Rasputin: The Mad Monk

You can’t watch Rasputin: The Mad Monk with the intention of seeing a historically accurate epic about who Rasputin was and what he did. You'll watch the film because it's a quite well-crafted piece about intrigue and how it's possible to manipulate people when one has certain abilities, whether they're slightly unconventional or simply knowing what to say and when to say it, and knowing what to do and when to do it. This is a one-man show. (01/06/2015)

It's not the best Rasputin movie, but Christopher Lee is the best movie Rasputin – captivating, charismatic and with a devilish twinkle in his eye. His healing and hypnotic abilities are quite exaggerated, and in the second half (Rasputin's becoming part of the Tsar's court) the plot flows rather choppily, but you can forgive the film for that as soon as Lee starts throwing his amusing maniacal looks at you. Add to that a nice studio production design, as was customary for Hammer (with the exception of 2-3 minutes of footage, the entire film was shot in a studio), throw one severed hand, an acid-stained face and horny ladies into the cauldron, stir, and you have a tasty treat that you won't want to overindulge in, thanks to Lee, who "made" the entire film with his charisma. PS: I don't understand why there are so few good film adaptations of Rasputin's life. Such an interesting figure deserves a proper film. (13/01/2017)