and more on Anna's inner turmoil and the gradual transformation of those around her. I can honestly say that Anastasia is not a riveting movie but rather it is an interesting one. One quickly comes to feel for Anna, her fear, desperation, and the flicker of hope that doesn't quite die out even as life kicks her around. The movie is a little dark, though not violent. And though I wish the ending had been shown rather than implied, I really do enjoy it each time I watch it. It's worth it just to see Ingrid Bergman outside of Casablanca and Yul Brynner in a role other than as a king. If you are fascinated by the 'might have been' of the Grand Duchess Anastasia's life and death you really should add this movie to your collection of books read and movies watched.  1 hour 45 minutes  | Principal Cast Ingrid Bergman...Anna Koreff Yul Brynner...General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine Helen Hayes...Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna Akim Tamiroff...Boris Adreivich Chernov Martita Hunt...Baroness Elena von Livenbaum Felix Aylmer...Chamberlain Sacha Pitoëff...Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin (as Sacha Pitoeff) Ivan Desny...Prince Paul von Haraldberg Natalie Schafer...Irina Lissemskaia Filming Location(s) Copenhagen, Denmark MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK (studio) (Studio interiors) Københavns Hovedbanegård, Copenhagen, Denmark Paris, France Pont Alexandre III, Paris 7, Paris, France (Anna considers suicide) Seine River, Paris, France Tivoli, Copenhagen, Denmark Île-de-France, France Knebworth House, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK (Palace of the Empress) Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK Awards Academy Awards 1957 Best Actress in a Leading Role - Ingrid Bergman Golden Globes 1957 Best Actress - Drama - Ingrid Bergman David di Donatello Awards 1957 Best Actress (Migliore Attrice) - Ingrid Bergman National Board of Review, USA 1956 Best Actor - Yul Brynner for The King and I and The Ten Commandments Top Ten Films New York Film Critics Circle Awards 1956 Best Actress - Ingrid Bergman Quotes General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine: [to Petrovin] Would you recognize the smile of a girl you knew ten years ago? Piotr Ivanovich Petrovin: I didn't think of that! General Sergei Pavlovich Bounine: You're both fools! You're examining her as if she was the real Anastasia. There is no Anastasta! She was shot to death ten years ago by a firing squad. We're not looking for her, gentlemen. We're seeking only a reasonable facsimile. Anastasia: The poor have only one advantage; they know when they are loved for themselves. Dowager Empress: We are most of us lonely, and it is mostly of our own making. Dowager Empress: I like the past. It's sweet and familiar. |
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Thanks to IMDB.com for most of the info for this movie.
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