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| Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna | 
 enlarge | Director: Marvin J. Chomsky
Actors: Amy Irving, Olivia De Havilland, Jan Niklas, Nicolas Surovy, Susan Lucci
Studio: Allumination
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $8.74
You Save: $6.24 (42%)
New (10) Used (4) from $8.74
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 14507
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 200
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: AFW27382
UPC: 783722738221
EAN: 0783722738221
ASIN: B000I5X7WK
Theatrical Release Date: December 7, 1986
Release Date: October 31, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW sealed shipped daily. International Shipping via Air Mail.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The story of the woman who insisted she was Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last czar of Russia, is complicated. This 1986 telefilm makes it even more so because it's one of those "fact-based" dramas. Its most annoying invention is Anastasia's romance with a prince who never actually existed. Fiction aside, the first two-thirds of the 210-minute movie are dramatic and captivating. The Romanov family is imprisoned and executed, yet Anastasia reappears years later in Berlin in 1923; Amy Irving becomes the iron-willed yet fragile Anna who battles to be recognized by the remaining Romanovs. Gently paced and beautifully shot and staged, the film only starts to lose steam when Anna comes to New York to make her case in the American press. It takes a bunch of Americans, including Susan Lucci as a stateside Romanov relative, to make the tale seem common. Back in London, Olivia de Havilland is a treasure as the dowager empress who won't recognize Anastasia, although there is much evidence in her favor. The film is a great introduction to the mystery, despite its fiction-augmented recounting of history. After watching the movie, get the book it was largely based on, Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth, for a gripping read that just might make you believe in this princess. --Valerie J. Nelson
Product Description
In July of 1918 the Bolsheviks shot Russian Czar Nicholas II his wife and their five children during the Russian Revolution. So begins the epic saga of Anna Anderson the woman who claimed until the day she died in 1984 that she was truly Grand Duchess Anastasia the youngest child of Czar Nicholas II and sole survivor of the family's execution. Her story became one of the greatest romantic mysteries of the twentieth century. This breathtaking adaptation of Anna's journey is also a depiction of a lost era from her days of Russian royalty her flight from execution and her years of struggle to reclaim her royal heritage. Amy Irving leads a luminary cast in this spectacular drama filled with triumph tragedy mystery and hope.Originally aired on TV in 1986.System Requirements:Run Time: 200 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 783722738221 Manufacturer No: AFW27382
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Great Movie! January 31, 2008
I just watched this on TV the other night and decided I "needed" it for my DVD collection. This movie will make you believe that Anna Anderson was, in fact, Anastasia Romanov. However, recent DNA evidence has proven that Anna Anderson was not a Romanov. In any case the acting is superb and the costuming is beautiful. It's a great story all by itself whether or not it was based on truth. It's right up there with Sidney Sheldon's "The Other Side of Midnight" and Danielle Steel's "Crossings".
Fascinating movie with a great cast January 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Although we can now be almost certain, due to DNA tests, that Anna Anderson was not the real Anastasia, the story is still fascinating. And there is more to it than whether she was Anastasia or not. It's the story about a person looking for her identity (and I'm sure she believed she was Anastasia) and the story of how people react to her claims.
30 years before this TV movie was made, Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar playing the same character. It's beyond me how Amy Irving didn't win an Emmy for her performance. It is acting at its best. She was nominated for a Golden Globe but didn't win. Jan Niklas, in my opinion giving one of the weaker performances, won a Golden Globe. Irving also gets great help from several legendary actors. Rex Harrison, in his last performance, is the best of the supporting actors.
I can be impatient sometimes and don't usually watch movies this long, but "Anastasia" kept my interest non-stop for over three hours. Don't miss it.
Anastasia-Mini Series May 31, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This mini series has an impressive cast and top production. If you are a Romanoff buff, you will love this production.
 An engaging movie with historical signifance May 30, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
the only reason that I rated this movie with 4 stars is that I have not read any books that are totally non-fictional on the subject. If I can take the movie for a fictional rendition that has truth in its core, then I could not have been more fascinated! Amy Irving is, as always, an exceptional actress and I aplaud her. A long but riviting movie!
A Glittering Television Adaptation! May 9, 2006
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna was a two-part star studded historical T.V. movie based on the Peter Kurth book, Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson. It keeps up historically pretty much, names are changed etc. But sticks to the real story quite well. Omar Sharif and Claire Bloom do quite well as the Russian royals, Czar Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra. What stuck out in my mind was the all too short portrayals by Rex Harrison and Olivia De Havilland. All in all it was a pretty classy production with some fine acting. I was quite awestruck by the production values when it first aired on NBC in late 1986. Also starring was the fine German actor Jan Niklas who had previously starred in NBC's other Russian epic "Peter the Great".
I felt that Part 2 skipped over some important details of Anna Anderson's trip to America. It's important to know too, that in 1986 less was known about the Anna Anderson story. Back then it was still not known whether her claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia was genuine. By the late 1990's more was known and Anna Anderson is now reputed to have been a fraud.
Too bad the networks aren't making fine made-for-television movies like this anymore.
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