Editorial Review

Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation of Shakespeare's Read more

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Reviews (200)

Nearly 40 years old, now, the film still works...
You can even get a flash of Olivia Hussey's breast in the bedroom scene if you look closely, and she was only 15 at the time of filming, so this version of the ancient play was controversial in its day. It has passion, style, great supporting actors, and is true to its source as well. While the more recent version with Leonardo DiCaprio has some good moments, too, this one is the high water mark of "Romeo and Juliet" on film. I will never forget seeing this at the base theater at Fort Knox, Kentucky, after spending a month in Vietnam, facing almost another year in the Army. When the movie ended, one soldier in front of me said to his buddy, "They think they've got troubles? Try being in the damn Army!"Well, R and J did have life-ending troubles, but their falling in love, as instant as it was, achieves believability and really tugs at the hearts of the audience. This movie was a fine accomplishment, and its soundtrack album was also a big seller on LP in the late '60's. That Shakespeare fellow did his writin' before movies were invented, I think, yet his stuff adapts really well to the screen. For my taste, a Shakespeare movie almost always beats seeing his plays on stage.

This Pinnacle Film Captures the Pure Essence of the Play
There have been many screen adaptations of Romeo and Juliet over the years.Some of them played by some of Hollywood's top actors and actresses.There was even the Romeo and Juliet last done by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, which to my mind is simply Romeo and Juliet on steroids.
Brings back my teen years in the theater.
First saw this movie as a 14 or 15 year-old teen.Loved the film!It is one of those seminal movie moments of my youth.I think it is the definitive film version of 'Romeo and Juliet.'Never saw DiCaprio's version and have no real desire to.The DVD was of excellent quality, considering the original film was shot in 1968. My teen daughter watched it with me, and did have some trouble following the Shakespearean dialog, but she could still follow the storyline. (I think we had more exposure to the classics in the Baby Boomer Gen than do kids today.) Nonetheless, we both enjoyed the experience and the DVD was delivered in Amazon's usual timely manner. The angry Prince's final words to the feuding families, "All are punish-ed. ALL ARE PUNISH-ED!" stands as an electric moment in the film.The performances by all are terrific.Enjoy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 multiple-Oscar winner (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley) is an engrossing, reverential look at the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who introduced the doctrine of nonviolent resistance to the colonized people of India and who ultimately gained the nation its independence. Kingsley is magnificent as Gandhi as he changes over the course of the three-hour film from an insignificant lawyer to an international leader and symbol. Strong on history (the historic division between India and Pakistan, still a huge problem today, can be seen in its formative stages here) as well as character and ideas, this is a fine film. Read more

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Reviews (151)

A total waste of time and money - Its a movie full of lies
I watched this movie and found nothing but bundles of lies. He did his best not to divide India and it was all Jinnah who divided and founded Pakistan. Gandhi was totally against it.
Cinematic Masterpiece Overviewing the Long Complex Life of an International Hero
Lord Attenborough sought out to offer a sampling of the most well known and farthest reaching events, while interjecting events little known in Gandhi's personal life. The beginning disclosure makes clear that there was no possible way, in the time allowed, to tell all that could be told about the man.This film introduces us to the essence and primary thoughts of Mohandas K. Gandhi and explores the patience and diligence of non-violent philosophy.
A movie that shows us there is hope for humanity
We are not perfect, but if we decide to do better than what has been the norm for humanity, we can. Gandhi chose to be a better man than he was and through his will power, guided but not blinded by his convictions, he embarked on a life that led him to challenge accepted notions on many aspects of our lives. He was creative, asking questions others did not ask and inventing answers others did not offer, with respect to problems we still face. And then he lived by what he discovered. He did not let his fears control him, but rather experimented with his own life to try out those answers. He sought the "truth" and tried to live by it. Above all, he tried to be honest with himself and with others. He tried not to inflict suffering, while also not allowing it to be accepted.
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

A tale about a fatherless boy finding dramatically different father figures throughout a remarkable adventure, Read more

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Reviews (55)

Johny Depp eat your heart out
This is a great pirate film. Based on a great novel. Though it lacks a love interest it is none the less a fine story. Superbly acted. Heston really did a great job. Superbly costumed. Excellent sets. Beutiful scenery.

