"Peter the Great" (1986) TV mini-series

Directors:

Marvin J. Chomsky
Lawrence Schiller

Writers:

Edward Anhalt (writer)
Robert K. Massie (book)

Release Date:

2 February 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | War

Plot:

This is the story of Peter I, Tsar of Russia from 1682, and the constant struggle between him, his sister Sophia and the Streltsy...

Plot Keywords:

Russia | Costume | Great Northern War | TV Mini-Series | Pulitzer Prize Source

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Maximilian Schell	...	Peter the Great
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Sophia
Omar Sharif	...	Prince Feodor Romodanovsky
Trevor Howard	...	Sir Isaac Newton
Laurence Olivier	...	King William III of Orange
Helmut Griem	...	Alexander Menshikov
Jan Niklas	...	Young Peter the Great
Elke Sommer	...	Charlotte
Renée Soutendijk	...	Anna Mons
Ursula Andress	...	Athalie
Mel Ferrer	...	Frederick
Hanna Schygulla	...	Catherine Skevronskaya
Mike Gwilym	...	Shafirov
Günther Maria Halmer	...	Count Tolstoy
Olegar Fedoro	...	Boyar Lopukhin

Runtime:

Germany:360 min (4 parts) | USA:371 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

NBC Productions

Trivia:

The original producer/director Lawrence Schiller was fired after NBC was informed the project was going over budget. It was only after he was replaced that it was revealed the budget information was based on accounting error and not a production problem. Then, the lead actor left in the middle of production to direct an opera and only returned several weeks later.

Terribly historically inaccurate drivel.

This melodramatic Russian patriotic mini-series is supposed to depict the life of Peter the Great but purposely skips the most important incidents of the era. Much worse however is the way it attempts to re-write history to make Russia appear the helpless victim of an imperialistic and aggressive Sweden (at the time a Great Power in Europe), when in reality a weakened Sweden was attacked by a Russian/Polish/Danish alliance.

The Swedish king, Karl XII, is depicted as a foppish young womanizer, which is about as far from the truth you can come. At the same time, Peter is shown as a balanced visionary, with the prophetic (and ominous) vision that Russia's future (expansion) lies in the West. While it is true that Peter was in a sense the father and architect of modern Russia, he was also a drunkard and a ruthless imperialist. Furthermore the battles that are covered by the mini-series have basis in reality only as to the locations and the final outcomes (the Swedish army was always outnumbered by at least 3-1, had to attack heavy fortifications at Poltava, etc).

Few people realize just how pivotal this forgotten war between Sweden and the Russian alliance actually was. Had Sweden won (which it very nearly did), St. Petersburg would never have been built, Russia would have had no access to the Baltic Sea, and would likely have lost some territory as well as a huge sum of money - it would probably never have become the Great Power we know today. I can only recommend this mini-series to romantic Russian patriots and imperialists, who will no doubt swallow this falsified account of history without too much trouble.