Catherine the Great
by John Goldsmith, Marvin J. Chomsky
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Actor: Brian Blessed, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ian Richardson, John Rhys-Davies, Paul McGannDirector: John Goldsmith, Marvin J. Chomsky
Brand: A&E
Writer: John Goldsmith
Producer: Carla Thoeren
Producer: Fred Sidewater
Producer: Konstantin Thoeren
Producer: Kurt J. Mrkwicka
Writer: Frank Tudisco
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-02-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
Product features:
- In this gripping, real-life fairy tale, a young German princess rises from relative obscurity to the Russian throne as one of the most remarkable monarchs in history--CATHERINE THE GREAT.A strange twist of fate in 1744 brings 15-year-old, foreign-born princess Sophia Fredericka (Catherine Zeta Jones) to the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia (Jeanne Moreau) where she becomes Catherine II, the wi
DVD Reviews of Catherine the Great
DVD Review: Catherine the Not-So-Great: Wooden, dull, and confusing
Summary: 1 Stars
I had high expectations for this film before release, but now I expect to sell my copy and return to the far superior 1991 film "Young Catherine" starring Julia Ormond (particularly the unedited 180+ minute version). THAT film was well acted, well cast, well scripted, and convincing in the details. This piece of hackneyed, romance novel-level schlock isn't worth the time it takes to watch. If it was any more cardboard, it would be on the grocery shelves holding cornflakes.
Zeta-Jones can't do anything with the lines she's given, and I expect the chief reason guys might enjoy this is to watch Catherine happily hop from bed to bed with a succession of hard-to-distinguish lovers (generally in pursuit of some political gain). But even this grows joyless very quickly. CZJ's boy toys are so drab, listless, and ugly that one wonders what the producers were thinking. Even the bodice-buster elements in "Young Catherine" at least featured a more attractive male lead.
The so-called battle scenes are pathetic: a tiny handful of extras milling about in confusion. The Turks are beaten several times in inexplicable affairs (all fought in the woods, no less) that last about thirty seconds each. A subplot involving a rebellious Cossack chieftain (capably played by John Rys-Davies -- the Welsh are taking over Mother Russia!) should have added drama but instead only adds to the confusion regarding Catherine's true motivations. Earlier in the movie, when she's casually seizing power (coups were never so clean and easy as presented here), she announces her desire to free Russia's serfs; by movie's end, she is blithely executing her enemies in defence of the status quo. No explanations for this apparent sea-change are given. And we're supposed to find this character sympathetic? It's typical of this film's confused treatment of real history and people. There's no depth of characterization or feel for the intrigues and struggles of the times. And several scenes have been shamelessly stolen from other movies such as "Young Catherine" and "Waterloo".
It's a lazy, unengaging movie that offers little. Seek out the witty, intelligent, and lavish "Young Catherine" (which was actually filmed IN Russia) instead if you want to see a genuinely entertaining historical drama.
Description of Catherine the Great
A beautifully filmed drama about the rise of russias empress catherine ii and her steely determination to revolutionize her country in the mid-18th century. Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 02/27/2001 Starring: Emily Bruni Run time: 100 minutes Rating: NrBestsellers in DVD
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