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siathegirl
Reviews
Anastasia (1997)
Still Magnificent
I'm somewhat biased: I watched this movie as a child dozens of times. The first because it had the same name as mine, and all of the times afterwards and still today because I love the movie by itself.
After years, I watched it once more tonight. The fact that it's not factual in the least doesn't take anything away from the movie to me, though I must admit cross-referencing did distract me from the movie until I just put that to the side and decided that the movie is just fiction and to leave it at that. Avoid looking at the facts very much until after the movie.
The music, characters, and scenes took me back to my childhood. The first ballroom scene and remembrance of it is my absolute favorite. I remembered the wonder of being a child throughout watching the movie, but I also held wonder for some more little details in the scenes I hadn't noticed before.
Only two things made me cringe: the pronunciation of Anastasia and Rasputin's undead body's antics.
I've grown up listening to almost everyone pronounce the name not as the Greek origin or the Russian adaption (Ah-na-stah-see-uh / Ah-na- stah-shyah), but as the common English pronunciation - which this movie uses. I'm both Greek and Russian, so it does tend to rub me wrong even more in that aspect. I've grown up around both cultures and done further research on the name, and I'm certain it's pronounced wrong. It's funny how what bothers me the most is the pronunciation.
Overall, this is a magnificent movie which all children (and those childlike at heart) will enjoy and should watch at least once. It definitely encourages imagination in its own way.