Assassination of Trotsky, The
Assassination of Trotsky, The
Member's Rating
  • Currently 2.5/5} Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Rate this movie

0 1 2 3 4 5

Rent this DVD
Synopsis Cast & Crew Technical

Synopsis

Joseph Losey directed this tense drama about the last days of Leon Trotsky, the leader of the Russian Revolution who was forced into exile in Mexico. Richard Burton delivers a compelling performance as Trotsky, the fiery and charismatic leader whose assassination marked a pivotal moment in 20th-century history. With Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Valentina Cortese. Joseph Losey---Great Britain---1972---113 mins.

See More Like This  |  Review This Disc  |  Recommend to a Friend  |  Rent Me

Reviews of 'Assassination of Trotsky, The'

Write Your Own Online Review
1 Customer Review  |  See All Customer Reviews

Most Recent Reviews
Here is a list of the most recently submitted reviews for this movie.

  • Currently 1/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
   | Coco#1

A terrible, forgettable film chronicling the last days of Trotsky’s exile in Mexico. The story could’ve had great potential: The time, the place, the characters. Rather it fails to exploit any of these assets; Making the film tedious and dull. The film is not anti-Stalin, Pro-Trotsky, actually it’s not much of anything. It’s important to know who the characters are, why they act as they do and what was taking place in Mexico at the time. Sadly, the film has no historical value, because of this. Lacking character development, we never learn how these casts of characters came to Mexico or what motivates them. There is no mention of Trotsky starting a 4th International here. No mention of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, or the painter David Siqueiros, involved in spraying the house with bullets. Delon is stiff like a board. Burton hardly looks like Trotsky. The goatee he is wearing looks like it should be returned to the horse whose tail it was misappropriated from and his acting range never goes beyond B. Only Schneider is able to make her character come alive. While Trotsky is depicted as an egoist who likes to hear himself talk, Jacson aka Mercader is portrayed as an ice-cold killer; shown by his affectionless affair with Ms. Schneider and his unflinching ability to watch a very brutal bull-fight. This scene is certainly not for the faint at heart. Mercader was a dedicated Spanish Communist who fought in Spain’s Revolutionary War. After serving his 20 year sentence, he moved to Cuba. Yet, although a great idealist, you’d never know this from the film. Rather Losey seems to describe his motivation as stemming, not from idealism, but from a sense of existential emptiness. Huh? How is this historically accurate or for that matter any of the film?

I found this review: