The Assassin of the Tsar — The Assassin of the Tsar(Blu Ray)

The Assassin of the Tsar (aka Tsareubiytsa) is a 1991 Soviet historical drama from writer/ director Karen Shakhnazarov (Zerograd, Day of the Full Moon and White Tiger). The film stars legendary English actor Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Cat People and Caligula), Oleg Yankovskiy (Nostalgia, The Lover and Come Look At Me), Armen Dzhigarkhanyan (Vanished Empire, Hero Quest and Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat) and Yuriy Sherstnyov (Zerograd, Master I Margarita and Hamilton).

Timofeyev (McDowell) is a patient in an asylum during the 1980s. He claims to have murdered both Tsar Alexander II in 1881 and Tsar Nicholas II in 1918. Strangely, every year Timofeyev develops a blue stripe around his neck on the day that one of Tsar Alexander II’s assassins was killed, and every August he suffers symptoms of a stomach ulcer, just as Yakov Yurovsky, the man who killed Tsar Nicholas II. The new Doctor in the hospital Dr. Smirnov (Yankovskiy) is determined that he can cure Timofeyev of his illness and begins working with him, only to find himself dragged into something far stranger than he could imagine. He thinks that by masquerading as Nicholas II, he will be able to get inside Timofeyev’s head and help to cure him of his delusions. That evening, he discovers a bloody wound on his head that has appeared from nowhere, the Doctor cannot explain it and seeks to discuss it with his superior Dr Yegorovich (Dzhigarkhanyan). Yegorovich explains to Smirnov that Nicholas II suffered a matching head wound and tries to persuade him to drop his investigation.

It is hard to believe that The Assassin of the Tsar is only making its debut on Blu-ray in the US with this release. It’s a quite unique and remarkable movie, well-scripted and beautifully photographed by Nikolay Nemolyaev (Lady Into Lassie, Zerograd and Courier), with a fascinating storyline that blurs ideas about Russian history, mental illness and the class struggle. Malcolm McDowell is superb in his role as the psychiatric patient, Timofeyev. Normally, I would have rather had a Russian actor in the lead role, but he gives such a genuinely remarkable performance that I couldn’t see anyone else in the role. The rest of the cast are really good too, but this is McDowell’s film, and he mesmerises whenever he is on screen.

This new Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile features new 2k restorations of both the English-language print of the movie and the Russian-language version, which has a slightly different print and a completely different score. As well as the movie, we get a new hour-long interview with McDowell, another with director Karen Shakhnazarov and a rather impressive booklet featuring an essay from Walter Chow.

Overall, this is a long-overdue release for a beautifully crafted slice of Russian cinema that should be seen by any cinephile. The Assassin of the Tsar is a wonderful historical drama featuring one of Malcolm McDowell’s most powerful performances. Thank you, Deaf Crocodile and Seagull Films, for bringing this project to life and ensuring this work of art receives the critical attention it deserves.