During the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine the Great, travels to Moscow to marry the dimwitted Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Their arranged marriage proves to be loveless, and Catherine takes many lovers, including the handsome Count Alexei, and bears a son. When the unstable Peter eventually ascends to the throne, Catherine plots to oust him from power.
Alexei, a young officer, saves the Czarina of a small European kingdom from revolutionary conspirators and is rewarded with her love. Infatuated, he deserts his sweetheart, Anna, the Czarina's lady-in-waiting, only to discover that his Queen is far from true to him. Desperate, he joins the revolutionists and plots against her. The Czarina pleads that she loves only him, and he swears no harm will befall her. Meantime the chancellor nips the revolution in the bud, and the Czarina orders Alexei's arrest. But she causes herself such unhappiness in doing so that she releases him from prison, relinquishes him to Anna, and seeks solace in a new affair with the French Ambassador
Trapped in a loveless arranged marriage to the immature future Czar, a young German Princess proves a skillful political infighter and rises to become Catherine the Great.
The woman who will become Catherine the Great marries into the Russian royal family when she weds Grand Duke Peter, the nephew of Empress Elizabeth. Although the couple has moments of contentment, Peter's cruel and erratic behavior causes a rift between him and Catherine. Mere months after Peter succeeds his aunt as the ruler of Russia, a revolt is brewing, and Catherine is poised to ascend to the throne as the country's new empress.
Catherine the Great falls in love with an army officer who is plotting against her.
Yekaterinburg, Russia, July 17th, 1917. Czar Nicholas II Romanov and his entire family are brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks. This tragic event puts an end to the long dynasty that had ruled the country with an iron hand since the coronation of Michael I Romanov in 1613.
The era of palace coups in Russia ended with the coronation of a prominent historical figure: Catherine the Great. She could have settled for the role of Emperor’s wife, but her persistence and determination eventually proved that her rightful place was on the throne. She was still a child when she learned that she was to marry Peter III and produce an heir. Catherine, however, wanted to rule Russia herself. She saw the potential of the Russian Empire, and she wanted to implement the ideas of the Enlightenment. Will Russia experience a renaissance of culture and sciences under Catherine? Will her ideas eventually play to her detriment?
When British Capt. Charles Edstaston arrives at the court of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg, Russia, he is stunned by the palace's disorderly condition. The severely intoxicated Prince Potemkin concludes that the handsome Edstaston would be a suitable lover for Catherine, and he coerces the bewildered visitor into her bedchamber. Edstaston manages to escape, but he is repeatedly recaptured and delivered to the mischievous Catherine.
Giacomo Casanova returns to Venice, to help his brother, falsely accused of robbery.
A documentary about the history of Ukrainian Cossacks in the Kuban.
After a whirlwind romance in Mexico, a beautiful heiress marries a man she barely knows with hardly a second thought. She finds his New York home full of his strange relations, and macabre rooms that are replicas of famous murder sites. One locked room contains the secret to her husband's obsession, and the truth about what happened to his first wife.
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
Cassie is a young, pretty, free-spirited artist. She meets Mark, a handsome art gallery owner, and experiences in five days what few women do in a lifetime. Thrown into a whirlwind love affair, Cassie discovers both the pleasurable and painful realities of life. With fierce determination she rises to the level of supreme awareness, physically and mentally, and acknowledges the purpose of life and love!
Lily, an energetic and charming artist, leaves the city life for a sprawling plantation she's inherited in Louisiana. Unfortunately, it's inhabited by a band of gypsies, and she's drawn, perhaps by magic, to the handsome and rugged Zanko. But that's only the beginning. An old fashioned love affair blooms between her and a Creole doctor in a nearby town, and events are even further complicated when she discovers a secret link between her family and the steamy, romantic bayou.
Lisa, a beautiful American co-ed traveling in Europe, falls in love with a brash and fearless author, critical of the government in Poland. Lisa soon finds herself caught in a web of international intrigue, on the run with this mysterious stranger. They are forced to pose as married American tourists in order to escape by train. Their passion burns, glowing brighter as the train pulls them closer to Paris, their destination. But as it does, the author feels the tug of the comrades he left behind, and must choose. His choice will either gladden or destroy the light heart of the lovely Lisa.
France, 1940. In the first days of occupation, beautiful Lucile Angellier is trapped in a stifled existence with her controlling mother-in-law as they both await news of her husband: a prisoner of war. Parisian refugees start to pour into their small town, soon followed by a regiment of German soldiers who take up residence in the villagers' own homes. Lucile initially tries to ignore Bruno von Falk, the handsome and refined German officer staying with them. But soon, a powerful love draws them together and leads them into the tragedy of war.
Arun Khanna is a spy for the Indian government whose aid is enlisted to stop ISI Chief Ishak Khan. Khan is trying to build a nuclear bomb with which he can liberate Kashmir from the Indians. A battle of wits ensues. When Khan detonates a bomb at Khanna's engagement party to a fellow spy, Khanna's resolve is only strengthened. Now not only does he have to fight Khan, but he also has to track down his missing fiancee.
Teruo gets caught up in a conflict between tradition and modernism after returning to Japan from Germany after having spent a number of years there studying. Now, he is supposed to marry Mitsuko, the daughter of his adoptive father, to whom Teruo has long been promised. But Teruo, who has gotten to know the freedoms of the western world, would rather marry the woman he loves and behaves brusquely to Mitsuko.
In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, under the sway of a controlling therapist, he finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter.