Hammer Films - Don Sharp (1966)Necro Rating - 78.57%
The disappointing thing about Rasputin the Mad Monk is that it fails to capitalise on the fullness of the legend. As a standalone film, it is exciting and interesting. But when compared to what 'actually' happened, the film seems to lack much throughout the plot, and the ending seems very anti-climatic. It also is very dependent on the generic Hammer plot device of hypnosis. Nevertheless, it is not fair to judge it too harshly against the events of 'real life' as it is a piece of cinematic entertainment, not a documentary.
The film has 'Hammer' stamped all over it. The luscious sets and the rich colouring add up to make it look like a painting (as we have said before and shall continue to do so).
The film was focused very hardly on the character of Rasputin, and if that comes as a surprise to you, you are a bit of an idiot. This meant that the character development of the other characters did suffer slightly at his expense. Admittedly, most of the other characters were superfluous. As with the plot, it is a shame that the development of Rasputin didn't go further, as a cursory glance at his history shows that there was much material that could have been drawn upon. This does all seem to be very critical, so we feel it is necessary to emphasise that the character of Rasputin was both convincing and effective.
The script was atmospheric, and we have sampled a couple of lines on our radio show. It complimented the acting well. Lee's classic 'sharp-hand-movements' and powerful vocal delivery are superbly used. Barbara Shelley was as good as ever, but Suzan Farmer's role was disappointingly small.
In conclusion, this film is flawed genius.
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