Catherine the Great (2006)

Extensively researched, the lavishly filmed biography is interspersed with well-renown historians, helping to tell the story of a 15-year-old girl from a small German backwater who was sent to marry the heir to the Russian throne. Locked in a grim and loveless marriage, Catherine became fluent in Russian, changed her religion and educated herself - whilst simultaneously learning to deal with the intrigue and treachery of the Russian court. When her chance came, she seized power with a daring coup and became Empress, as her unpopular husband was secretly murdered.

In the glorious reign spanning 34 years Catherine strove to modernise Russia, with new ideas on health and education, but she also waged numerous wars in a ruthless quest for expansion. At her side, her lover, Prince Potemkin became co-ruler, during their obsessive and tempestuous affair.