Fall of Eagles
by Stuart Burge
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Barry Foster, Charles Kay, Gayle Hunnicutt, Laurence Naismith, Michael HordernDirector: Stuart Burge
Brand: Koch International
Cinematographer: A.A. Englander
Editor: Peter Evans
Editor: Sheila S. Tomlinson
Writer: John Elliot
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Box set, Color, Content/Copy-Protected CD, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 650 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Koch Vision
Product features:
- Fall of Eagles is the BBC's stunning 1974 dramatisation of the declining years and final collapse of three of the most powerful European dynasties the Hapsburgs, Romanovs and Hohenzollerns between the mid-19th century and the end of the First World War. The series focuses on the tempestuous reigns of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary (Laurence Naismith), Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (Charle
Movie Reviews of Fall of Eagles
Movie Review: Tremendous retrospective of WW I events (all the episode details):
Summary: 5 Stars
I can hardly recall when I've viewed a television mini-series on DVD with more pleasure.
The Story: This 1974 BBC mini-series portrays the events and incidents which ultimately sparked off World War I and details much of the horror (as well as the lunacy) of that tragic conflagration, 98% of the focus being on the Europeans and Russia. There's little mention of the late-period U.S. involvement which does not at all take away from this remarkable production.
After 1848, the iron-fisted European Monarchs (chiefly Russia, Prussia/Germany, and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire) began to feel significant pressures to initiate reforms by the people whom they ruled. Great Britain's monarchy had pretty much already lost its legislative power to the country's Prime Minister and Parliament but, especially prior to World War One, the English monarchs were somewhat sympathetic with the European rulers for two reasons:
1. Great Britain's royalty was strongly rooted in Germany.
2. Three of Queen Victoria's grandsons had respectively become (or ultimately became) the rulers of Great Britain (King George V)); Germany (Kaiser "Willy" Wilhelm II); and, Russia (Tsar Nicholas II). She also had many other descendants and in-laws sprinkled across the European continent and intermarrying within the family realm was much encouraged. Unfortunately, Queen Victoria sported the hemophilia gene which carried on down to many of her descendants - the stricken females were the "carriers" and the males bore the disease.
Due in part to intriguers, old alliances, economic issues, treaties, and outdated philosophies, (but primarily to the outright hubris, power-monging, and stupidity of the involved monarchs), a chain of political events challenged the egos of these autocratic leaders and they all failed to envision the consequences of their bad tempers and collective apathy.
This mini-series particularly hones in upon the human facets of all these national peccadilloes from unfortunate royal successions, to the disastrous Russo-Japanese War, to mishandling insurgent trouble in the Balkans, to the aloofness of the Tsarina Alexandra and her ill-advised partnership with "starets" Grigory Rasputin. The chronicle ends with the murder of the Tsar and his family and Russia's Bolshevik Revolution.
As an enthusiastic history buff of this realm and period I'm compelled to remark that the casting throughout the episodes was nothing short of flawless. Here are just a few who will have you convinced that they were the actual characters (in both appearance and mannerism) whom they respectively portrayed:
Charles Kay -- Tsar Nicholas II
Gayle Hunnicutt -- Tsarina Alexandra
Patrick Stewart - Ulyanov (Lenin)
Curt Jürgens -- Otto von Bismarck
Barry Foster - [adult] "Willy" (Kaiser Wilhelm II)
Michael Aldridge - Grigory Rasputin
Additionally, these folks were each clearly plugged in to the actual historical personalities whom they played. The volume of research which perceptibly went into this mini-series becomes immediately apparent to the viewer.
