Anastasia

Rating:
Summary: MYTHIC HOLLYWOOD FABLE - BEAUTIFUL STORYTELLING
Review: "Anastasia" is the beautifully told fairytale about what became of the youngest daughter belonging to Tsar Nicholas II, the last of the Imperial rulers of Russia who, along with his entire family, was assassinated when the revolution took hold. Ingrid Bergman stars as the mysterious woman, plucked from a mental asylum by a royalist con man (Yul Brynner)who wants to get his hands on the ten million dollar inheritance. Helen Hayes stars as the Dowager Empress who longs for, but is apprehensive to accept this "imposter" as her grand daughter.
Fox DVD has done a very nice job remastering this film for DVD. Previous editions on laserdisc and VHS had been plagued by orangy flesh tones and excessive amounts of film grain. This DVD corrects and properly balances the colors. Though at times flesh tones can appear a little on the pasty side, over all the color balanacing, black levels and fine detail have been beautifully remastered. A slight amount of edge enhancement and some very minute aliasing crop up in a few scenes but nothing that will distract. The audio is a 4.0 remastering effort that brings back early stereophonic recording in all of its glory.
EXTRAS: The Biography on the real Anastasia, a movietones trailer, a restoration comparison and the film's original theatrical trailer - plus an insightful audio commentary running throughout the film's presentation.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a handsomely mounted production that really lives up to its subject matter. What became of the real Anastasia remains a mystery to this day. The film, rather than offer us closure, presents more questions than answers - a fitting end to one of the 20th century's most tragic historical chapters.

Rating:
Summary: MYTHIC HOLLYWOOD FABLE - BEAUTIFUL STORYTELLING
Review: "Anastasia" is the beautifully told fairytale about what became of the youngest daughter belonging to Tsar Nicholas II, the last of the Imperial rulers of Russia who, along with his entire family, was assassinated when the revolution took hold. Ingrid Bergman stars as the mysterious woman, plucked from a mental asylum by a royalist con man (Yul Brynner)who wants to get his hands on the ten million dollar inheritance. Helen Hayes stars as the Dowager Empress who longs for, but is apprehensive to accept this "imposter" as her grand daughter.
Fox DVD has done a very nice job remastering this film for DVD. Previous editions on laserdisc and VHS had been plagued by orangy flesh tones and excessive amounts of film grain. This DVD corrects and properly balances the colors. Though at times flesh tones can appear a little on the pasty side, over all the color balanacing, black levels and fine detail have been beautifully remastered. A slight amount of edge enhancement and some very minute aliasing crop up in a few scenes but nothing that will distract. The audio is a 4.0 remastering effort that brings back early stereophonic recording in all of its glory.
EXTRAS: The Biography on the real Anastasia, a movietones trailer, a restoration comparison and the film's original theatrical trailer - plus an insightful audio commentary running throughout the film's presentation.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a handsomely mounted production that really lives up to its subject matter. What became of the real Anastasia remains a mystery to this day. The film, rather than offer us closure, presents more questions than answers - a fitting end to one of the 20th century's most tragic historical chapters.

Rating:
Summary: ANASTASIA-The only review
Review: Anastasia is the heart warming tale of Anastasia Nicholaievna, Daughter of Tzar Nicholas II, The last Tzar Of Russia. Though not Historicaly correct, Anastasia shows the pains and tormoils that 'Anna Anderson' wen't to to prove herself the last surviving member of the Romanov Imperial Family. A tear jerking Performance By Bergman keeps this compelling drama alive, and although the is she/isn't she question is never answered, it doesnt effect the plot at all. I would Also recomend 'Anastasia-The Mystery of Anna' with Amy Irving-A Historicaly correct Mini-series. Watch this film, and you will spiral into the wonderfuly surreal world that is 'ANASTASIA' a Classic!

Rating:
Summary: Anastasia-a paradox
Review: Anastasia's(Anna Anderson)life remained a paradox till her death,when her DNA was matched with that of the surviving members of the Romanov dynasty,& it was conclusively proved that she was indeed not the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholayevna, but an imposter.During her life too there were doubts about her claim to the Grand Duchess' title, as she knew no Russian,which was strange because she was about 16 in 1917 when her family were shot, and surfaced about 10 years later in Europe.Her amnesia could not have extended to forgetting her own language. But her memory of the very private incidents moments spent with her parents, was amazing, & could not have been tutored eg;the scene between her father and her uncle in the former's study,which she overheard,unseen,playing behind a sofa,and which she recalls in the movie,to her uncle, who had escaped from Russia, by stating that Czar Nicholas II,had rebuked him for getting a woman in trouble,could only have been known to a person who was present in the room or was later revealed to someone by the rebuked prince, who passed it on to Count Bonin(Yul Brynner),who in turn tutored Anna/ Anastasia.The reminiscence of a scene between the Dowager Empress (her Grandmother-Figgy),and Nicholas over the pearls which Anastasia's mother wanted, but Figgy wouldn't oblige, could also not have been faked,as only a member/s from the immediate family eg, Anastasia, could have overheard it and recounted it in so much detail.However, it has been argued that one of the servants must have come to know of the row,from where it reached Bonin,and thence Anastasia. But the final bit of evidence, that Anastasia used to cough when she was afraid,could not have been faked;the expression on Ingrid Bergman's face, was of the wronged,sad woman searching for her identity, and that convinced even Figgy, when Bergman first coughs and then responds to her pet name with such a genuine emotion that a tribute must be paid to her and to the dead Anna Anderson, if that scene between the Dowager Empress and Anna/Anastasia did ever take place in real life.Ingrid shone throughout the film,right from the moment when a sick tramp, she is taken to a cellar to be measured against the approximated silhuouette of Anastasia, her training lessons,her rebuke to a person who dared to light a cigarette in her presence,her handling of a noble lady,who tried to test her and was told off as being jealous because she was never received at Court by the Empress, Anastasia's mother, are pure gems of superb acting. Her flirtation with her former fiance ,trying to make Bonin feel jealous, was done with great subtlety,on one side Bonin wanted her to be recognised as the Grand Duchess, on the other, he was in love with her himself, and she with him.She tried to convey to Bonin that she did not care to be the last surviving heir to Czar Nicholas II, in order to marry her cousin. She only longed to be loved and wanted by him,and in this she succeeds, after she has a woman to woman talk with her Grandmother, who persuades her to do what her heart tells her and not what the public wants,a sensation,"The missing Grandduchess Anastasia, long believed dead, found alive. As the sole heir to the wealth of the Romanovs, she shall marry her cousin and former fiance, in accordance with what was arranged by her late parents." Figgy manages to convince her that for a woman nothing is more important than being with man she loves and bringing up his children. Her marriage to her former fiancee & cousin would never have given Anna/Anastasia what she craved most,discovering who she was with the man she loved. At the end when both Anastasia and Bonin escape, to live incognito, and the Empress is asked as to what would they tell the guests,who had come to hear the imminent marriage announced formally , she sums it all up very well,"I'll tell them to go home, because the play is over." Virtuoso performances by all.Ingrid Bergman deserved her Oscar. I first saw the film in 1959,at age 7,and carried the thought throughout the susequent years that perhaps the story was true, and Anastasia had indeed escaped the assassins' bullets. But the DNA tests on Anna Anderson and the discovery of the remains of the Late Czar's family,including those of Anastasia, in 1997, shattered my, by then middle aged, fantasies, but Ingrid Bergman lives on in my heart as the eternal Anastasia. No amount of DNA tests and discovered remains can take that dear lovely, vulnerable and yet noble, Anastasia away from me.

Rating:
Summary: Anastasia
Review: Great Movie - Horrible DVD! I'm rating this one star because the DVD quality is so bad. For the first time, I'm in the process of returning an item to Amazon. This makes me sad because I love this film and wanted to add this to my growing collection of classic films in my DVD Library. The sound is not always in synch and the volume goes up and down. The sound is absolutely terrible!

