Anastasia (1956)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Arthur Laurents, based on the play by Guy Bolton, which was in turn based on the original French play by Marcelle Maurette
Directed by Anatole Litvak
Cinematography by Jack Hildyard
Starring Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, Helen Hayes, Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt

Features:

• Newsreels
  
• Running audio commentary with film/music writer John Burlingame, scribe Laurents, film critics James MacArthus and Sylvia Stoddard
  
• Biography special
  
• Original theatrical trailer
  
• Restoration comparison
  

Released by: 20th Century Fox
Region: 1
Rating: NR
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Own it.

It's difficult, if not impossible to dislike an Ingrid Bergman movie...but when that movie also stars Yul Brynner and has Bergman at her most luminous, enough to earn her an Oscar when the film was released in 1956, then not loving this movie to pieces would probably cause Armageddon.

Anastasia retells the popular story about the rumored return of Anastasia Romanov (Bergman), the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II. Greedy, remorseless General Bounine (Brynner) hatches a plan: groom the beautiful but poor woman to fool Anastasia’s mother into thinking that she is the real thing. Along the way, however, Bounine starts to believe that Anna Anderson really is Anastasia, and even falls in love with her. But what about Anastasia's future? And will the grandmother be fooled? Could Anna, against all odds, actually be Anastasia Romanov?

One of the most fascinating things about this film is the myth that lies at the heart of it--did little Anastasia survive the Bolshevik Revolution, and if so, what happened to her? It is one of history's most enduring mysteries, and this version of the "what if?" is just as charming as you would hope. The ambiguity of the message, combined with the exploration of family, identity, and belonging, make this film a wonderful classic that will haunt you for days, as will Bergman's heart-rending performance of a young woman who just desperately wants a family and a place to belong, even if it’s not within royalty.

The audio and video quality of this release are both wonderful. Itself emblematic of why we have such a thing as letterboxing, it is also a relic of an age when Hollywood believed in being detailed, lavish, and beautiful--not slap-dash and "cool" instead. The audio lets you hear every strain in Bergman's voice as she carries incredible emotion, not to mention the marvelous lines that Brynner and Hayes get as they struggle with issues of duty and freedom.

The features list is impressive. The commentary is absolutely wonderful, and I highly recommend it. I found Stoddard's input particularly useful, not to mention that provided by Laurents himself. The addition of the Biography special on Anastasia, the historical personage, is also quite helpful, and if you haven’t heard much about the history itself, I suggest that you watch this feature first. We also get a couple of old newsreels from the 1950s, including some with real Romanov family footage--a very moving experience. I love this trend in old movies to include these newsreels, and I hope that other production companies pick up the practice. Finally, we also get to see a restoration comparison, and the original theatrical trailer.

In short, if you’ve never seen this film, then you absolutely should, and once you see it, you’ll want to own it. Fans of historical pieces, fantastic production values, and inspired acting will love it particularly, but it has something for everyone: romance, adventure, mystery, drama, even a bit of comedy and lighthearted fun. Anastasia is a fine confection that, without seeing itself as anything more than a faery tale, somehow manages to become something more--an example of the best of the cinematic arts, without needing to resort to tricks or heavy-handed tactics.