Behind the scenes of Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996)
βFirst they rehearsed - Alan Rickman dutifully drank the βpoisoned Madeiraβ (which was actually grape juice) and ate the pastries. Three pastries, three glasses of juice. Then came βAttention, camera, action!β Yusupov ran upstairs, grabbed the revolver, ran back down and there was Grigory Efimovich, sitting there alive and singing βDonβt fly, eagle, too close to the groundβ. Meanwhile, a pyrotechnician was lying on the floor on standby. Under Rasputinβs shirt was a complicated setup of wires connected to a bag of red paint. Felix fires the shot, the pyrotechnician remotely yanks the wires, the shirt tears, a bloody stain appears on the chestβ¦ but thereβs no gunshot sound. So, back to square one. They change Rasputinβs shirt, attach a new blood bag. Take two. More pastries, even more pastries, and more juice, of course. βDonβt fly, eagleβ¦β Felix runs upstairs again, comes back with the revolver, raises his hand - the pyrotechnician pulls the wires, the shirt ripsβ¦ still no gunshot. βFuck!β yells Felix, furiously throwing the gun aside. By now Rickman is turning a bit green and whispers pathetically: βIβm feeling sick.β No wonder! Take three. Back to positions. New shirt on Rasputin, Felix gripping the pistol so tightly his knuckles are white, the pyrotechnician is in position, everyone holding their breath. But no luck. This time Felix shoots successfully, but now there are problems with the pyrotechnics. Third take, fourth, fifth - they keep changing shirts, adding fresh blood, more pastries, more Madeira (damn that stuff). In the end: Alan Rickman heroically ate eighteen pastries (well, he didnβt finish all of them, but he took big bites out of many) and drank eighteen glasses of grape juiceβ¦β
Marianne Dimant
Originally shared and compiled on Instagram by @alan_rickman_
All credit goes to the original photographers and respective sources. Shared for archival and appreciation purposes.