Give Ted Turner the BLACK SPOT if he doesn't put this on DVD!
Okay....CLEARLY, there are many of us who have vehemently and emphatically stated how badly we want this movie to be RELEASED ON DVD!So, Mr. Turner....what's the deal?My wife and I saw this movie when it was first aired on TV, and INSTANTLY fell in love with it.It is, as others have mentioned, THE BEST PIRATE MOVIE EVER!As we all know, the TV and movie industries are all about $$$, and the bar silver surely awaits Turner Home Video should they release this AMAZING MASTERPIECE on DVD!We turned various family members on to this movie when it first aired, and we all agree that Charlton Heston IS LONG JOHN SILVER.
f--k tnt
i am seriously boycotting everything tnt does until they release this on dvd the lazy b------s. f--k muppet treasure island, all the little animals, etc. and f--k tnt and ted turner especially. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action / Adventure    2. Feature Film-action/Adventure    3. Movie   

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Reviews (50)

Great Movie
I first saw this movie when I was a little, and I have to say it is one of my favorite movies. If only they came out with a DVD!!! I would recommend this movie to absolutely anyone.... Great Irish movie!!!

A brilliant family film!
Another brilliant Irish film! War of the Buttons is adapted from a French book and film and is (apparently) set in County Cork, Ireland.It centers on two rival gangs of pre-teen boys (and a few girls), the Ballys and the Carricks from neighboring towns, Bally Dowse and Carrick Dowse.By their dress, the Carricks appear to be "the haves" and the Ballys the "have nots."The Ballys and the Carricks each are lead by brave, honorable, respectable boys, Fergus and Geronimo; each has its own traitor/coward/bully, Riley and Gorilla, respectively.
I love this movie - it needs to be on DVD!!!
I first saw this movie years ago, and I fell in love with it right away. The scenery is beautiful, and the boys in the film are great. The story is simple but so fun. I wanted to be right in there with the kids, fighting their 'battles.' I really hope this film comes out on DVD, because I don't have a VHS player anymore. It's really a gem. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action / Adventure    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

This gorgeous adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic children's story is well worth watching with the whole family. Produced for Canadian television, it's one of those rare productions that actually sticks to the book and even enhances it through first-rate performances and an excellent script. Set on bucolic Prince Edward Island in the late 19th century, Read more

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Reviews (288)

I love this movie today as much as I loved it when I was 10....
I saw this movie for the first time when I was something like 10 years old, and immediately fell in love with Anne Shirley. I have now read everything by L.M. Montgomery that I can get my hands on, and am as big a fan as ever. This movie is a beautiful version of a beautiful book.
The Way things should be
"Anne of Green Gables" shows how a combination of love, honesty, hard work, tolerance and integrity is the perfect mix for bringing out the best from the potential in anyone, even in a non-traditional family. It's an incredibly refreshing break from today's society, where lying and manipulation have become almost a norm in much of the world we know.

Timeless Classic
All the great reviews written previously say it all - Anne of Green Gables the movie is a timeless classic of the classic novel. I've been watching this movie since I've been a child, and I still watch it as an adult. A movie like this doesn't need "special features" for it to be attractive as a DVD(Although the commentary is great!). Just the fact that no matter how long I keep this and how often I watch this movie, it won't change like VHS does. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

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Reviews (21)

toe curling
in german with german actors, production ofcourse;this is the almost verbatim meeting held in the city of the title where the german elite explained just how they were going to exterminate the jews entirely...the cover-up,how they would make it look and sound palapable,going over details without euphamisims.difficult to watch,but needed.we seem to have already begun willing to repeat the horrible mistakes we promised to learn from...there is an american version with kenneth branagh and stanley tucci that is as good,but lacks the story in and told by germans...it is called the "conspiracy" on dvd...

Excellent documentary on important topic
The Wannsee Conference was a critical, 2-hour event during which high officials of the Third Reich planned their "Final Solution" for the "Jewish problem." Their solution -- ship them east, then kill them all.
Holocaust Incorporated

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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Foreign    3. Foreign Film - German    4. International    5. Movie   

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Reviews (59)

In short
This is simply the best motion picture I have ever seen. A beautiful and intelligent triology that will stay with you. Years ago, during it's first week on Swedish cinemas, I saw it twice. Since then I've seen it a few times more.