The titles of the episodes would tell the prospective buyer very little in regard to what transpired in each one. At the cost of yielding up a lengthy review which some folks will not wish to read, I have appended a brief description to each entry. Many of these fine actors are not listed on the Internet Movie Database [IMDB] website and only a few are named on the product packaging. (I'm hardly an expert on WW I and if I have spoken poorly in describing some of these events, please forgive my unawareness):
1) Death Waltz - [Begins on Disc #1.] A narrator (Michael Hordern, who briefly narrates intermittent spots throughout the series) opens the scene in 1848 describing insurgent activity in the Balkans. Hapsburg Emperor Franz Joseph of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire crushes the ethnic Hungarians who were rioting over the self-rule issue. The Archduchess Sophia (Pamela Brown) expresses open discontent with her son's, Franz Joseph's (Miles Anderson) new wife, Elisabeth (Diane Keen), a young lady who sympathizes with the rebellious Hungarians. [Episode directed by Bill Hays.]
2) The English Princess - The scene opens in London, 1858: Queen Victoria (Perlita Neilson) and Prince Albert's (Frank Thornton) daughter, "Vicky" (Gemma Jones) marries Prussian Prince Frederich "Fritz" William (Denis Lil), thereby linking the two monarchies. Vicky gives birth to their son, "Willy," ("young Willy" being played by Adam Cunliffe.) Prince Albert dies. Conflict arises between Prussia, ruled by Kaiser Wilhelm I (Maurin Denham), and Austria. In 1870, the rising power-baron of Prussia, Otto von Bismark (Curt Jürgens), provokes France into attacking Prussia and the French are ultimately soundly defeated at Sedan. German-Prussian unification moves closer to reality under Bismarck's shrewd guidance. [Episode directed by David Cunliffe.]
3) The Honest Broker - France is left very weak after the war with Prussia - Napoleon III flees to England and France proclaims a Third Republic. Prussia becomes formidable with increasing industrial development. Germany is finally united under the House of Hohenzollern. Princes of the German states gathered at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France to proclaim Wilhelm I of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm I of the German Empire subsequent to the French capitulation in the Franco-Prussian War. A "League of Emperors" is formed: Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, German Kaiser Wilhelm I, and Tsar Alexander III (Tony Jay.) Bismarck ("The Honest Broker") had become Chancellor of Germany and ultimately served for two decades. Wilhelm I dies in 1888 but his son Fritz lives only briefly thereafter and then dies of throat cancer - this places an inept and hubristic "Willy" in power as Kaiser Wilhelm II, ("adult Willy" is giftedly played by Barry Foster.) "Willy" brashly forces Bismark into retirement. [Episode directed by David Cunliffe.]
4) Requiem for a Crown Prince - This is my personal favorite among all the episodes because it's all about a sex scandal, murder, and suicide within a royal family. This entry also features a bounty of magnificent outdoor scenery. In 1889, the Emperor of Austria-Hungary was Franz Joseph. His son, the liberal and philandering Crown Prince Rudolph committed suicide by blowing his head off with a handgun, shortly after having killed his very young mistress at the royal family's sprawling and elaborate hunting lodge. Franz Joseph (Laurence Naismith) and his wife, the Empress Elisabeth (Rachel Gurney), attempt to suppress the scandal (unsuccessfully) and the Emperor's liberal nephew, Franz Ferdinand, thus becomes the heir apparent to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. [Episode directed by James Ferman.]
5) The Last Tsar - [Begins on Disc #2.] The episode commences in 1884 under the new reign of Alexander III of Russia. Alexander's son, Nicholas (Charles Kay), carouses throughout St. Petersburg with rowdy friends, lending scant personal attention or concern to the fact that he is the Tsarevich, (heir apparent to the Russian throne.) Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (a.k.a. "Lenin," played by Patrick Stewart) arrives in St. Petersburg (the "northern capital" of Russia), and sets up shop where he meets his future wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, (Lynn Farleigh.) Nicholas travels to Germany to propose to his princess cousin, Alix of Hesse who becomes the future Tsarina Alexandra (Gayle Hunnicutt). The event manifests a sizeable family reunion of European royals with Queen Victoria ("old" Queen Victoria is played by Mavis Edwards) at the helm and Kaiser Wilhelm II providing moral support for his anxious cousin, Nicholas. Alexander III dies unexpectedly and Nicholas becomes "The Last Tsar" (Nicholas II) to ever rule Russia. At the beginning of this entry, "young" Nicholas (at his Grandfather's funeral) is played by John Sanderson. [Episode directed by Bill Hays.]
