• HOME
  • DESTINATIONS
    • DESTINATIONS A‑Z
    • EUROPE
      • AUSTRIA
      • BELGIUM
      • CZECH REPUBLIC
      • DENMARK
      • FINLAND
      • GERMANY
      • GREECE
      • ICELAND
      • IRELAND
      • ITALY
      • NORWAY
      • RUSSIA
      • THE NETHERLANDS
      • SWEDEN
      • UNITED KINGDOM
    • NORTH AMERICA
      • CANADA
      • USA
  • FILM REVIEWS
    • FILM REVIEWS A‑Z
    • ENGLISH FILMS
    • GERMAN FILMS
    • TV / DVD SERIES
    • BEST OF FILM LISTS
  • FILM PEOPLE
  • ABOUT
    • WORK WITH ME
filmfantravel.com
  • HOME
  • DESTINATIONS
    • DESTINATIONS A‑Z
    • EUROPE
      • AUSTRIA
      • BELGIUM
      • CZECH REPUBLIC
      • DENMARK
      • FINLAND
      • GERMANY
      • GREECE
      • ICELAND
      • IRELAND
      • ITALY
      • NORWAY
      • RUSSIA
      • THE NETHERLANDS
      • SWEDEN
      • UNITED KINGDOM
    • NORTH AMERICA
      • CANADA
      • USA
  • FILM REVIEWS
    • FILM REVIEWS A‑Z
    • ENGLISH FILMS
    • GERMAN FILMS
    • TV / DVD SERIES
    • BEST OF FILM LISTS
  • FILM PEOPLE
  • ABOUT
    • WORK WITH ME
Share
You are reading
FILM REVIEW: The Great (2020) – filmed in England and Italy
Home
FILMED IN ITALY

FILM REVIEW: The Great (2020) – filmed in England and Italy

November 9th, 2020 Sonja ENGLISH FILMS, FILM REVIEWS, FILMED IN FRANCE, FILMED IN ITALY, FILMED IN THE UK, TV / DVD SERIES
FILM REVIEW: The Great (2020) – filmed in England and Italy
(Last Updated On: 20th November 2020)

Scene from "The Great" © Hulu

The satirical "dramedy" series The Great tells the (occasionally true) tale of a German princess plotting a coup against her own husband, the annoying and useless Emperor of Russia, with a most generous side serving of (occasionally pretty dark) British humor… 

The Story

Make Russia great again…

At the beginning of the series, we learn that The Great is "occasionally based on true facts"…

What is true is that the series is inspired by the real story of 18th Century Empress Catherine II, called Catherine the Great, of Russia. In real life, Catherine II was born as Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst on 2 May 1729 and married the crown prince of Russia in 1745, when she was 16 years old.

When Catherine first meets Peter in "The Great". © Hulu

In the series, however, Peter is already Emperor when Sophie (Catherine) arrives at court, while the real Peter only became Emperor of Russia in 1762. 

Also, the reign of the real Peter III only lasted for six brief months before the real Catherine managed to successfully overthrow him in a "coup d'état" (or in other words an uprising) and became the sole Empress of Russia after his "mysterious death".

Peter and Catherine in "The Great". © Hulu

But just like in the series, the real Catherine (played by American actress Elle Fanning) was extremely unhappy in her arranged marriage to the current Emperor of Russia, her husband Peter III (played by British actor Nicholas Hoult).

She learns quickly that at the court of Peter III, whenever something went well, she should use the word "Huzzah!" and preferably smash a glass into pieces. But… that's about all that Catherine and Peter have in common…

So, as you do, Catherine starts to plot and find supporters for her cause to get rid of her useless Emperor husband and make herself the sole leader of Russia.…

The Film Locations

Creating a fake Russia.…

Even though set in and around St Petersburg Russia, The Great was actually not filmed in Russia. Instead, the film crew went to Italy and England.

Scene from "The Great". © Hulu

The main film location in Italy was the Royal Palace of Caserta, which is located about 30 kilometers from the city of Naples in the south of Italy. The king of Naples originally built this palace to rival with the super palace of Versailles in France. 

Many of the outside shots of Peter's and Catherine's grand palace in St Petersburg and the interior shots on the grand staircase were filmed here.

Scene from "The Great". © Hulu

The main film location in England was Hatfield House in Hertfordshire located about a one hour drive from London. Every time the characters in The Great go along a long corridor, it is the Long Gallery of Hatfield House.

Hatfield House is a popular film location and you might have seen it in other TV and cinema productions, such as  The King's Speech (2010), Netflix series The Crown (2016– ) or the period dramedy The Favorite (2018), which I have written a separate blog post about.

Read more about the film location Hatfield House in my Film Review for The Favorite (2018).

Other film locations for The Great in England include Hever Castle and St Clere Estate in Kent, Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, Ham House in Richmond, Surrey and Castle Howard in York, North Yorkshire.

