Catherine the Great – a miniseries in four parts – is a historical and biographical drama which premiered on Sky Atlantic and HBO in 2019.
Here is some basic information about it:
** Director: Philip Martin
** Writer: Nigel Williams
** Run time: 4 x ca 55 minutes = ca 220 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Helen Mirren as Catherine the Great (1729-1796) – Empress of Russia 1762-1796
** Jason Clark as Grigory Potemkin (1739-1791) – military commander
** Rory Kinnear as Nikita Panin (1718-1783) – foreign minister
** Gina McKee as Countess Bruce (1729-1785) – Catherine’s closest friend
** Kevin R. McNally as Alexie Orlov (1737-1808) – minister of war
** Joseph Quinn as Paul (1754-1801) – Catherine’s son – ruler of Russia 1796-1801
The woman who is known as Catherine the Great was born as a German princess in Stettin, Prussia, in 1729. Her name was Sophie.
She came to Russia in 1744 at the age of 15 where she married the future Tsar Peter III in 1745. He was only one year older than her.
When she arrived in Russia, she did not know anything about the place and she did not speak the language. But she was determined to stay and to survive.
She learned how to speak Russian and built a network of contacts which she used to her own advantage. Perhaps we can say that she became more Russian than the people who were born in this country!
In 1762, her husband became Tsar Peter III, but he did not last long. In the same year he was removed by a coup d’état and Catherine emerged as the sole ruler.
She was Empress of Russia for more than thirty years (1762-1796).
This miniseries does not cover her whole life. The childhood in Prussia is not covered. The first years in Russia are not covered, either. The focus is on the second half of her life: the time from 1774, when she and Potemkin become lovers, until 1796 when she dies.
The miniseries focuses on what happens in her bedroom. Her actions as the sole ruler of Russia are mentioned as well, but they are treated as secondary. They remain in the background.
What do reviewers say about this historical and biographical drama? Here are the results of two review aggregators:
62 per cent = IMDb
34 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
68 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
As you can see, the reviews are not impressive. They range from average to poor. What do I think? Here is my answer:
Is there anything positive to say about this miniseries?
The answer to this question is yes, there is: the costumes are great, the settings are great, the locations are great and on occasion the music is great.
Is this fact enough to save the miniseries when you have to give an overall rating?
The answer to this question is no, it is not.
What is wrong?
Here is a list of flaws:
# 1. The language spoken. This story is set in Russia, but they all speak English! This is absurd. This is a gross violation of historical accuracy.
In one scene, the ambassadors of Germany and England enter the room. The ambassador of Germany makes a brief statement in German. To which Catherine replies:
“Any language but German!”
The ambassador of England takes over and he speaks English. This is the only moment when English is justified.
# 2. The actors do not how how to pronounce the Russian names which they have to say from time to time. Here are two examples:
** The name of the leading character Potemkin is pronounced as it is spelled in English. But this is wrong. This name is pronounced <Patjomkin> in Russian.
** The name of the rebel Pugachev is pronounced as it is spelled in English. But this is wrong. This name is pronounced <Pugatjoff> in Russian.
# 3. On several occasions, the Russian characters talk about a country called Germany, but there was no country with this name while Catherine was Empress of Russia. There were several German states. As mentioned above, Catherine herself was born in one of them, Prussia.
As stated earlier, one scene includes the ambassador of a country which did not exist: the ambassador of Germany. Since there was no such country at the time, there was no ambassador of this country.
A unified German state was established in 1871. The official proclamation was made in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. This was just after the Prussian victory over France in the war of 1870.
# 4. When Potemkin dies, Catherine goes into mourning. This is correct. Potemkin dies in 1791 while Catherine dies five years later, in 1796. She outlives him, even though she is ten years older than him.
In one scene, Catherine sits with Countess Bruce and they talk about Potemkin who has just passed away.
This is odd.
Why?
Because Countess Bruce died in 1785, six years before Potemkin died. How can Countess Bruce sit with Catherine and try to comfort her after Potemkin's death in 1791?
Apparently, the movie-makers have invented their own chronology to fit their own ideas!
# 5. Potemkin’s name is connected with the expression a Potemkin village or Potemkin facades.
According to a legend, Potemkin had some false facades erected along the river when he arranged a river cruise for Catherine along the newly conquered lands in the south.
As soon as the boat had passed, the false facades were taken down and quickly moved to a new location further down the river. After a while, the boat would pass the same false facades once more.
Some modern historians claim that this legend has no historical truth. This may be correct. However, in this miniseries, the issue of the false village is simply evaded. This solution is too easy.
# 6. There is a problem with the age of Catherine and the age of the actress who plays this role (Helen Mirren):
Catherine comes to Russia in 1744 at the age of 15. We do not see this moment.
Catherine rules Russia from 1762 at the age of 33. We do not really see the moment when she takes power.
Catherine and Potemkin are lovers from 1774 when she is 45. This moment is shown to us. How old is Helen Mirren? She was born in 1945. In 2019 she was 74. In other words: far too old for the role she is supposed to play.
# 7. There is (almost) no information about where we are in time. An on-screen message is a good solution to deal with this issue. But it is only used twice:
(1) An on-screen message placed at the beginning of the first episode tells us that Catherine’s rule begins in 1762.
(2) An on-screen message placed at the end of the final episode tells us that Catherine’s son Paul succeeds his mother and rules for five years (1796-1801).
Apart from these two messages, the director has carefully avoided all references to a specific year in this historical and biographical drama.
When Potemkin dies, we are in 1791. But the year is not mentioned.
When Catherine dies, we are in
the year 1796. But the year is not mentioned, either.
Why it is so important to avoid giving any information about the time when a significant event takes place?
This historical and biographical drama is a disaster.
Historical truth is violated from the beginning to the end, because the dialogue is in English. This is bad enough in itself, but that is not all. As you can see, there are many other flaws which cannot be ignored.
The professional critics of Rotten Tomatoes offer a rating of 68 per cent. In my opinion, this is too generous.
The general audience offers a rating of 34 per cent. This is harsh, but quite appropriate.
This product does not deserve more than two stars, which corresponds to a rating of 40 percent.
PS. Ekaterina is the title of a Russian television series about Catherine the Great.
** Season one premiered in 2014
(12 episodes)
** Season two premiered in 2017
(12 episodes)
** Season three premiered in 2019
(16 episodes)
Obviously, the language spoken in this series is Russian (as it should be) and not English!
*****
Catherine the Great
(1729-1796)
Empress of Russia 1762-1796
*****
Catherine the Great:
Portrait of a Woman
by Robert K. Massie
(2001)
*****
