The Assassination of Trotsky (1972)

The Assassination of Trotsky is a French period drama film first released in 1972, directed by Joseph Losey.  The film stars Richard Burton, Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Valentina Cortese and Enrico Maria Salerno.  It has also been released under the title: Life of Leon Trotsky.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


1940.  One-time leader of the Soviet Revolution, Léon Trotsky, is living in exile in Mexico.  The current Soviet leader, Stalin, is determined that he must die and sends an assassin, Frank Jacson, to kill him…

This heavy historic drama is largely disappointing, in spite of the formidable cast.  The main reason why the film just fails to gel is the language barrier which lead actors Delon and Schneider singularly fail to overcome.  As a result, their performances lack expression and conviction.  The film would probably have worked better if it had been made in French.

The film has also been criticised for its historic inaccuracies.  However probably the most damning indictment should be reserved for Losey’s rather clumsy attempts to adopt unconventional arty filming techniques.  These serve merely to reinforce the film’s sense of emotional detachment and further distance the actors from the audience.  The result is as an ice-cold thriller singularly lacking in suspense and emotional involvement.

© James Travers 2000

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