Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe

Starring:Cynthia Grenville, Peter Needham, Ken Kitson, Nick Brimble, Susan Lynch, Victoria Smurfit, Martin Walsh (III), Valentine Pelka, Rosalind Knight, Ronald Pickup, Jack Klaff, CiarÃ¡n Hinds, SiÃ¢n Phillips, David Graham (IV), David Nicholls (II), John Wagland, Ewan Marshall, Demetri Jagger, Ralph Brown, Tim Killick
Director: Stuart Orme
Studio: A&E Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This grand six-part adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's rousing adventure of the Middle Ages makes the most of its generous running time. In the course of five hours, director Stuart Orme tells the epic tale of the idealistic young knight Ivanhoe (Steven Waddington) and his battle against the evil Templar Bois-Guilbert (Ciarán Hinds, whose thoughtful performance gives his dark character a compelling dimension). Caught between the rivalries and religious struggles are Ivanhoe's betrothed Rowena (Victoria Smurfit) and the brave, beautiful Jewess healer Rebecca (Susan Lynch), who wins Ivanhoe's heart with her courage. Set against the historical backdrop of a Britain straining under the corrupt rule of Prince John while Richard the Lionhearted fights in the Crusades, director Stuart Orme makes up for a small budget (the crowd scenes are somewhat skimpy) with sweep, scale, and the lush green British countryside of verdant forests and rolling hills, where ancient castles still stand. While this production can't compete with the majesty of the gorgeous 1952 Hollywood production, Orme creates his own vision in which Merrye Olde England is grounded in earthy colors, creating a country of both sunny fields and dark, dangerous timberlands, open sunlit courts, and cramped candlelit inns. The uniformly superb cast etches vivid characters and the length allows the novel's rich array of subplots to play out (including appearances by Robin Hood and his men and the Black Knight) and slowly wind together for the exciting conclusion. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

The worst book-to-movie adaptation I've ever seen!.......2007-06-19

This movie is good only for its depiction of the midieval period. However, as an adaptation of a classic novel, it is absolutely terrible and utterly disappointing. I loved the BBC's Pride and Prejudice, but what they did to Ivanhoe was a massacre. The plot was changed in so many, UNJUSTIFIABLE ways that they completely took the spirit of the book away. They added a little too much murderous intrigue and too much physical romance between Rebecca and Ivanhoe. That, and while I liked Susan Lynch for her acting, she really didn't look the part of the drop-dead gorgeous Jewess she was supposed to be. (Rowena, however, was pleasantly much prettier than the cover pictures show her to be.)

Overall, the book was an awesome story and needed very little alterations. The BBC took a dependable title and made their own story up, destroying the real Ivanhoe and everything in it. I was disappointed over and over again as I wasted six hours of my life on this movie, and I was relieved when the movie was over.

Good work.......2007-05-09

Without great actors or anything spectacular (no Hollywood style), this movie is a good choice for those who love chivalry and great tales.
It is very well done and has the kind of mystique that makes it worth watching.
I'm completely satisfied with my purchase and actually had seen it more than once.
I enjoyed it very much.
AD

FINALLY... a comment about dvd transfer quality! THUMBS DOWN!.......2007-03-28

I'm amazed that after reading some 40+ reviews here, not one person bothered to comment upon the quality of the video itself, i.e., the quality of the image transferred to dvd. Since the user reviews here have given us a good cross section of opinion about the content quality of this film/mini-series, I'll skip providing you with a review of the adaptation of this story, and limit my observations to the specifics of the dvd release.

This dvd is NOT of good quality. I would call it marginal, 2 out of 5. It looks as if they took a vhs master as their source and transferred it to dvd. As a result, the image is rather poor as far as dvd releases go. Of course, I understand that this mini-series first appeared in the late 90's, but that doesn't mean the dvd transfer couldn't have been done better. Either this was the best source they had available to them, or, more likely, not a lot of care was taken to find the best transfer source before approving this for release.

