Themes: Political Unrest, Rise To Power, Crowned Heads
Main Cast: Brian Blessed, Mel Ferrer, Hannes Jaenicke, Craig McLachlan, Jeanne Moreau, Ian Richardson, Omar Sharif, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul McGann
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
Marvin J. Chomsky's sweeping historical drama, Catherine the Great, features Catherine Zeta-Jones as the title character. The film traces how the leader was able to skillfully manipulate both the societal institutions of the day as well as the powerful men who surrounded her in order to gain control over all of Russia. The cast includes such notable performers as Omar Sharif, Jeanne Moreau, and Mel Ferrer. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
In this romanticized biography, a small German principality's unexperienced princess, Catherine, becomes the bride of czarevitch Peter, the mad and abusive nephew and heir of the Russian czarina Elisabeth, from whom she learns the cynical ropes of wielding absolute imperial power at any cost ... After Elisabeth's death, she quickly moves to seize power with military and courtier support and works to enlarge and modernize the empire...[2]
