Title: Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966) Director: Don Sharp Cast: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelly, Richard Pasco Review: Having heard that Christopher Lee acknowledges his portrayal of Gregori Rasputin as one of his favorite performances, I quickly picked this up as soon as I saw the box at my local video store! Seeing Lee playing something other then Count Dracula was nice to see, but I also couldn't help but notice the similarities.
The story is about Gregori Rasputin, a monk who was exiled by the church for being a drunk and a womanizer. He has great powers which he uses in benevolent acts like healing people but also uses them for evil things like taking over Russia! In this Hammer film we see Rasputing slowly working his way up the social ladder by using his mind controlling powers on certain key individuals who will no doubt help him become more prominent and powerful.
The strength of this film no doubt lies in Lees performance. His incredibly evil and selfish Rasputin is a memorable performance by Lee and one that will be enjoyed very much by Lee and Hammer fans alike. Hey he is a Monk who escapes to the local pub to drink and get it on! Here we see Lee actually engage in conversations! Here we see Lee dancing! Here we see Lee going after the chicks! Drinking and getting drunk like a skunk! Lee obviously had a ball breaking away from playing the ever classy and quiet Count Dracula and it shows.
On the downside the film is kind of low on production values. You can tell when a Hammer film is cheap because usually the action takes place in one or two rooms. And the action doesn't go anywhere else. Here from what I could read on the film they used the sets from "Dracula Prince of Darkness" and you can tell this specially when you see the outside of the Czars castle. It has a strange resemblance to Draculas castle in Prince of Darkness.
But putting that aside the main fun here is watching Lees Rasputin being evil. No matter how historically inaccurate this film might be, its great to see Rasputin use his powers to lure women to bed, to kill anyone who will get in his way in his quest for power. This movie is not a history lesson, its a Hammer film! And Hammer is good at being sleazy and fun. Hammer just took the basic idea of Rasputin and some minor historical details and made a fun flick out of it.
All in all it was a fun film, with some budgetary limitations. Still, that didn't stop it from being a lot of fun. Specially by watching Lee devour the screen being so evil. I've seen a few Hammer duds and this ain't one of them.
Rating: 3/5
The story is about Gregori Rasputin, a monk who was exiled by the church for being a drunk and a womanizer. He has great powers which he uses in benevolent acts like healing people but also uses them for evil things like taking over Russia! In this Hammer film we see Rasputing slowly working his way up the social ladder by using his mind controlling powers on certain key individuals who will no doubt help him become more prominent and powerful.
The strength of this film no doubt lies in Lees performance. His incredibly evil and selfish Rasputin is a memorable performance by Lee and one that will be enjoyed very much by Lee and Hammer fans alike. Hey he is a Monk who escapes to the local pub to drink and get it on! Here we see Lee actually engage in conversations! Here we see Lee dancing! Here we see Lee going after the chicks! Drinking and getting drunk like a skunk! Lee obviously had a ball breaking away from playing the ever classy and quiet Count Dracula and it shows.
On the downside the film is kind of low on production values. You can tell when a Hammer film is cheap because usually the action takes place in one or two rooms. And the action doesn't go anywhere else. Here from what I could read on the film they used the sets from "Dracula Prince of Darkness" and you can tell this specially when you see the outside of the Czars castle. It has a strange resemblance to Draculas castle in Prince of Darkness.
But putting that aside the main fun here is watching Lees Rasputin being evil. No matter how historically inaccurate this film might be, its great to see Rasputin use his powers to lure women to bed, to kill anyone who will get in his way in his quest for power. This movie is not a history lesson, its a Hammer film! And Hammer is good at being sleazy and fun. Hammer just took the basic idea of Rasputin and some minor historical details and made a fun flick out of it.
All in all it was a fun film, with some budgetary limitations. Still, that didn't stop it from being a lot of fun. Specially by watching Lee devour the screen being so evil. I've seen a few Hammer duds and this ain't one of them.
Rating: 3/5