Dark, intriguing and "in your face" film...I want a DVD version!
Saw this film years ago in Sweden (without English subtitles). Despite not understanding most of the dialogues, the images were stark enough to remind you the realities of life in other countries outside the comforts of your home.Definitely a film that should go out on DVD and something I'd spend my money on!

Great film about a great tragedy
In watching this movie you can understand the Balkan conflict better than if you readfive books on the subject. It is about the power of war crushing the innocence of love. good acting all around and wonderful cinematography. We need a DVD relase of this one! those reading this review please tell amazon you want a DVD version, as more and more people switch exclusively to DVD it would be a shame of if this gem were forgotten. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

This big and sometimes messy movie achieves the seemingly impossible: it demythologizes the American Revolution and lets us see it in a completely new light. Hugh Hudson (Read more

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Reviews (40)

Haunting and real, a cinematic work of art
I chose this film over Gibson's The Patriot for my son to view as part of his course on American history and literature, with no regrets.
A bit clipped
This film leaves me a bit on the confused side. Costuming is first class and excellant. The Scenery and settings are first rank. Battle scenes are good and appear realistic. But the plot leaves me a bit confused. I would be inclined to ask if this was originally planned as a great mini-series except the best parts have been clipped out and the rest stitched back together to form something within a time limit.
Overlooked Gem
I wrote a review for this film six years ago while I was a college history student. After one more degree, and six more years of study in the history field, I still consider this film the best treatment of the American Revolution.
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Subjects:  1. Action    2. Adventure    3. Drama    4. Feature Film-action/Adventure    5. Movie   

Editorial Review

Sally Potter's self-reflective film stars Potter (an actress and the director of Read more

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Reviews (59)

Save your Money!!!
If you're one of those who likes to see 'artsy' films for the sake of conversation, by all means check this oddball out.If, however, you want to watch a movie to be entertained or to appreciate Tango, be advised: This movie absolutely sucked.Potter was uninspiring and passionless, her love interest was self-centered and whiny, and what was up with the legless midget shooting horrific looking models in the color shots???In a word, the whole thing was terrible.Even the Tango wasn't very good in this one (primarily as it was usually Potter dancing, and she obviously needs some more practice!)...the one redeeming factor was the music, which was outstanding.Particularly moving was Yo-Yo Ma's Libertango.Do yourself a favor...buy the CD, skip the movie.

Want to learn Argntinian Tango? Watch this over & over.
Plot weak. No Matter. WATCH THE DANCERS!!!!over and over.Here you wont see snaps of the head from R-----L & back like in the dance competitions on PBS. Watch older people do it. My dancing has become more fluid (IM75 ) Thisis ARGENTINIAN TANGODANCED FOR FUN not for an award!

Nice tango...bad story
This film was so disappointing. I love tango. And Buenos Aires. If it wasn't for both of these elements in the film...it would get no stars. Sally Potter is so self indulgent. The story is so discredible....that we are supposed to believe this young guy has a romantic attachment to her?! Perhaps if she had cast a younger female for the lead role this may have been more believeable. The actual 'plot' was so weak...nothing happens in the whole film except she learns tango and wrecks my head. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

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Reviews (34)

