Anastasia Rating: Release Date: 02 March, 2004 Retail Price: $14.98 OUR Price: $7.97 You SAVE: $7.01! Cast: Ingrid Bergman Yul Brynner Helen Hayes Helen Hunt Complete Cast (6 total)

Anastasia Reviews

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gripping drama with a fairy tale ending

Anastasia had a tight plot, gripping dialogues and a brilliant portrayal by Ingrid Bergman. When Anastasia (Ingrid Bergman) was first confronted in the cellar, she denied to be the grand duchess while her words and fragmented memories more than once betrayed her past. Most intriguing was that she herself did not know who she was, after futile efforts to convince others she was the princess in the past 10 years. She could not differentiate what she actually remembered from what she was told to remember in the 8-day crash course of training.

The most touching scenes were how Anastasia responded to the successive examinations of board members, followed by of Russian aristocrats and finally by the Emperess, her grand ma ma (Helen Hayes). Ingrid Bergman succeeded in playing a confused Anastasia whose sudden bursts of personal experiences buried deep in her heart would convince the skeptics at the critical moment.

To cap it all, the flawless performance of the two actresses had made the emotional grandma-grandaughter reunion scene heartbreaking. The closeness between Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergman was perfect and subtle as it should be. The romance was not so much said as it was felt - a simple kiss on the hand. Ingrid Bergman was the princess in the bones, she was diffident yet stately, long suffering yet proud. While Anastasia was eager to please her long lost grandma, her grandma loved her so much that she would let her free and grant her the happiness she long deserved - a fairy tale ending.

The king and her
Has Ingrid Bergman actually topped her performance in Casablanca or is she so great that every role she portrays is classic? Perhaps it's the excellent digital color re-mastering that illuminates Anastasia among prior theatrical presentations. Or it could be the moments of humor and romantic chemistry evident in the perfect pairing with Yul Brynner as a financially motivated con artist who plucks "Anastasia" from the brink of despair and trains her how to assume the royal throne. Maybe it is due to the fact that the story is based on non-fictional events and throughout the film, the viewer nor characters are quite certain of whether there is actually any deception taking place.

Everyone will certainly be drawn to Bergman as she once again delivers a profusion of drama through unrivaled facial expressions. Brynner would make an eloquent King and Berman is a true princess, regardless of the picture's outcome (but that's another movie).

Movie quote: "The poor have only one advantage; they know when they are loved for themselves."

(I HAVE DOZENS OF GREAT MOVIE REVIEWS)

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