Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

WhisperingBells1959 "I Never Lie" is stated by Anna Anderson in this highly dramatized version of her life and battle for recognition of the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Unfortunately, that is exactly what this retelling does- time and again. Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna cannot be successfully counted as a biography of this Anna Anderson, nor is it fictional enough to be compelling. Overall, this made-for-TV film has the feel of a documentary created with limited research. It is a shame that the movie shoved aside historical accuracy and important details of the book where an excellent cast was involved (with several large names, including the late Rex Harrison). The first half hour displays a compressed tale of the Romonovs' captivity until their execution the following year using information from the foreword of Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson, the biography upon which this film is based. The acting was well done, the story close enough to accuracy. Since little is known of the Romonovs captivity and, exclusively, their death, liberty can be taken with this part of the biography with little effect. A half hour into the film, Anna Anderson falls off a bridge in Berlin in 1923. This event, in the book, had occurred in 1920. Later during her first interrogation, 'Anastasia Tchaikovsky' never claimed that her bastard son was dead as she had in the movie; on the other hand, according to her, was alive and well in Rumania. Furthermore, she had never herself claimed that her son was named after her brother Alexei- that was wrongly concluded in a supporter's notes. Anna herself had denounced this statement, explaining that she had named the young Tchaikovsky after her father and not her brother. The acting is well enough and the production overall has the feel of a documentary in cinematography and tone. With a three-hour running time this movie could've well been so; with more attention to historical detail and the book itself. Leaving out details is not an object (such as the facts that Anna spoke some German, French, and English as well as limited Russian and that she was wrongly identified as Tatiana by Clara in the beginning); changing them does. There is only one thing to be said: read Anastasia: The Riddle Of Anna Anderson for the truth. This film is a documentary gone wrong without a doubt and is at best useless.

dbdumonteil The subject was treated by Anatole Litvak in 1956 .more than its value,it marked Ingrid Bergman's reconciliation with Hollywood and she won an Oscar."Anastasia: the mystery of Anna" is more interesting,more historically accurate because serious studies have appeared since 1956.But by now,it has become irrelevant cause the truth is known thanks to science.It is a good MTV work,even if there's no longer suspense.Older people will salute one of Olivia de Havilland's last appearances as the dowager .Amy Irving does a good job with Anna who deserves to be called " a brilliant impostor".

aussiebrisguy There can be no doubt that this was an entertaining piece to watch. It had a mixed ability cast with many of the main roles very badly miscast. The pre revolution scenes were too sickly sweet for words. I think the real Anastasia would have found them difficult to stomach. The whole series was loosely based on Peter Kurth's book on "Anastasia". It would have been so much better, given the huge budget, if it had been more historically accurate. It is more Mills and Boon than serious drama. It was more a love story between Anna Anderson and Prince Eric than an accurate account. I would have liked to have seen more about the trials. An interesting drama would have not painted the other side all bad like this did. I guess there was an agenda established from the very beginning that there was no possibility of denying that Anna was not Anastasia. That is where the whole thing disintegrates, sadly.

BaileySEA Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna was a two-part star studded historical T.V. movie based on the Peter Kurth book, Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson. It keeps up historically pretty much, names are changed etc. But sticks to the real story quite well. Omar Sharif and Claire Bloom do quite well as the Russian royals, Czar Nicholas and Czarina Alexandra. What stuck out in my mind was the all too short portrayals by Rex Harrison and Olivia De Havilland. All in all it was a pretty classy production with some fine acting. I was quite awestruck by the production values when it first aired on NBC in late 1986. Also starring was the fine German actor Jan Niklas who had previously starred in NBC's other Russian epic "Peter the Great". I felt that Part 2 skipped over some important details of Anna Anderson's trip to America. It's important to know too, that in 1986 less was known about the Anna Anderson story. Back then it was still not known whether her claim to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia was genuine. By the late 1990's more was known and Anna Anderson is now reputed to have been a fraud. Too bad the networks aren't making fine made-for-television movies like this anymore.