not the historical accuracy is its best part. not the coherence of script. because it is only a portrait of a character who remains fascinating for large public. and only important thing is the performance of Christopher Lee who is real admirable. so, a thriller inspired by old recipes of genre. the mad man, puzzle from legends, the Imperial Russian Court and the fight against him . the atmosphere preserves the mark of Cold War. Rasputin becomes, scene by scene, symbol of obscure East who could not be explain but is useful for convincing script.the work of Christopher Lee is the basic element who defines the film . because it is only a thriller like many other from the same years. easy scary, eccentric characters, dramatic stories, version of a kind of literature who use poor effects for impress.

Taking a look on Amazon for DVD/Blu-Ray editions of Studiocanal's Hammer Horror titles,I spotted one which was being sold second hand by a seller at a surprisingly cheap price.Checking the back of the case,I noticed that one of the special features was an alt transfer of the movie,which allowed viewers to watch the film in its originally filmed aspect ratio for the first time ever,which led to me getting ready to find out how mad Rasputin could be.The plot:Angering the bishops in a small Russian town over his partying and being able to cure people of their illnesses with the touch of his hands, Grigori Rasputin decides to leave the countryside behind for St. Petersburg.Reaching St.Petersburg,Rasputin wins a drinking contest and becomes friends with his opponent Dr. Zargo.Pushing himself into Zargo's house, Rasputin begins to set his sight on the Russian royal family. Gaining access to "royal in waiting" Sonia,Rasputin soon reveals to Zargo that along with the power to heal,he also has the power to put people in a trance and make them do everything he demands.View on the film:Before I get to the film,I have to mention that Studiocanal have given the title a superb transfer,with the new aspect ratio allowing director Don Sharp & cinematographer Michael Reed establishing panning shots to at last be fully opened.Smartly deciding for the cast to not do Russian accents,Don Sharp & Michael Reed breathe life into the re-used sets of Dracula: Prince of Darkness,as elegant panning shots subtly reveal Rasputin's gradually closeness to the royals. Bathing the horror in Don Banks's shimmering score and rich reds and golds,Sharp attacks the horror with a psychologically icy relish,with the cold,hard camera locking the viewer on Rasputin's gaze,and extreme close-ups on Rasputin's hands brewing a chilling atmosphere,as Sharp makes it look like Rasputin is crushing people's heads with his bare hands.For the first half of the film,the screenplay by Anthony Hinds cleverly gets the viewer to drop their guard by giving the title surprising dashes of comedy,with Rasputin & Zargo's drinking contest being a hilarious set-piece.As Rasputin gets closer to the royals,Hinds unleashes a tough Gothic Horror edge with a real vicious streak,as Rasputin's supernatural powers are joined by "natural" evils,which includes a brutal stabbing and the throwing of acid on a face. Looking rather dashing in red silk,Christopher Lee gives a great performance as Rasputin,thanks to Lee giving the voice behind the long beard a seductive twang,which keep the wide-eye fury Lee shows in Rasputin's eyes hidden at bay.Originally being Rasputin's friend, Richard Pasco gives a striking performance as Zargo,who Pasco ties up with a fragile unease,as Zargo discovers the true mad monk behind Rasputin's eyes.

a kind of big error. but this was its purpose. clichés about Russia and Rasputin in a strange ball. and Christopher Lee as axis of this chaos.the film is fake and that is not a mistake in a period when the supposition about this subject was many. it is commercial product and this can be an excuse. but it is not enough. because it has not only connection with real facts. and the desire of Lee to do a credible Rasputin remains a great fiasco. sure, it is not a surprise. the desire is to impress and the accuracy is only insignificant detail. so, a cocktail Dracula - demonic monk - few dances and the victory of good guys is perfect recipes. a minor movie with strong smell of kitsch. and one of Christopher Lee roles who must be forgiven.

This is a quota quickie in which the shots are called so fast that no-one has time to tell the cast how to pronounce the name of the lead character. Mr Lee calls himself "Raspoot'n", but the princess calls him, "Raspewtin". It's also one of those movies that unwind at so snail-like a pace – and with such economy of production values – that one has to do something to wile away the time. Not only is the plot agonizingly slow, but it's predictable. Worse still, it's packed to the gunwales with trite, tedious, banal dialogue, and acted by trite, tedious, banal characters like scenery-chewing Christopher Lee. Considering the poor quality of the cast, incompetent director Don Sharp is remarkably free with his close-ups. He obviously wants to make sure that even the most unobservant, half-asleep audiences would be sure to recognize what rotten acting is being presented for their entertainment. Even the women are an unattractive lot – and that is unusual for a Hammer film. Of course, unadventurous photography doesn't help any. Even the most unattractive lass can look like Marilyn Monroe with the proper lighting. Aside from two or three obvious stock shots, the sets are unashamedly "B"-grade. True, there's occasionally a bit of action, but on a scale of one to ten, Hammer fans are likely to give this one a duck. It's way below Hammer's usual blood-and-thunder standard, and even a free beard is unlikely to attract any but the most sold-out Hammer customers.