This lavish, overlong production chronicles the downfall of the last Russian czar Nicholas II (Michael Jayston), and his wife Alexandra (Janet Suzman). The film concentrates on their troubled family life, especially the affliction of their only son, Alexis (Roderic Noble), with
hemophilia. Nicholas's preoccupation with this tragedy influences state decisions and increases his disengagement from his starving people, while Alexandra falls completely under the influence of the profligate peasant monk Rasputin (Tom Baker), believing that his mystic powers can heal her son.
Rasputin's power increases in the Imperial Court despite Nicholas's weak efforts to maintain auth...