6) Absolute Beginners - Anarchists, Jews, social revolutionaries, and Marxists all become active in Russia, especially in St. Petersburg. Trotsky (Michael Kitchen) and Lenin meet for the first time. In 1903, (two years before the first Russian Revolution, which failed), the Bolsheviks (majority) and the Mensheviks (minority) part ways over party doctrines at an "Exile Congress" held in London. Another key character, Martov, is played by Edward Wilson. [Episode directed by Gareth Davies.]
7) Dearest Nicky - Kaiser "Willy" Wilhelm II urges Nicholas II to attack the Japanese over the sticky issue of Japan wanting the Russian military presence eliminated from Port Arthur on the Korean Peninsula. This was a strategic and crucial military and economic Pacific port for Russia. Von Plehve (Bruce Purchase) raises his concerns with the Tsar about dangerous domestic revolutionary activity. Kaiser Wilhelm II provokes the ire of Great Britain as Germany lends naval support to the Tsar and some British fishing boats are misguidedly sunk, having been foolishly mistaken for Japanese war ships. Corrupt Russian officials conspire with Orthodox Church leaders and their minions to repress Russian workers. Von Plehve, who was an inept minister, reviled by most Russians, is assassinated when a bomb is tossed into his carriage. The Tsarevich, Alexis, is born - the child is cursed with hemophilia. Workers gather by the thousands at the Tsar's Winter Palace in a peaceful assembly to present the Tsar with a petition in a plea for basic rights. Soldiers and police fire indiscriminately on the group and the incident becomes known internationally as "Bloody Sunday" - the Tsar and the Tsarina remain insensitive to the human carnage. [Episode directed by Bill Hays.]
8) The Appointment - In Russia, Grand Duke Sergius (the Tsar's uncle) is assassinated by revolutionaries. The hard-core Ratchkovsky (Michael Bryant) is subsequently appointed by the Tsar to administer the police force, including the "Black Band" secret police. Ratchkovsky allows revolutionary thought and insurrection to blossom. Exiled revolutionaries are thus duped into returning to Russia and Ratchkovsky's Black Band assassins begin killing off key revolutionary leaders. Father Gapon (Kenneth Colley) is bribed to function as a police informant. The Duma (parliament) is formed with Sergei Witte (Freddie Jones) as leader. In 1905, Moscow is stormed by the military to quell worker strikes. As more peaceful conditions prevail the Duma is dissolved by the Tsar. [Episode directed by David Cunliffe.]
9) Dress Rehearsal - [Begins on Disc #3.] 1908: King Edward VII of Great Britain (Derek Francis) meets with his nephew, Nicholas II, aboard the latter's ship, the "Standart." Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Isvolsky (Peter Vaughn) commences a diplomatic intrigue: He instigates a pact with Austrian Foreign Minister Aehrenthal (John Moffatt) to help open the Dardanelle Straits (a waterway controlled by Turkey along the Gallipoli Peninsula) to Russian Naval warships. The secret Russian quid pro quo is to involve the abandonment of Russian support for their close allies, the Serbs, as Austria expands its Empire. Isvolsky operates autonomously, neither informing the Tsar or his key ministers of his ill-conceived covert plan. The crushing defeat of Russia by Japan leaves Russia in economic and military ruin. Aehrenthal fleeces Isvolsky into signing a surreptitious deal between Austria and Russia which, when revealed prematurely, sets off a firestorm of rage across Europe as Austria announces its annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Tsar appeals to his cousin, German Emperor Wilhelm II, to intervene with Austria but the Kaiser ultimately supports the annexation. Austria's army stands against Serbia -- Serbian appeals to the Tsar go unanswered. By this final series of international incidents, the World War One battle lines are plainly established. French Foreign Minister Clemenceau is artfully played by John Bennett; Great Britain's Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, is played by Tom Criddle, and; Frank Middlemass conveys a particularly first-rate performance as the Russian Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Stolypin - Middlemass is also renowned for his inspired performances in both Crime & Punishment - The Complete Miniseries (as Mameladov) and, as General Kutuzov in War & Peace (1972). I also wanted to remark that in this episode, the Tsar and Tsarina's hubristic attitude episode is artfully manifested by the festivities scene on the Standart, where the entire family dances lightheartedly to Chopin's Polonaise in A Major, op. 40 No.1, "Military," (Chopin: Favorite Piano Works) while the masses in St. Petersburg are wretched and starving. [Episode directed by Rudolph Cartier.]