Rating:
Summary: Anastasia
Review: Great Movie - Horrible DVD! I'm rating this one star because the DVD quality is so bad. For the first time, I'm in the process of returning an item to Amazon. This makes me sad because I love this film and wanted to add this to my growing collection of classic films in my DVD Library. The sound is not always in synch and the volume goes up and down. The sound is absolutely terrible!

Rating:
Summary: Anastasia Is Finally On DVD.
Review: I bought this DVD when it came out 2 months ago when it first came out. And I love this movie more than Any other movie that Ingrid Bergman played in. I especially liked it because they had an interview with Hellen Hayes (The Grandmother) son James MacArthur. I have been corresponding with him and i just really liked that.

Here Is A brief Description:

Anastasie (Ingird Bergman) is a woman who has no clue about who she is and where she comes from, she then meets (Yul Brynner) who thinks that if he can train her to act like the Real Annastasia he can pass her off and get the huge reward for her return. Well when they get to St. petersburg they find out that The Arch Duchess (Hellen Hayes) has lost hope of ever finding her Annastasia and refuses to see Ingrid Bergman. Well she finally visits Ingrid Bergman and realizes that she really is her grand daughter. And it ends happily.

Great Movie. 5 Star Rating.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant movie, brilliant performances, out of synch sound!
Review: I have waited forever for the release of this magnificent movie. Amazing performances by Bergman, Brynner, Hayes (incredible) and Hunt. Unfortunately, there was a glitch in the brand new, out of the box DVD AND, the sound in the middle of the film was out of synch. How Fox could have let this go is a total mystery to me. I am very upset about it considering the amount of money that must have gone into the restoration. DVDs' are becoming worse all the time with quality slipping down the drain. Worth seeing and seeing again if Fox could fix their problems. Unfortunately I must return it.

Rating:
Summary: I loved it!
Review: I was long anxious to watch this movie. Ingrid Bergman showed me how wonderful actress she was! I think she had succeeded in returning to the screen. There is no doubt that she's real. Yul Brynner is my favorite. He makes me want to watch it again. It was nice anyway. Even if you're not interested in it so much, I do confidently recommend this movie because it is well worth seeing. I'm sure you'll like it as I did. PLEASE WATCH "ANASTASIA"!!!

Rating:
Summary: A royal fairy tale
Review: I've been fascinated with the story of the Romanovs since grade nine, when I did a project on Anastasia. Having read almost all the books on the subject of Anna Anderson (who passed herself off -- or rather, was passed off -- as the princess Anastasia from the late 1920s till her death in the early 1980s), I'm still of two minds as to whether she really was who she claimed. That being said, it's always nice to believe in fairy tales, and Fox's 1956 version of the story definitely leans toward to romantic rather than the cynical version of events.

Ingrid Bergman, one of my favorite actresses of all time, won a much-deserved Oscar for her portrayal of the mystery woman whom con artist Yul Brynner picks up off the streets and trains to pass as Anastasia before her grandmother, the Grand Duchess (Helen Hayes). It's a tour-de-force performance that is as subtle as ever won an Oscar. Watch her face during the scene in which she realizes she's being used by Brynner to get money. It's a mixture of betrayal, hurt, anger, and relief (she's falling for him too, and scared of it).

Fox's presentation of ANASTASIA, the 9th in its hopefully long-running series of Studio Classics, is a grand presentation in the original 2.35:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio. The colors jump off the screen at you, and I finally understood how it was meant to be seen, after years of knowing only the cropped home video version. There's an audio commentary by Alfred Newman biographer John Burlingame, screewriter Arthur Laurents, and actor James MacArthur (the son of Helen Hayes), who relate trivia about the score, the film, and Hayes' experiences making the movie, respectively. Joining them on the commentary is historian Sylvia Stoddard who gives us some background on the film, but focuses mainly on the reality of the Anastasia/Anna Anderson saga. Stoddard also contributes an audio essay about the Romanovs.

There's an A&E biography special on Anastasia, a few newsreels (some from 1956, others from 1917!), and the requisite trailer and restoration featurette. All in all, a wonderful presentation of an exceptional movie.

The Film: 4 1/2 stars.
The Extras: 5 stars.