Based on the legend about the sole-surviving daughter of Russia's last Czar, this film is very well done with an excellent cast, international locations, and an evocative soundtrack.
This was Bergman's return to American film after being shunned for having an extra-marital affair at a time when America was caught in the height of self-righteous McCarthyism. She proved that she could still hold the screen even with the likes of her very powerful co-stars.
The story follows the progression of a lost soul from suicidal depths to resurrection as a lost princess and concludes as a fairy tale. The elderly empress points out at the end that the play is over -- go home.
This was Bergman's return to American film after being shunned for having an extra-marital affair at a time when America was caught in the height of self-righteous McCarthyism. She proved that she could still hold the screen even with the likes of her very powerful co-stars.
The story follows the progression of a lost soul from suicidal depths to resurrection as a lost princess and concludes as a fairy tale. The elderly empress points out at the end that the play is over -- go home.