Find out more about the filming locations of The Great is this special film locations post.

Scene from "The Great". © Hulu

Real Russia Calling

In real life, Catherine and Peter lived at, among other residences, the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Today, this former palace is the so-called Hermitage Museum.

Thanks to the real Catherine's extensive collection of artworks, the Hermitage is nowadays known as the second largest museum in the world straight after the Louvre in Paris.

Thus, if you ever travel to St Petersburg, be sure to include a visit to the Hermitage Museum. It's a must-see and you will not be disppointed.

The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia. © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

Similarly, you can visit the stunning Catherine Palace in Pushkin, which is located just outside the city of St Petersburg, but easily accessible by guided bus tours. 

Catherine Palace just outside of St Petersburg, Russia. © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

The Catherine Palace was not named after Catherine the Great, but Catherine I (the wife of Peter the Great). Contrary to what is said in the series, Peter III was in fact the grandchild of Peter the Great and not his son.

Nowadays, Catherine Palace is not only beautiful to look at from the outside, but the tons of gold on the inside will surely impress you. No wonder the interior of Catherine Palace was also used as one of the filming locations for the BBC series War & Peace (2016).

The inside of Catherine Palace. © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

For more information about visiting St Petersburg, check out my travel posts 

A Quick Guide to St Petersburg, Russia

and

10 Things to Do in St Petersburg, Russia

The final verdict:

One of the things that I found particularly interesting is that in the series, some of the highest nobles at court are black. This would have not been realistic in the 18th Century at all. However, I noticed this had been done in quite a few recent historic productions, such as in the feature film Mary Queen of Scots (2018) or the series The Spanish Princess (2019). As such, I believe that the casting of black actors and actresses is meant as a sign for modern-day diversity and inclusion and that's definitely a good sign!

Some of the nobles at the Russian court in "The Great". © Hulu

Furthermore, I personally thought The Great found a great angle for telling a historic real-life tale freely and jokingly with lots of British humour.

Also owing to the great performances by the actors and actresses, The Great was less "dry" as the usual period drama and it was overall a very entertaining first season with 10 episodes. 

However, while the series started off with many lough-out-loud moments, I found that in the middle bit, the pace was a bit slow. Finally, the first season finished with a pretty big cliffhanger.

We know from real history that the historic Catherine eventually managed to overthrow her husband and continued to rule over Russia as the sole Empress. However, because the series took many liberties and changed quite a few things from the real-life history, we never quite know what to expect from this series. There could be many more unexpected twists and turns…

Also, considering that the real Catherine spent 17 years living with Peter before she managed to successfully overthrow him, I think there is room for more and at least a second season of The Great.

Overall, a jolly good job indeed! Huzzah! 

**** 4 out of 5 stars

Elle Fanning in "The Great". © Hulu

Where to watch it? 

The Great was originally produced by the Hulu network. I watched it on the STARZ channel.

Planning a trip to Russia? 

Check out my travel posts about my trip to the city of St Petersburg – the real-life former home of Catherine and Peter:

A Quick Guide to St Petersburg, Russia

and

10 Things to Do in St Petersburg, Russia

80%

Summary

I personally thought The Great found a great angle for telling a historic real-life tale freely and jokingly with lots of British humour...

80 % Story
80 % Location
80 % Performance
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
FILM REVIEW: The Great (2020) – filmed in England and Italy"> FILM REVIEW: The Great (2020) – filmed in England and Italy">

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Sonja

Sonja

I am an ex London expat now living back in Germany. Having worked part-time in a cinema since my school days, the cinema (or in 2020 rather Netflix & co) is my second home. If you don't find me there, I am probably travelling the world in order to trace my favourite film locations and film settings. On filmfantravel.com, I combine these two passions by sharing my best tips about film-inspired travel. Join the journey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @filmfantravel!

You may also like...
80%
FILM REVIEW: Red Sparrow (2018) – filmed in Budapest, Hungary; Bratislava, Slovakia; London, UK and Vienna, Austria
Sonja
ENGLISH FILMS

FILM REVIEW: Red Sparrow (2018) – filmed in Budapest, Hungary; Bratislava, Slovakia; London, UK and Vienna, Austria

March 15th, 2018
A Quick Guide To St Petersburg, Russia
Sonja
DESTINATIONS

A Quick Guide To St Petersburg, Russia

December 17th, 2017
10 Things To Do in St Petersburg, Russia
Sonja
DESTINATIONS

10 Things To Do in St Petersburg, Russia

December 17th, 2017
Join the journey!
Facebooktwitterlinkedininstagram
About Me

Hi! I'm Sonja from Bremen, Germany. I'm a full-time English to German Marketing Translator, Linguistic Reviewer and Tour Guide on a part-time mission to discover the world through movies and series.

