RASPUTIN - THE MAD MONK (1966)

DIRECTED by Don Sharp 

SCREENPLAY by Anthony Hinds

STARRING  - Christopher Lee as Grigori Rasputin,  Barbara Shelley as Sonia,  Richard Pasco as Dr. Boris Zargo,  Francis Matthews as Ivan,  Suzan Farmer as Vanessa,   Dinsdale Landen as Peter,  Renee Asherson as The Tsarina,  Derek Francis as The Innkeeper,  John Welsh as The Abbot,  Joss Ackland as The Bishop,  Robert Duncan as The Tsarevich.

PLOT - After using his uncanny healing powers to cure the sick wife of an Innkeeper (resulting in a night of celebration, debauchery and violence) Grigori Rasputin  - a Monk - is kicked out of the monestary by his morally outraged superiors.

Rasputin heads to the city of St. Petersburg where he wins a drinking competition with an alcoholic down on his luck doctor - Boris Zargo. Using Zargo's home as a base of operations Rasputin soon makes a name for himself in the city as a drinker, womaniser and most importantly as a healer. Hypnotising one of the Tsarina's handmaidens - Sonia - Rasputin ingratiates himself into the royal court and soon gains power and influence.

However, Rasputin's arrogance begins to get the better of him and as his thirst for power and his bloodlust grows, so to do the amount of enemies that he makes. Very soon an assassination plot is hatched to kill Rasputin, but how do you kill a man who seems to be possessed of supernatural powers and strength ?...

DIALOUGE  -  Rasputin  - "When I go to confession I don't offer God small sins, petty squabbles, jealousies...I offer him sins WORTH forgiving !"

PERFORMANCES - Right, I'm going to tell it to you and I'm going to tell it to you straight. Grigori Rasputin is without doubt the BEST role Christopher Lee ever played in his long and distinguished career. Yes - even better than Count Dracula (a bold statement I know, especially considering he's the best Dracula theres ever been - sorry Bela). This was the role he was born to play.

It's the sheer enthusiasm with which Lee approaches the role that does it. By this point Lee was already starting to show the first signs of his eventual disillusionment with playing Dracula. Rasputin was filmed back-to-back with Dracula : Prince Of Darkness utilising much of the same cast, crew and sets. You get the impression that Lee really enjoyed casting aside the cape and fangs of Dracula and relished being able to really let loose on this part. The performance he gives can only be described as gleeful, as Rasputin indulges both his playful nature and his more evil side you can tell that Lee himself is having an absolute riot.

The character of Rasputin is interesting in that he's based on a real life figure from history. In the film Rasputin has supernatural healing powers, he doesn't know if they have been granted him by God or the Devil and doesn't much care either way - they're just a means to an ends for him to achieve his goals. Even when Rasputin uses them to heal a dying innkeeper's wife it's only because he wants to get served alcohol and get pissed rather than out of any concern for the Innkeeper or his family. The real life Grigori Rasputin also claimed to have healing abilities but this was never categorically proven, he was most likely just an opportunistic charlatan. The film however really plays up the supposed supernatural side of the story, as to be expected really.

We then follow Rasputin in a pretty much warts and all portrayal of his rise to power and infamy.

Rasputin drinks, brawls and shags his way through Pre-Revolution Russia.  It's glorious to watch, as I said already Lee plays this debauched yet charismatic character with a sense of sheer mischievous glee. Rasputin is (almost) likeable at first, he's loud (he doesn't speak so much as bellow at everybody), rude, arrogant but also quite fun. He's definitely somebody who it'd be a good laugh to go out on the lash with for a night (if you could overlook his violent outbursts, incipient megalomania and overall rapeyness of course). It's only when he starts to let his own arrogance get the better of him and he crosses the line into truly evil behaviour that you turn against him...and cross the line he certainly does.

As Rasputin continues to blaze his trail he picks up various friends and admirers along the way. The first of these is Dr Boris Zargo (Richard Pasco). Zargo is an alcoholic medical doctor who has been struck off due to his drinks problem. He initially meets Rasputin after losing a drinking contest to him. Rasputin carries Zargo back to his flat and then swiftly makes himself at home there, using Zargo as his right hand man. Zargo is weak and cowardly and easily falls into line but eventually becomes fearful of Rasputin when he witnesses first hand the evil of which he is capable. Zargo eventually overcomes his natural cowardice and joins the plot to take down Rasputin, becoming instrumental in his demise.

The tipping point for Boris lies with Rasputin's treatment of Sonia (Barbara Shelley). Barbara is a handmaid for the Tsarina and Rasputin uses her as his foot in the door into the royal household. Sonia is utterly beguiled by Rasputin and falls hopelessly in love with him to the point of obsession. Ultimately Rasputin becomes bored of her affections and dismisses her. Sonia becomes hysterical and attacks him and Rasputin hypnotises her and orders her to kill herself ("DESTROY YOURSELF !!!") which she promptly does. Its this single act which causes Rasputin to become utterly irredeemable in the audience's eyes and in turn causes the previously loyal Boris to turn against him. Shelley gives a wonderfully crazed performance here, Sonia really is destroyed in both body and soul by this callous, ruthless man.

The closest thing the film has to a hero is Ivan (Francis Matthews). Ivan is a friend of Sonia and is enlisted by Boris to help him kill Rasputin. He's a bit of a toff really and not the most interesting character but Matthews gives a decent performance all the same. Ivan lures Rasputin into his date with destiny by offering him a night with his sister Vanessa (Suzan Farmer) who Rasputin has had his eye on for a while. Rasputin is unable to resist this temptation and it is this which ultimately dooms him.

SFX - There's not really much call for special effects in this type of movie, just a bit of blood here and there and thats it.

SEX & VIOLENCE  - We never actually see Rasputin having sex but it's heavily implied he's giving it out in spades (he WAS Russia's greatest love machine after all).

Rasputin is shown to be a very violent man - in a drunken brawl he cuts off a man's hands with a sabre. At another point he throws acid into a man's face, hideously scarring him in the process. It's also (again implied) that he's not averse to using sexual violence against women - basically he just sees them as cattle to be used purely for his own pleasure. When he orders Sonia to kill herself she does so by slashing her own wrists.

In the film's final scenes Rasputin drinks poisoned wine and eats poisoned chocolates. This isn't enough to kill him though. Boris attacks him and gets a knife between his shoulder blades for his troubles. Boris dies from his wounds but not before he helps Ivan to heave Rasputin out of a top floor window causing him to plummet to his death.

The real life Grigori Rasputin was even harder to kill than he was in the movie apparently. They had to shoot him several times after poisoning him before he eventually gave up the ghost.

RATING - This a great movie. Lee's amazing performance coupled with a strong supporting cast really make this film an absolute pleasure to watch. Its more of a gothic historical melodrama as opposed to out and out Hammer horror but this only serves to make the film even more interesting. I'm guessing it's plot only bears a passing resembelence to the true story on which it's based but that doesn't matter when a film is this much sheer balls to the wall fun. If you want historical accuracy go read a text book.

5 murderous monks out of 5.  An overlooked gem.

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