10) Indian Summer of an Emperor - Austrian Emperor Franz Josef, now 84, faces anti-monarch insurgency in Serbia, Romania, Montenegro, and elsewhere throughout his realm. "Moving pictures" (films) come to Austria! Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand (Peter Woodthorpe) sets up a farcical "rabbit hunt" for his pal Kaiser Wilhelm II (they shoot just released tame rabbits from the rear seat of a luxury car.) "Willy" gives him some sage counsel on dealing with the ethnic minorities within the Empire: "Rule them with an Iron Fist!" Franz Josef expresses his distaste for Franz Ferdinand's wife, the Archduchess Sophie. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie are assassinated by revolutionaries as they tour Sarajevo, thus making Franz Josef's other nephew, Archduke Karl (Roy McArthur), the heir apparent. Other key characters/actors include T.P. McKenna as Count (General) Conrad von Hotzendorf; Heather Page as the Archduchess Zita (Karl's wife), and; George Merritt as Ketterl (faithful servant to Franz Josef.) This episode would have been much better if they had portrayed an outdoor scene of Franz Ferdinand's assassination but for some reason, this pivotal incident was glossed over and simply referred to in the script by the principal characters. [Episode directed by Donald McWhinnie.]
11) Tell the King the Sky Is Falling - July 29, 1914: Austrian armies attack Belgrade, Serbia. The Serbs plead for help from the Tsar. Russian and German armies both mobilize - Germany declares war on Russia on August 1. On August 3, Germany attacks Belgium and France. Concern for the Tsarevich Alexis's (Piers Flint-Shipman) hemophilia reaches a pinnacle. The Tsar foolishly takes on the job of military Commander-in-Chief and travels south to his headquarters near the front. The Tsarina, who blindly follows the deplorable advice of the incompetent and malicious Interior Minister Alexander Protopopov (Hugh Burden), the witless Madame Vyrubova, and the infamous "Mad Monk," Grigory Rasputin (Michael Aldridge), quickly reduces political matters in St. Petersburg to a shambles. The Duma, led by Mikhail Rodzianko (Charles Gray) is again dissolved. When the malleable and naïve Tsar is persuaded to reconvene the Duma, the Tsarina throws a hysterical tantrum and quickly travels to the front to put pressure on her husband to reverse himself yet again. Prime Minister A. F. Trepov (Frank Mills) attempts to bribe Rasputin to turn on the Quixotic Alexander Protopopov but the unsavory Mad Monk refuses - but he accurately predicts to Trepov his own (Rasputin's) imminent death and the fact that the Russian Monarchy will soon fall to the revolutionaries. [Episode directed by David Sullivan Proudfoot.]