I suggest anyone who is considering the purchase or viewing of this dvd to do so before you purchase a digital display (plasma, lcd, dlp, etc.), if you haven't done so already. In other words, the flaws of this transfer will be less evident on any older CRT TV. As such, your best viewing experience will on a CRT, which will minimize some of the flaws of this dvd. Once you go to a digital TV, with their higher resolutions and color depth capabilities, the lack of rich detail and color will be painfully obvious. I'm not saying it's not watchable, and I am not a super finicky "videophile" either, but I think this should be said about this dvd release. You will notice a compromise in quality upon viewing this release on dvd, as compared to most other things you view on dvd.

Also, because this production was filmed for standard 4:3 ratio (squarish image, not widescreen like modern films), again, a standard CRT screen is your best viewing method. I won't criticize this aspect, given the era and constraints of the time, before anyone anticipated widescreen televisions increasingly becoming the norm.

I have rated this one "3 stars". While the transfer deserves a "2 star" at best, the content has some merit (I neither loved or hated this film.. it has it's good points, but it's not a perfect film either), so a 'down the middle' approach to rating seemed like the fairest course to take.

Also, I should note that there are a couple mistakes made in the written plot summaries provided on each of the back covers of two individual dvd cases (there may have been some on the carboard outer box too, as shown in the stock Amazon picture, but my set came without it, so I have no way of knowing). Someone didn't bother to proofread, apparently. Again, this suggests that not a lot of care was taken before releasing this to dvd.

Sie Walter Scott's Ivanhoe.......2007-01-20

This mini series closely followed the book. In my opinion this version of Ivanhoe was more realistic than the 1952 movie with Robert Taylor. The acting was also better in the mini series than the acting in the movie.

Excellent Mini-Series That Encompasses Scott's Novel In It's Entirety. Worth Owning........2007-01-01

Like Kenneth Branagh's epic, 4-hour "William Shakespeare's Hamlet," this 4/1/2 hour mini-series from the BBC (capializing on their success of two years previous with a lavish version of Jane Austen's classic romance "Pride & Prejudice"; see my review on it) renders the complete novel...and does it very well. Steven Waddington (as Ivanhoe) heads a strong supporting cast that includes Nick Brimble ("Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves") as the villainous Front-De-Bouef, Ronald Pickup ("Fortunes Of War"; see my review on it) as Prince John's scheming counsellor Waldemar Fitzurse, Cirian Hinds ("The Mayor Of Castorbridge," "The Phantom Of The Opera"; see my review on it) as the lecherous Brian De Bois-Guilbert, James Cosmo ("The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe"; see my review on it) as Cedric the Saxon and horror screen legend Christopher Lee (best known for the 1958 film "The Horror Of Dracula"; his many screen credits include the evil Rochefort in "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" and the title role in the James Bond thriller "The Man With The Golden Gun"), making his first appearance for the BBC in 50 years (next year, it will be 60), as the menacing Grand Master, Lucas DeBeaumenoir. Very strong cast.

Of all these actors, I think Christopher Lee's performance was the best. He is simply well-cast as a villain (though he also makes a very credible good guy). It is interesting to note that, like Basil Rathbone, he also played the greatest fictional detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes, of 221B Baker Street. I haven't seen him in the role, but he must have done a good job.

There have been several other film versions of this story, notably the 1952 costume drama starring Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine and Elizabeth Taylor and a 1982 made-for-TV movie starring Anthony Andrews, Olivia Hussey (best known for her performance in Franco Zefferelli's classic version of William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet"; see my review on it) and James Mason (also an excellent screen villain; see Hitchcock's "North By Northwest" and Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea"). While they are excellent, within their own scope, this mini-series surpasses them all. Read the novel before diving into this entertaining movie. Right up there with the BBC's "Pride & Prejudice" and HBO's "Elizabeth I" (see my reviews on both these excellent TV movies). This mini-series is Not Rated.

Average customer rating:

Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Pie in the Sky ~ Series One Part One Featuring Episodes 1 - 5 {The Classic Television Series} 2 DVD-Set

Band: Band : DVD

Lucky / Chances [1992]

DVD: Close Up

Der große Leichtsinn - The Big Easy