The Good Account
The film is adaptation of the C.S. Foresters first novel in the Hornblower series "The Happy Return", in the USA this was titled "Beat To Quarters" with a little added plot from a "Ship of The Line" (not three novels as other reviewers have stated). The Happy Return was originally written as a stand alone book and C.S. forester conceived the idea whilst on a voyage home after a stint writing a film scripts in Hollywood. Although a very British subject Gregory Peck portrays the part of the stiff Hornblower very well. Forester himself wrote he was very happy with the results and in many ways this version is closer to the original idea than the later TV versions. Gregory Peck plays the man alone in charge of vessels a long way from home. Forester conceived the story not so much a story of ships, heroes and battles but of class barriers and the loneliness of command. The story is about throwing together of Hornblower a Captain of middle class background and Lady Barbara, sister of Duke of Wellington,well played by Virginia Mayo, I regret however that her accent does not bear up to scrutiny very well.He is already married so is not free and in any event he is too low a social class to jump the great social divide. In he close fines of a small vessel a long way form home passions and temptations are strong.The story does depart from the original novel in one important aspect by making Lady Barbara ill on the voyage home so Captain Hornblower can care for sick lady in the already confined circumstance. Apart from that I have very little to argue with. Forester went on to write ten Hornblower novels with this film sitting in the middle of the completed sequence. If you fond of the character then this is very good starting point and to my mind gets to the heart of what the writer originally conceived. I only hope that a good DVD version is put out soon.
Peck is Perfect...
Peck is the perfect Hornblower, when you read the books this is who you will see after watching this wonderful film,(I have seen it on TCM).C.S. Forester, the author of the books wrote the screenplay and it shows, very true to the character and he did a wonderful job in working in the best from the first three books, which I feel are the best ones he wrote.(If you have a teenage son, do him a favor and buy him the complete set, they are much better than anything on TV and are great reads for adults also.)The current TV movies on HH should do the same and put some teeth into the writing and stick closer to the books.This film should really be put on dvd and they should add a lot of extras concerning the author, how popular the books were around the world and also include a doc. about the time period of "iron men and wooden ships"...

Movie Fan
I would like to see this movie on dvd. This is the the orginal Captin Horatio Hornblower ... Read more

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Editorial Review

A conventional boy-and-his-horse story set against the red rocks of remote Australian mountains. (If there's a wide-screen edition, grab it. The scenery is one of the movie's strongest features.) Tom Burlinson is Jim Craig, a young man left stranded after his father's death who is struggling to save the family farm. He proves his manhood during a hair-raising hunt over the wooded slopes in search of an escaped stallion. The great, grizzled, Australian character actor Jack Thompson (the idealistic lawyer in Read more

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Reviews (85)

He's not a lad, brother! HE'S A MAN!
This movie KNOCKED ME OUT!
Erratic Sound Problem
This is a wonderful movie which is why I replaced my VCR tape copied from TV by buying it as a DVD.Unfortunately, the sound is a major problem. Every time the scenes changed from dialogue to music or action such as thundering horses, calamitous weather,etc. the volume rose to a shreiking crescendo.It required constant volume adjustment to be able to watch the film comfortably.I don't recall this being such a glaring problem on the VCR copy. Perhaps sound is now mixed for the younger people who suffer hearing loss from the music (I use that term loosely) of their times, but if so, I don't see how they can make out the dialogue. This problem is not limited to just this DVD of course, but it spoiled an otherwise beautiful film.

Great story
Man From Snowy River is a good romance with lots of action and shot in a beautiful location. Good all around story. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film Family    3. Movie    4. Westerns   

Editorial Review

The first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10 at the Olympics was Nadia Comaneci. From a small town in Romania, Nadia (Leslie Weiner, in her only feature film role) rose to international stardom. Under the coaching guidance of Bela Karoli, she pushed herself with the will of a champion. This movie does a wonderful job of showing how hard gymnasts must work as well as showing how much they must give up in their personal lives in order to achieve success. After winning three gold medals at the 1976 Olympics, her life spins out of control when Bela is removed as her coach. For the first time in her life she is on her own, she is the object of jealousy from her teammates, and her weight is out of control. She seeks out her former coach and asks for his help. Together they put Nadia back on the winning track. A family film with a lot to offer, Read more

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Reviews (47)

We loved Nadia!
My daughters have grown up watching this video, sometimes every day!Grandma said that if she never had to watch it again it would be fine with her...guess we overdid it.When I hear the music of the competitions I stop what I'm doing to watch that part again.Truly a classic and family favorite.

