Young Catherine/TNT Version [VHS]

Director: Michael Anderson
Actors: Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Plummer, Franco Nero, Marthe Keller, Maximilian Schell
Studio: Warner Home Video

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Seller: closeoutmovies
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

27 reviews
Sales Rank: 5,415

Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 180 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1

ISBN: 6302025079
UPC: 053939561531
EAN: 9786302025071
ASIN: 6302025079

Theatrical Release Date: February 17, 1991
Release Date: May 29, 1991
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Editorial Reviews:

Description
The story of Catherine the Great, starting with her teenaged marriage into Russian royalty.

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 1-5 of 27

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CAPTURES THE SOUL OF CATHERINE THE GREAT June 11, 2010
Gabrielle Chana
I don't understand why all the great films can't seem to stay in circulation, or why they have to modify them into inferior versions. This is, by far, the most interesting film I've seen about Catherine the Great, and they take it out of circulation. I don't get it.

As a writer and screenwriter, I feel this film has great writing, with characters of depth and truthfulness. Julia Ormond's performance truly reveals the heart and soul of the teenage girl from a little known German royal family (princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, Prussia)--how she won over a nation, despite her German origins; how she mastered Russian language and culture, and overcame heartbreak and anguish over her Emperor husband (who disdained her in bed and threatened her life). In my memoir Catherine of King David (my website), I discuss how her genes live on in me.

When I watch this film, I feel that the Catherine the Great in me has risen up and defied granite mountains to scale the heights, so I sometimes watch this film for inspiration. The film ends with Catherine lifting up her crown high over her head--a fit metaphor for the life of Catherine the Great, because she came from nowhere, and triumphed against granite mountains to scale the heights. This production captures how she did it, how she scaled the heights as a lover and leader. No other film captures better the heart and soul of the princess from nowhere, who become the greatest head of state in possibly all of history.

I find this portrayal of Catherine the Great, the most revealing, the one that shows more than any other her heart and soul. My life parallels hers.

Though this film is not 100% historically accurate, I feel it's the most accurate in capturing the heart and soul of Catherine; and Julia Ormond looks like Catherine the Great and like me. Julia Ormond's performance is outstanding and she makes you believe that this young German princess could become the greatest head of state of all time. Though Catherine the Great had several lovers before she ascended to the Russian throne, Gregory Orlov seems to symbolize all of them. Gregory Orlov (in this film) helps us see the exciting passion of Catherine the Great--how this woman with charm, a sense of humor and womanliness (which is historically accurate), could become the one to inspire the Russian troops to orchestrate her coup for the throne. This is a fascinating cinematic experience (with intrigues, plots, heroics, and grandeur) and a passionate lover (Gregory Orlov) willing to die for his Empress. You'll see it here in all its glory.

In my favorite scene, she gets on horseback, and leads a coup in defiance of the armies of her husband Peter (an imbecile on the throne), and shouts, "Anyone who wants to kill your Empress. Here is your chance." Then all the men on the enemy side throw down their arms and run to her and embrace her, and Gregory (with her) stares at her in astonishment and pride: "You are indeed, an Empress".

This film captures how this woman had charm, courage and brilliance, how she treated the commoners who worked for her as equals and spoke to them in every day language, yet carried out deeds of greatness as if she just ate her breakfast.

This is probably the only production that captures how she poured her heart and soul into her men. Her men were willing to die for her, so she had to be a great lover. To me, no film captures how she was as a lover better than this one. In fact, the love story between Catherine the Great and Potemkin is considered one of the great romances of history. It must have meant a lot to Catherine the Great, because she died shortly after Potemkin died.

I liked the original TNT version that came out in 1991 best, but lost it. But this one is still good. I guess that they tried to edit out from the earlier version portions that may not have been historically accurate, but, if that's the case, they still should have left the 1991 version alone, because it was superior to what they have out now.

If I'm right that they edited the earlier version to remove glaring historical inaccuracies, then I wish this production would have put a postscript somewhere in the film that said something like this: "Though the real Catherine the Great had an affair with Serge Saltykov, Stanislaw Ponistowski, and Gregory Orlov before she ascended the throne, we have combined all these lovers into the character of Gregory Orlov for dramatic impact. In this respect, we have violated historical accuracy. Too many lovers in the story takes away from our focus on her heart and soul, and how this young princess from nowhere became the greatest head of state and lover in Russian history and perhaps all of history." Perhaps, with this postscript, they could have left the superior TNT version (that came out in 1991) alone, and let us enjoy it in all its glory, despite the minor historical inaccuracies.

1 out of 5 stars

Young Catherine VHS - Tape One of Two May 27, 2010
M. Derfler (Lombard, IL)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

VHS was fine, typical grainy for this movie, which is a lovely movie. However, in purchasing the tape, it didn't list that it was tape one of two. VHS comes in TWO PARTS! Purchased the DVD for the same price and he has both parts on it. Great seller, though. Highly recommend.

5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable January 28, 2009
Rita Campbell (Wasilla, AK, USA)
Julia Ormond is incandescent and extraordinarily lovely, in this early role. The part truly suits her. The seasoned supporting actors are wonderful. The beautiful scenery and music casts a spell on the viewer. My only complaint is that it ought to be available on DVD.

4 out of 5 stars

young catherine Not entire TNT December 24, 2008
J. Hemmingsen (mi)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

While it still isn't the entire version that was on TNT it is quite good.
Very small scenes that weren't necessary in the first place are missing.
Everything else is there and beautifully done.
I would recommend this to all who have missed the TNT product. I have the dvd also and this is the better of the two.

5 out of 5 stars

YOUNG CATHERINE June 9, 2008
Lizzy Bennett (Water,winter,wonderland)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

As I am currently changing all my VHS tapes over to DVD's I am struggling with some really good "old" mostly historical tapes that I don't think will ever be transferred over to DVD, and this is one of them.....the only copy I had, prior to acquiring this one is an old tape from the actual TV drama itself which has been played so often that it is skipping and missing words. I believe that some individual was selling a DVD that they had made but the review was that the picture quality was lousy, so I won't go there. My personally opinion on this movie is that IT IS THE VERY BEST PORTRAYAL of Catherine the Great of Russia. Unfortunately there was a much more recent remake with Catherine Zeta Jones in the starring role....forget that! Julia Ormond leaves Zeta Jones in the dust when it comes to playing this great role and the line up of well known extremly talented stars who play numerous parts is mind boggling. Some of the story is a best guess because nobody really knew the truth about Catherines' rise to power (which is not unusual in anything coming out of Russia) But the story line is splendid and absolutely everything that is portayed 'could' have happened. Color, costumes, spacious frozen scenery, huge houses and castles will take your breath away. I do not know if I might try to get this transferred over myself because I know that the life of the VCR is limited and sooner or later tapes won't be a viable alternative but, until that is the case I will watch this over and over again. If you can get hold of a copy of this before they are all go PLEASE DO SO, you won't regret it. I hope upon hope that the movie makers will take a second look and bring this out on DVD because it is well worth it as it is so superior to the Zeta Jones version.

Showing reviews 1-5 of 27

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