Read more about in ABOUT.

Current Location: Bremen, Germany
Newsletter

Become a film fan on Facebook!
Facebook
Join the journey on Instagram!

filmfantravel

#MarketingTranslator #Author #TourGuide
👩🏻‍💻 MA in Tourism Destination Development 
📍Bremen, Germany 
🎬 🌎 Blogging about #filminspiredtravel at:

Sonja | Film & Travel Writer


Christmas is almost over and although many things 
Christmas is almost over and although many things have been different this year, some things never change... Such as our favourite Christmas movies that we can watch over and over again... and that make us dream about future travel destinations! 😉 💭 

One of my favourite Christmas series to look forward to this year was the second season of the Norwegian romcom series “Home for Christmas” (OT: Hjem til jul) with @idaelisebroch_official and @felixsandman! The series was released on Netflix on 18 December 2020. 

When I was working as a tour guide in Norway this summer, I was lucky enough to pass by Røros - the UNESCO world heritage town that served as the setting and main film location for the series! 

Read more about the series and its film location Røros on my blog FilmFanTravel.com(link in my bio above)! 

Which Christmas movie has inspired your upcoming travels? 

Photo 1: Scene from “Home for Christmas” (2019-) filmed in Røros, Norway. © Netflix. Photo 2: Me at the same street in Røros, Norway in August 2020. © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

#destinationroros #destinasjonrøros  #netflix #netflixshows #norway #roros #homeforchristmasnetflix #hjemtiljul #dreamchasersnorway #traveleurope #filminspiredtravel #filmlocation #filmlocations #movielocations #lovescandinavia #norway #visitnorway #bestofscandinavia #dreamynorway #norwaytravel #norwaytrip #onlyinnorway #rorørosregionen #godjul @visitnorway

Just like American Marketing Manager Emily in the 
Just like American Marketing Manager Emily in the new Netflix series “Emily in Paris”, I followed almost every fashion trend back in 2007. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️Here I am in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing a massive “link chain necklace”. Hey, it was fashionable at the time, okay? InStyle magazine said so! 😂🙈

Writing my newest film review about the American girl who makes the big move to Paris (link currently in bio), I realised that it has been exactly 10 years since my last visit to the city of love in 2010. So I really would like to go back in 2021.

Who else was inspired to put Paris on their post-pandemic travel list by watching “Emily in Paris”?

Photo 1: Scene from “Emily in Paris” (2020-). © Netflix. Photo 2: © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

#emilyinparis #netflix #netflixshows #paris #france #citytrip #traveleurope #filminspiredtravel #filmlocation #filmlocations #movielocations #lilycollins #thisisparis #visitparis #ig_paris #parisianlife #hello_france #parisjetaime #parislife #exploreparis

Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland in full autumn b
Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland in full autumn bloom back in October 2016.

The castle’s unique attraction is to kiss the famous Blarney stone on top of the castle. What’s more... you apparently get the gift of eloquence afterwards. The catch: You have to lean over backwards - head first - to reach it! Apart from that, kissing a stone that millions others have kissed before is not exactly in line with the current Covid hygiene rules... 😂

As far as I know Blarney Castle itself has not yet been used as a filming location, but the website states that it’s open for bookings for TV and movie crews. Maybe something to look forward to in the year 1 or 2 AC (After Corona). 😂🙈 Let’s hope so because with Ireland being the main film location of major TV and movie productions such as “Game of Thrones”, “Star Wars” and “Vikings”, there is much to discover for film fans! 🤗
-
#blarneycastleandgardens #autumn #autumnleaves #filminspiredtravel #ireland #loveireland #irelandtravel #discoverireland #map_of_europe #visitireland #instaireland #irland #irish_daily #daily_ireland #images_ireland  #castle #castlesineurope #castlesinfall #colorsinfall #castlesofireland #autumncolours

21st of April 2017: Today thee years ago, I landed
21st of April 2017: Today thee years ago, I landed in Iceland and traced the film locations of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty“ (2013), “Vikings“ (2013-) and co. Here I boarded a puffin bird watching boat tour from Iceland’s capital Reykjavik. An experience just like the ones you can see in the bird watching comedy “The Big Year” (2011). To read more about that tour, check out my current website link above. 
Who has been to Iceland so far? And who has got Iceland on their bucket list for future travel?

#DreamNowVisitLater #OnlyInIceland #Iceland #IcelandTravel #VisitIceland #FilmInspiredTravel #TravelBucketList #TravelEurope #GuidetoIceland #TravelTuesday #TravelFromHome #InspiredByIceland #DreamNowTravelLater #TourismTuesday #Puffin #Puffins #PuffinIceland #PuffinWatching


Load More…


Follow on Instagram


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • IMPRINT
  • PRIVACY POLICY
© Sonja Irani 2021. All rights reserved.