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(More customer reviews)Fall of Eagles is another of those wonderful BBC serial dramas from the 1970s, with elaborate costumes, highly literate scripts, and an attention to detail which is rarely found in these less patient times. In 13 episodes, this is the story of the last sixty years or so of the great Hapsburg, Hohenzollern, and Romanov dynasties. There is a large cast which includes many faces familiar to fans of Masterpiece Theater in the 1970s and early 1980s. This series was first shown on the BBC in 1974, then on PBS in the late 1970s, and then in severely edited form on TBS and Bravo in the 1980s. The episodes tend to be heavy on dialogue and light on action, but the scripts draw heavily from speeches, conversations, letters and diary entries of the various characters, providing an abundance of rich historical detail.
Since it has been so long since the series has been seen in its entirety, here is a brief summary of each episode:
1. Death Waltz. Dealing with the early years of the marriage of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and his beautiful young wife Elisabeth, this episode provides a good contrast between the absolutism of the Austrian court and the rise of European liberalism and the growing nationalism of ethnic groups like the Hungarians.
2. The English Princess. This chronicles the difficulties faced by Victoria, Princess Royal of England. The eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Vicky had been raised by her father to be a voice for constitutional government and liberalism. After Vicky married Frederick, Crown Prince of Prussia in 1858, she clashed repeatedly with the Prussian government over its plans to force the unification of Germany as an absolute monarchy. Very good performance by Curt Jurgens as Otto von Bismarck.
3.The Honest Broker. Continuing the German story line, this episode focusses on Bismarck after his successful unification efforts, particularly on his alienation of Vicky and Fritz's son Willy from his parents. After Willy becomes Kaiser William II, he then turns the tables on Bismarck and fires him, allowing for a very nice "I told you so" scene between Vicky and Bismarck at the end.
4. Requiem for a Crown Prince. Returning to Austria, this is the story of the Mayerling tragedy, in which Crown Prince Rudolf first murdered his teenage mistress and then shot himself. This episode is filmed as a crime drama, with dates and times repeatedly flashing on the screen as we see the murder/suicide first discovered, then covered up.
5. The Last Tsar. Here we have the story of Nicholas II as a playboy tsarevich who cavorts with a ballerina while courting a shy German princess named Alix. Nicholas finally convinces Alix to accept his proposals and change her religion to Orthodoxy and her name to Alexandra. This episode contains one of my favorite lines: When one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters asks if it is a good idea for first cousins to marry each other, the old Queen regally proclaims "The same blood only adds to the strength!" (This is a verbatim quote from one of the Queen's letters, by the way.) This episode ends with the death of Tsar Alexander III, Nicholas' father.
6. Absolute Beginners. This is the least "royal" episode. It concentrates on Lenin's rise to power within the Russian Marxist movement and his creation of the Bolshevik party. Some of the discussions drag a bit, and its not really clear what divides Bolshevik from Menshevik from Social Democrat from Social Revolutionary, but this episode does give a good idea of Lenin's energy, charm, and utter ruthlessness.
7. Dearest Nicky. Kaiser William II bombards Nicholas II with endless letters of advice and appallingly ugly paintings during the first years of the Tsar's reign. We get a good picture of Nicholas' fatalism and lack of initiative, and of Empress Alexandra's resolve to maintain the absolute monarchy and block any reforms within Russia. The scenes showing Nicholas and Alexandra's misery over their son and heir's hemophilia are particularly well done.
8. The Appointment. Another Russian story, set in the period after the 1905 Revolution and the establishment of a semi-constitutional monarchy. The main character is a double agent who simultaneously deals with the revolutionaries and the Tsar and the Empress, weakening reform efforts and increasing the instability. There's a particularly fine scene showing Alexandra interviewing the double agent while an orchestra plays "I am a Courtier" from Gilbert and Sullivan.
9. Dress Rehearsal. This deals with the Balkan Crisis of 1908, which nearly started World War I six years early. The diplomatic machinations and double crosses are well portrayed. There are some nice scenes showing King Edward VII of England visiting Nicholas and Alexandra and otherwise playing a pivotal part in helping to prevent conflict.
10. Indian Summer of an Emperor. The least well done episode, focussing on Franz Josef in the summer of 1914. This mainly consists of a series of discussions before and after the Sarajevo assassinations and is meant to illustrate the diplomatic missteps which led to war, but it tends to be tedious. There are some charming scenes showing Franz Josef with his platonic lady friend Katharina von Schratt, whom he visited every morning for coffee and conversation.
11. Tell the King the Sky is Falling. The best episode, depicting Russia during World War I as the few competent leaders try to convince Nicholas to make reforms before its too late. Gregory Rasputin is well played both as lecher and as holy man. There's a particularly strong performance by Rosalie Crutchley as Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna, aunt of the Tsar and the most domineering of all the Romanovs.
12. The Secret War. Here we see the February Revolution that overthrows the Tsar and the subsequent negotiations between various Russian revolutionary/Marxist groups and the German government, leading to Lenin's triumphant return to Russia and his seizure of power in the October Revolution. Kaiser William II is allowed to be uncharacteristically cautious in warning his ministers not to trust the Bolsheviks.
13. End Game. The final episode, concentrating on the fall of the German monarchy and the last months of World War I. The increasing desperation of the German High Command is well depicted. My favorite scene shows the Kaiser with his wife, talking about their now estranged/dead British and Russian relations, with the German Empress breaking into tears when talking about the Tsar and Empress, saying "Why did they shoot the children? They didn't have to shoot the children!" over and over.
This is a fine series with some excellent moments. If you're not familiar with late nineteenth century/early twentieth century royal European history some of the episodes might be confusing, but history buffs and royal aficionados will enjoy it immensely.
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Fall of Eagles (2006)
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