Peter the Great (miniseries)

Peter the Great is a 1986 American biographical historical drama television miniseries directed by Marvin J. Chomsky and Lawrence Schiller, based on Robert K. Massie's 1980 non-fiction book Peter the Great: His Life and World. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Maximilian Schell, Vanessa Redgrave, Omar Sharif, Trevor Howard, Laurence Olivier, Helmut Griem, Jan Niklas, Elke Sommer, Renée Soutendijk, Ursula Andress, and Mel Ferrer.

Peter the Great
Based on	Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie
Written by	Edward Anhalt
Directed by	Marvin J. Chomsky Lawrence Schiller
Starring	Maximilian Schell Vanessa Redgrave Omar Sharif Trevor Howard Laurence Olivier Helmut Griem Jan Niklas Elke Sommer Renée Soutendijk Ursula Andress Mel Ferrer
Composer	Laurence Rosenthal
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	4
Production
Executive producer	Lawrence Schiller
Producer	Marvin J. Chomsky
Cinematography	Vittorio Storaro
Editor	Bill Parker
Running time	480 minutes
Production company	P.T.G. Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 2 (1986-02-02) – February 5, 1986 (1986-02-05)

The miniseries received generally positive reviews from critics and won three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Miniseries. It was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Miniseries or Television Film.

Cast

• Maximilian Schell as Peter the Great
• Jan Niklas as Peter the Great in early adulthood
• Vanessa Redgrave as Tsarevna Sophia
• Omar Sharif as Prince Feodor Romodanovsky
• Laurence Olivier as William III and II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland
• Trevor Howard as Sir Isaac Newton
• Ursula Andress as Athalie
• Olegar Fedoro as Boyar Lopukhin
• Natalya Andrejchenko as Tsaritsa Eudoxia Lopukhina
• Helmut Griem as Captain Alexander Menshikov
• Renée Soutendijk as Anna Mons (Peter's Dutch mistress)
• Hanna Schygulla as Catherine Skavronskaya (Peter's 2nd mistress and later on wife)
• Christoph Eichhorn as Charles XII, King of Sweden
• Lilli Palmer as Tsarina Natalya, mother of Peter the Great
• Mel Ferrer as Frederick I, King in Prussia
• Elke Sommer as Charlotte, Queen in Prussia
• Jan Malmsjö as The Patriarch
• Boris Plotnikov as Tsarevich Alexis
• Jeremy Kemp as General Patrick Gordon
• Geoffrey Whitehead as Prince Vasily Golitsyn
• Graham McGrath as young adult Peter the Great
• Günther Maria Halmer as Tolstoi
• Dennis DeMarne as the figure of Peter the Great at the narrating scenes of the later years
• Ann Zacharias as Daria Lund, the mistress of Captain Alexander Menshikov
• Algis Arlauskas as Father Theodosius

The series was released as a three-tape VHS box (set in 1992, then, in 1994, as a single, lengthy VHS tape).

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
1986	38th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Miniseries	Marvin J. Chomsky Lawrence Schiller Konstantin Thoeren	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special	Vanessa Redgrave	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore)	"Part 1" Laurence Rosenthal	Won
		Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special	"Part 1" John Blezard Alfred Dobsak Alexander Popov	Nominated
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Special	"Part 3" Vittorio Storaro	Nominated
		Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special	"Part 1" Ella Maklakova Sibylle Ulsamer	Won
		Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries or a Special	"Part 1" David D. Caldwell Dan Carlin Sr. Terry Chambers Paul B. Clay Brian Courcier Dan Finnerty James Koford Linda Moss Richard Raderman Greg Stacy Marty Stein James Troutman Mike Virnig	Nominated
	33rd Golden Reel Awards	Television Mini-Series: Sound Editing	Greg Stacy Sync-Pop	Nominated
1987	44th Golden Globe Awards	Best Miniseries or Television Film	Peter the Great	Nominated
		Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film	Jan Niklas	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Lilli Palmer	Nominated
	39th Writers Guild of America Awards	Television: Long Form – Adapted	Edward Anhalt	Won
	22nd Goldene Kamera	Best German Actress	Hanna Schygulla	Won