Young Catherine : Anderson, Michael, Redgrave, Vanessa, Plummer, Christopher, Nero, Franco, Keller, Marthe, Schell, Maximilian, Ormond, Julia, Frankel, Mark, Dinsdale, Reece

Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Plummer, Franco Nero, Marthe Keller, Maximilian Schell and Julia Ormond star in this powerful tale of two women: one mother to an empire; one destined to overpower her.

The year is 1744, and a young woman (Ormond) is torn from her homeland to marry the heir to the Russian throne.

But his mother Elizabeth (Redgrave: Orpheus Descending, Murder on the Orient Express) rules the Empire with an iron hand, while her son proves neither fit for the throne nor the marriage bed.