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Poster for Agony: The Life and Death of Rasputin

Agony: The Life and Death of Rasputin

Seen it?

1981 | 142 min | History, Drama

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With little lasting buzz, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for history buffs. If you loved Mr. Turner or Kundun, start here.
The mood
Thoughtful and character-driven.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 2 hr 22 min.
What might put you off
It's in Russian, so expect subtitles (or a dub).

As an adviser to the emperor Nicholas II, mystic Grigori Rasputin holds great influence over the empire. However, many in St Petersburg begin to regard Rasputin, with his strange practices and mesmerizing qualities, as a liability and plot his assassination. When Rasputin, known to many as the 'Mad Monk', leads Nicholas to embrace an ill-conceived military strategy, a group of determined conspirators set down a plan to eliminate him.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsSolid

    Generally positive reviews

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerSolid

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactBelow par

    About 14K people sought it out in the past year

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Cast & crew

Directed by Elem Klimov

  • Aleksey PetrenkoRasputin
  • Anatoliy RomashinNicholas II
  • Leonid BronevoyManasevich-Manuilov
  • Alisa FreyndlikhVyrubova
  • Yuri Katin-YartsevPurishkevich
  • Mikhail SvetinTerekhov
  • Velta LīneAleksandra Fyodorovna
  • Anatoliy SolonitsynColonel
  • Sergei Karnovich-ValuaRussian General
  • Aleksandr RomantsovYusupov