12) The Secret War - Kaiser Wilhelm II tires of the war. He is persuaded by his advisors that the eastern front must be promptly eliminated in order to strengthen their forces against France and Great Britain. To that aim, a decision is made to disrupt Russia politically by supporting the Marxist Bolsheviks, a group which opposes the war and is willing to strike a separate peace with the Central Powers. Unrestricted submarine warfare, an idea promoted by Admiral Von Holtzendorf (Alan Cullen), brings the United States into the war on the side of the Allies. Rasputin is murdered. The Duma, agitated by Kerensky (Jim Norton), gains strength. St. Petersburg has been re-named "Petrograd" (because the original name sounded "too German") - food riots continue there and the Imperial Garrison begins to mutiny, siding with the workers. Dr. Alexander Helphand (Michael Gough) meets with German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg (Peter Copley) to make arrangements for Lenin and other revolutionaries to re-enter Russia, from Switzerland, via a train through Germany. Kerensky, a Social Revolutionary Party leader in the Duma, presses to prolong Russia's participation in the war. The Tsar orders the Duma to dissolve and they reject his order. Revolution prevails as Cossacks refuse to follow royal commands. Protopopov is arrested and the Tsar is forced to abdicate by General Ruzski (Esmond Knight.) Lenin arrives in Petrograd to a hero's welcome. [Episode directed by Michael-Lindsay Hogg.]
13) End Game - [Begins on Disc #4.] In October, 1917, Lenin's Bolsheviks seize power in a nationwide coup. They sign a separate peace agreement with Germany in March, 1918, taking Russia out of the war. Austrian Emperor Franz Josef dies and the new Emperor, former Prince Karl, urges Germany to the peace table. Austria's monarchy and its army disintegrate. Former Tsar Nicholas II and his entire family are murdered by the Bolsheviks. (It would have been nice had there been more focus on this appalling incident - it simply rates a minor mention.) In August, 1918, the Germans unsuccessfully launch an attack on their western front against the Allies - Great Britain counter-attacks with large tanks and the German soldiers reel. Kaiser Wilhelm II meets with his military and ministerial staff near the front to discuss terms for an armistice. General Ludendorff (Michael Bates) collapses from exhaustion. German Field Marshall Hindenburg (Marius Goring) remains calm and steers policy. The Kaiser's cousin, Prince Max (Laurence Hardy), is appointed Chancellor of Germany - he forces the radical General Ludendorff to resign with the backing of the Kaiser. Then, Prince Max publicly announces the Kaiser's abdication and while the Kaiser is furious, he's nonetheless powerless to regain his monarchy. Prince Max resigns and hands over the government to the Social Democrat leadership - Hindenburg supports them with the military to restore order throughout the country. Former Kaiser "Willy" Wilhelm II flees to Holland and is given refuge at the mansion of Count Bentinck (Kevin Brennan.) I laughed aloud when the director shrewdly injected some clever humor at one point just to lighten the script: The Kaiser is in his last gasp of power, timidly approaching his wife with the subject of their son's illicit love affair with a French widow, and to calm his nerves he hums Wagner: The Ride of the Valkyries, Overtures and Choruses. [Episode directed by Rudolph Cartier.]
Some interesting trivia, if you'd like to read most of this fascinating true story in book form (sometimes, word for word) then you can acquire this noteworthy book, originally published in 1967 but now revised: Nicholas and Alexandra. It's quite helpful to one's comprehension to read the book prior to viewing the mini-series.
Another item, the "Fall of Eagles" title refers to the respective monograms of each of the three monarchies (two Central Powers and one Allied Power), Austria-Hungary, Prussia/Germany, and Russia. Each of these insignia features some depiction of an eagle.
Finally, the incidental music for the mini-series was composed by Kenneth Platts. The opening and closing theme, however, is the opening trumpet and orchestral performance of Mahler: Symphony No. 5, a momentous composition completed by the Bohemian born Austrian composer-conductor in 1902 -- it was arguably the most famous of all his symphonies. Ironically, Mahler died in 1911, prior to the start of World War One - but this was certainly a fine selection for characterizing the relevant music central to the location and period of the account.
To summarize, this mini-series comes in double-boxed packaging (very nice) and is conveyed on four discs, the final one featuring a few interviews with one of the episode directors and some key cast members. There's also a "photo gallery" on this disc. The aspect ratio (4 x 3) is configured to fill the traditional-type television screen but looks just fine on a widescreen TV too. The clarity of the picture is terrific - all outdoors shots were captured on film and the indoor scenes were shot on videotape. The total running time for the entire mini-series is 10 hours 50 minutes I highly recommend it.
Summary of Fall of Eagles
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