- Actors: Maximilian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave, Omar Sharif, Laurence Olivier, Ursula Andress
- Directors: Marvin J. Chomsky, Lawrence Schiller
- Format: PAL, Import
- Language English
- Subtitles: Czech
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 2
- Classification: 15
- Run Time: 354 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B004N1LB82
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 14,311 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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SPECIAL 2-DISC SET containing the FULL 4-Part Mini-Series! Brand New & Factory Sealed. Region 2 PAL (UK & Europe). IMPORTANT: This is the official Czech release. The front cover is exactly as pictured and the back cover has Czech text. The discs themselves have optional Czech subtitles on/off. ORIGINAL ENGLISH SOUNDTRACK - GUARANTEED > > > > One of the most progressive leaders of the Romanov Dynasty, Tsar Peter the Great dragged Russia kicking and screaming out of the Dark Ages and into the Enlightenment. Having grown up with the children of German diplomats, Peter becomes infected with a love for western culture and travels to Europe for academic studies. Upon his return to Russia, the maverick ruler angers the established nobility by forcing them to adopt European ways... This sweeping 6-hour historical epic features a veritable who's-who of acting talent, including Maximilian Schell, Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave, Omar Sharif, Ursula Andress, Trevor Howard, Elke Sommer and Mel Ferrer. First broadcast in 1986, this sought-after Mini-Series is finally available on DVD ...
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
I have been looking long and hard for a DVD version of this great TV miniseries and I an glad to report that I finally found one, albeit with a very few limitations. First, the good news: this set consists of two genuine DVDs discs, not DVD-Rs dubbed from VHS tapes such as are offered by a number of websites. Accordingly, the quality of the video and audio (english, 2-channel dolby digital) is very good. Disc 1 has a total running time of 179 minutes and includes episodes 1 and 2, starring Jan Niklas as young Tsar Peter. Disc 2 has a total running time of 175 minutes and includes episodes 3 and 4, starring Maximilian Schell as the adult Tsar Peter. Total running time of 354 minutes instead of the 371 minutes indicated on the Independant Movie Data Base website can be explained as a result of the PAL speed-up effect which typically shortens running time by approximately 4%. As best as I can see this DVD set has not been edited. As for the limitations, there are basically two. First, while this is a real DVD, it's a bare bone one without extras of any kinds, no commentary and no featurettes, the only available (optional) subtitles are Czech. Second, which only really matters to US customers, this is a Region 2 DVD and you'll need a multi-region player enjoy it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
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I remember seeing this on TV many years ago and was delighted to see it is this Czech edition (with its helpful notes in english). This is biography on a grand scale, no CGI to save the salary budget back then, yet they still managed a very creditable Poltava. Large sets (with nice back mattes) and lots of good actors and actresses. The three actors who play Peter in various stages of his life are all very good at transmitting his energy and stubborness.
Naturally a lot has to be missed out (I missed his sister if she appeared) and some events dramatised. I had the vague suspicion that the time line had gone adrift a number of times but it was certainly true to the spirit of the age. The performance of Alexis Petrovich was especially good I thought. I would have liked to see something of the 1710 Turkish War where Peter got himself into exactly the sort of pickle that did for Charles XII at Poltava, but history loves a winner.
Naturally a lot has to be missed out (I missed his sister if she appeared) and some events dramatised. I had the vague suspicion that the time line had gone adrift a number of times but it was certainly true to the spirit of the age. The performance of Alexis Petrovich was especially good I thought. I would have liked to see something of the 1710 Turkish War where Peter got himself into exactly the sort of pickle that did for Charles XII at Poltava, but history loves a winner.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
This was a hard-to-find NBC TV mini series from the eighties. The packaging is in Czech language but the supplier had the courtesy of providing separately the basic translation in English of the DVD settings (the film is in its original English version). The DVD was promptly mailed, neatly packaged and was exactly as described. to sum up a highly professional and efficient supplier.
Regarding the film itself it's a masterpiece of a historical (true) period drama, in six hours,a super production relating the life and times of czar Peter the Great of Russia, with a stellar ensemble cast including Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave, Omar Sharif, Mel Ferrer, Ursula Andress,and Elke Sommer, some of them in cameo roles, but they look great in period costumes. Peter the Great is powerfully portrayed by Jan Niklas (younger czar) and Maximillian Schell (adult czar) with Maximillian Schell giving the character epic proportions in the latter years. The series is unpretentiously directed by Marvin Chomsky, with attention to detail to the prevailing conditions and settings of the times, for instance one does not feel artifical light was used at any time, as all filming seems to have been done outdoors in natural light or indoors with chandeliers and candle lights. The Director of photography is Vittorio Storaro who is the cinematographer of such visual feasts as The Last Emperor, Apocalypse now, and The Sheltering Sky. This mini-series was filmed on location in the ex USSR (Russia) when it was under Communism, with artistic and technical assistance of an extended russian crew, which was, at the time, a remarkable example of cultural cooperation between East and West. I hope this film gets a digital re-masterization, it deserves it, and it would be advisable to affix a (12) rating on the DVD due to scenes of some violence and mild intimate encounters. This must be one of the best ever made for TV historical films, and a great entertainment with palace intrigues, power politics, passionate relationships, and men and women who changed the course of history.
Regarding the film itself it's a masterpiece of a historical (true) period drama, in six hours,a super production relating the life and times of czar Peter the Great of Russia, with a stellar ensemble cast including Laurence Olivier, Vanessa Redgrave, Omar Sharif, Mel Ferrer, Ursula Andress,and Elke Sommer, some of them in cameo roles, but they look great in period costumes. Peter the Great is powerfully portrayed by Jan Niklas (younger czar) and Maximillian Schell (adult czar) with Maximillian Schell giving the character epic proportions in the latter years. The series is unpretentiously directed by Marvin Chomsky, with attention to detail to the prevailing conditions and settings of the times, for instance one does not feel artifical light was used at any time, as all filming seems to have been done outdoors in natural light or indoors with chandeliers and candle lights. The Director of photography is Vittorio Storaro who is the cinematographer of such visual feasts as The Last Emperor, Apocalypse now, and The Sheltering Sky. This mini-series was filmed on location in the ex USSR (Russia) when it was under Communism, with artistic and technical assistance of an extended russian crew, which was, at the time, a remarkable example of cultural cooperation between East and West. I hope this film gets a digital re-masterization, it deserves it, and it would be advisable to affix a (12) rating on the DVD due to scenes of some violence and mild intimate encounters. This must be one of the best ever made for TV historical films, and a great entertainment with palace intrigues, power politics, passionate relationships, and men and women who changed the course of history.
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