Catherine the Great (1995)

Russian history occurs on a sweeping scale, but that takes a bigger budget than A&E can muster. So instead the cable network keeps its treatment of Russian empress Catherine II indoors as much as possible. That allows the camera to linger over the impossibly lovely face of Catherine Zeta-Jones, and the plot to focus on the political machinations of 18th-century Russia. Catherine goes from a bookish teen bride (her husband is the crazy and possibly impotent nephew of Russia's Empress Elizabeth) to the legendary empress who successfully concluded the Seven Years' War with Prussia, conquered Turkey, and put down a rebellion led by a Cossack pretending to be her long-dead husband.

The movie stumbles a bit when it ventures outdoors--it's hard to imagine Russia really conquered the Ottoman Turks with a 12-man army--but sizzles inside. Zeta-Jones conveys both passion and hard-edged ambition as her character transforms herself from manipulated to manipulator. Many of those manipulations occur in the bedroom, and the movie takes some liberties in portraying her union with military leader Grigory Potemkin (Paul McGann); here he's practically a saint, although history remembers him a bit less nobly.

The supporting cast includes Jeanne Moreau in a masterful portrayal of Empress Elizabeth, along with Ian Richardson, Mel Ferrer, and Omar Sharif. Although there's plenty of scenery for them to chew, they hold back, allowing Zeta-Jones her 100 minutes of greatness. --Kimberly Heinrichs Amazon.com

THE WORST!

I know she made this early on in her career, but given this woman's power today I am surprised she allows it to still circulate. This has got to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Get the Jeanne Moreau edition, that one will satisfy you more than this piece of turd! August 12, 2008

Catherine the Great

Great mini-series. I saw it years ago, when I was younger, and always wanted to see it again. Quality is great. Catherine Zeta-Jones gives an excellent performance. July 13, 2008

Classic adaptation

Loved Catherine Zeta Jones in this telling of Cathrine's rise to power. The costumes and scenery were excellent. The dialogue and flow maintained interest throughout the movie. September 13, 2007

Awful!!! (Zeta-Jones version)

This was really awful! They took the life of one of the most interesting people in history & turned it into a poor soap opera. July 16, 2007

Sadly, A&E seems to enjoy making history into soap operas

Don't say I hate history, but many movies turn history into soap opera. The way they had Catherine kissing passionatly and really, history never mentions that. Peter was a jerk, but I never read that he and Catherine kissed passionatly; that was a waste of time. The movies talents were wasted. If they want to make a soap opera, they shouldn't do history but something else. All the actors act like they are from NPR. The only thing I have learned (for I stopped watching it half-way) is that the Ottoman turks attacked Russia. A&E made this movie for the money. If you want to learn the non-romantic story of Catherine, read about her instead of watching this trash. March 26, 2006

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