Catherine II in the cinema: Which of the actresses more convincingly got used to the image of the empress

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Catherine the Great is one of the brightest, most controversial, extraordinary and interesting figures in Russian history. Both in foreign and domestic cinema, attempts have been made more than once to embody her image on screens. Which of the actresses looks most convincing in the role of the empress is up to you to judge.

One of the first images of Catherine II was tried on by the famous actress and singer Marlene Dietrich in the pseudo-historical film “Bloody Empress” by Hollywood director Joseph von Sternberg in 1934. The film did not initially claim to be a biopic, historical events were interpreted in it freely, with a fair amount of fiction. the filmmakers had very abstract ideas about the life and culture of Russians, and the props, outfits and decorations were far from reality.

One of the first in Soviet cinema to play the empress was Zoya Vasilkova, in a small episode of Alexander Rowe's film Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. Despite the fact that she appeared on the screens for only a few minutes, many viewers noticed her in this role and called her one of the best incarnations of this image on the screens.

Attempts have been made more than once to create a cinema in the genre of comedy about Catherine's era. In 1968 in Great Britain the film "Catherine the Great" was shot based on the humorous play by Bernard Shaw. In it, the Empress, played by Jeanne Moreau, is presented in an unattractive light. According to the plot, she laid eyes on a British officer who came to Russia, and he diligently avoids meeting her.

In the television play "The Captain's Daughter", the role of Catherine II was played by Natalya Gundareva, who created the "home" image of the empress, who always remained primarily a woman, and not an all-powerful ruler.

One of the most striking incarnations of the image of Catherine the Great in cinema is called the role of Svetlana Kryuchkova in the film "The Tsar's Hunt". In her performance, the empress looks calm, confident and domineering. At the same time, all the main characters - and Princess Tarakanova, and Count Orlov, and Catherine herself - are shown to be deceitful, hypocritical and cruel. This role was not easy for Svetlana Kryuchkova - in the process of preparing for filming, the actress had to learn to ride and learn to speak with a German accent, like her heroine. To do this, for six months she listened to texts written by a German woman in Russian in order to achieve the same pronunciation.

In 1991, the Russian empress was played by Hollywood actress Julia Ormond. The film "Young Catherine" was dedicated to the beginning of her path, even before she became an omnipotent ruler. True, the director made the main emphasis not on historical accuracy, but on entertainment. The costumes for this film were created at Lenfilm, and the artist Larisa Konnikova was nominated for an Emmy for this work.

One of the most unexpected was the choice of the singer Kristina Orbakaite for the role of Catherine, who played the empress in her youth in Svetlana Druzhinina's film "Vivat, Midshipmen!" The tall, slender actress did not at all correspond to the image that was captured in the portraits of Catherine II.

In the film of the Russian-Japanese production "Dreams of Russia", the role of Catherine II went to Marina Vlady. The plot was based on real events: once, during a storm, a Japanese ship washed up on the Russian coast, and the sailors managed to return home only 9 years later, after an audience with Catherine the Great. And although the film was not about the Russian empress, but about the misadventures of the Japanese sailors, it should be noted that the French actress with Russian roots in this image looked really regal and quite convincing.

In the Austrian-American melodrama Catherine the Great in 1995, the main role was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose interpretation of the empress's image was rather stereotyped - as a woman who loves power and men. According to the unanimous opinion of critics and viewers, this was not the best role in her filmography, and the actress and her heroine had nothing in common, except for the name. The film was replete with erotic scenes, which they called its main advantage. It is noteworthy that Elizabeth in this film was played by Jeanne Moreau, who previously played the role of Catherine the Great.

In 2014, two TV series dedicated to Catherine II were released, which caused the largest number of discussions. In the first of them, "Ekaterina", Marina Aleksandrova played the main role. During the broadcast, the project held the first line in the TV rating and received the TEFI award as the best TV series. The actress played Catherine before she became empress. In 2016, the sequel to the series “Ekaterina. Takeoff”, and nowadays the third season is being filmed -“Ekaterina. Impostors. " In order to play the matured heroine in the second season, Marina Aleksandrova had to gain 10 kg, but even after that, the external resemblance of the actress to Catherine was very conditional. In response to numerous critical reviews, Alexandrova replied that one should not expect documentary accuracy from a feature film.

In the 12-episode film "The Great", the empress was played by Yulia Snigir. Since the release of the series on the screens, they immediately began to compare him with "Catherine", and since then there have been disputes about which of the two actresses was more convincing in the role of the empress. This project has become one of the most ambitious and high-budget in the history of Russian cinema - more than 200 objects were involved in filming, more than 2,000 costumes and more than 300 wigs were made.

Both series were accused of deviating from the historical truth: in "Catherine" the lack of wigs was surprising, the mention of the secret marriage of Razumovsky and Elizabeth, about which there is no reliable information, and that the father of Pavel the First was Saltykov. In addition, critics gave negative assessments of the film for the fact that the plot was centered on the empress's amorous pleasures, and not on her political achievements - she spends most of the time with her favorites, and not for state affairs. In the TV series The Great, the heroes look more convincing - consultants from the Hermitage were responsible for the reliability of the costumes and interiors in the project. However, in relation to historical events, the creators of the series adhered to the same strategy and gave free rein to fantasy. Both actresses are real beauties, but neither one nor the second resembles Catherine the Great, depicted in the portraits.

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