ANASTASIA is one of those movies I feel like I’ve seen parts of before, but never really sat down to watch the whole thing. I think my mom and sister must have rented it at some point, and I must have been in the room drawing or something while it was on TV.
This 1956 drama stars Ingrid Bergman as an unstable drifter who has been in and out of insane asylums, sometimes claiming to be the famed Grand Duchess of Russia, Anastasia, who was probably shot dead with the rest of her family, but then again maybe wasn’t.
She’s picked up by a former Russian General (Yul Brynner) who schemes to pass her off as the real thing in an effort to get in on an inheritance of about 10 million pounds. Unfortunately for Brynner, he must first convince an exiled and reclusive Empress, Anastasia’s Aunt (Helen Hayes) before he can convince anyone else.
Most of the film deals with scenes between Brynner and Bergman as teacher and student. Brynner is effective in the same way as he was in THE KING AND I, with the same striking presence and commanding tone. Bergman is suitably sympathetic as the mixed up girl and effortlessly flips between regal and down-and-out. Finally, the scenes with Hayes (interesting to see her some 25 years after A FAREWELL TO ARMS) are particularly emotional.
Unfortunately the rest of the material is a little flat, and this might be due to its origins as a stage play. Most of the scenes are long and set in one location, with theatrical entrances and exits. There doesn’t seem to have been many attempts to “open” the production up for the big screen, which is too bad, because it’s in beautiful color, is meticulously shot, and presented in stunning widescreen. The print is so pristine, it looks like it was shot yesterday.
There was another take on the Anastasia legend that came out in the late 90s, a cartoon musical from Fox, produced in an effort to duplicate Disney’s successful animated formula. I went to see this because a girl I had a crush on wanted to go. That remains the most interesting thing about the movie to me, and my mind wandered to memories of her as I watched the original live action version. I would say I wonder what she’s doing now, except Facebook exists.
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