Thrown out of his monastery for licentious and drunken behavior, Rasputin travels to St Petersburg in pursuit of wealth and prestige. He soon gains influence at court with his powers of heal... Read allThrown out of his monastery for licentious and drunken behavior, Rasputin travels to St Petersburg in pursuit of wealth and prestige. He soon gains influence at court with his powers of healing and of hypnotism.Thrown out of his monastery for licentious and drunken behavior, Rasputin travels to St Petersburg in pursuit of wealth and prestige. He soon gains influence at court with his powers of healing and of hypnotism.
- Alexandra, Tsarina
- (as Renee Asherson)
- Superior Lady
- (uncredited)
- Michael
- (uncredited)
- First Tart
- (uncredited)
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilmed back-to-back with "Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)," using many of the same cast members and sets.
- GoofsIvan has a bloody lip at the end of the film, with no explanation as to its cause. In fact, the injury was the result of an extended fight sequence, which they spent several days filming, but which was eventually cut from the finished film.
- Quotes
Grigori Rasputin: When I go to confession I don't offer God small sins, petty squabbles, jealousies... I offer him sins worth forgiving!
- Alternate versionsThe UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove shots of a man's acid-scarred face and to shorten the love scene between Rasputin and Sonia, and VHS releases featured the same cut print. The cuts were restored in the 2003 Warner DVD and all subsequent releases.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Deadly Earnest's Nightmare Theatre: Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1978)
For those of you who don't know, Grigori Rasputin was a real-life Russian mystic/hypnotist/con-artist who had a heavy influence on the Tsarist government of Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra, after apparently healing their son Alexei as he lay dying from haemophilia. The film is less concerned with the politics of the time, and instead focuses on Rasputin's love for drinking, women, and generally being a bit of a bastard, as he hypnotises and heals his way through society and into the bed of lady-in-waiting Sonia (Barbara Shelley).
The film wastes no time introducing Rasputin's maverick attitudes to monkhood, as he heals a saloon owner's wife on her death bed so he can get served a drink, and proceeds to sing and drink the night way before hacking a man's hand off in a fight. Fleeing to Moscow after being hauled in front of the bishop for his unorthodox ways, he gains influence over a disgraced doctor and begins to plan his rise to power.
The film's main strength is undoubtedly Lee's performance as the mad Russian, as he dominates every scene with his intense, piercing eyes and booming voice, with his towering frame overshadowing everyone that comes across his path. The scene in which he does a celebratory dance after beating a challenger in a drinking contest only to mistake some onlookers for laughing at him is both weird and intimidating as he demands an apology. It is a great mix of thespian presence and Gothic camp that makes the Hammer films, and more notably Christopher Lee's performances for the studio, that extra bit special.
Rasputin The Mad Monk is a thoroughly enjoyable film, anchored by Lee's performance and Hammer's usual beautiful Technicolour cinematography, and is made all the better by leaving out the politics and concentrating on creating a memorable film character.
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- tomgillespie2002
- Feb 13, 2011
- How long is Rasputin: The Mad Monk?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1(original negative)