Fabolous Nadia
Full of enthusiasm! I liked this movie a lot.
A Great Movie!
I had this tape on VHS a long time ago and lent it to someone who did not return it.I want to purchase it again and wanted to buy one of the used ones - can't believe that someone would have the nerve to try and sell a VHS tape for $199.00 though - is the case solid gold or something??? - shame on you!!
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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

One of the most ferociously iconoclastic and experimental films of the French New Wave, Alain Resnais's 1961 feature, winner of the grand prize at that year's Venice Film Festival, is based on a script by Alain Robbe-Grillet. At its center is what seems to be a simple but unanswerable puzzle: Did its protagonist (Giorgio Albertazzi) have an affair the year before with a woman (Delphine Seyrig) he just met (or possibly re-met) at his hotel? The inquiry becomes an unsettling experiment in flattening the dimensions of past, present, and future so that any difference between them becomes meaningless, while Resnais's coldly formal but oddly dreamlike geometric compositions make space itself seem a function of subjective memory. Add to that Resnais's trademark tracking shots--long, smooth, a visual correlative of a wordless feeling--and this is a film that truly gets under the skin in almost inexplicable ways. One of the most influential works of its time. Read more

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Reviews (76)

Look, the Emperor is naked!

Unutterable elegance
Whatever this is about, once you've seen it, you'll know you've seen something. What I mean is, whatever else you've ever seen, this is something else. Setting aside the helpful and fascinating extra features that came with my disc, by someone called Ginette Vincendeau, and suspending any attempt at prosaic understanding while watching, soak up the incomparable sensation of atmosphere, the sonorous sounds, the stunning sights, the sublimely stylish manner in which the images unroll. It almost makes the effort of interpretation unnecessary. But then, watch it again, and listen to all the explanations offered on all sides: hardly anyone can help coming up with their own ideas. And they are almost all different, since every viewpoint will alter the perspective of any object. There's the viewer who tells us it's actually the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. That long, tall, thin fellow is Death, who could lose, but always wins. This place is Limbo: the Underworld, where memory is erased, and time and place have no meaning, make no sense.Couldbe. Why does Death say he could lose? Answer: Amor Vincit Omnia. There are slight hints of Cinderella and her slipper; or the awakening of the Sleeping Beauty. The Life Force defeating Death and escaping from his dreary clasp. This is partly what Ginette puts forward. But she admits, I think, that this is too mechanical a reading; like the marionette-like dance, and the empty pleasantries of the half-heard conversations. This is a game, within a play, within a film, within a theatre, or on an unanticipated dvd. These people exist at one of civilization's high points, the eighteenth century enlightenment, baroque at the point of rococo, where order is everything, yet giving way to distortion. Or else they are an image of everyday life, its forms and conventions: this is a dateless reality of actually unrealized desires. Watch it a third time, and it becomes erotic. It is the product of a totally European sensibility, a specifically Franco-Germanic sensibility: America is far too adolescent a society ever to have created anything to equal it, in spite of Ginette's instancing Hitchcock, and Kubrick's "The Shining" --- which is lamentably feeble in its supposed emulation.It is easy to recognize genius: you know that however hard you might try, you would never come up with anything to match it.

sunk in time after 46 years
Surely the film was very brave experiment by Resnais (the director) in 1961 (French "new wave"), introducing to cinematography what Joyce and Proust pioneered in literature at beginning of 20th century. Thus, the film is a great contribution to what we call the FORM rather than the content. That's why I rated it with 3 stars, not just one.
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Subjects:  1. Foreign Film - French   

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Reviews (7)

Sodom and Gommorrah
The movie was astounding, well put together and of awesome quality. I would treasure it for years to come

Entertaining Hollywood Version Of The Famous Biblical Story
Even for those people not familiar with the stories contained in the Old Testament, when the names Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned a vivid image will always spring to mind of a world full of vice, sexual depravity, and wickedness. The twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah embodied all these human failings and were a natural for the Hollywood film makers to latch on to as subject material once the "sword and sandal", movie craze gripped Hollywood in the late 1950's and early 60's. In fact this story was a natural for filmmakers of this period and contains everything that an epic movie lover like myself could ask for; lavish sets, court intrigue, well staged sword fights, unbridled passion and romance, all wrapped up in beautiful colour photography using actual locations to really enhance the unfolding story. By 1960's epic standards "Sodom and Gomorrah",is a relatively big budget international production that expands on the original story contained in the Bible but amazingly tends to tone down the sex and sin side of it while still being highly entertaining. I only viewed this film for the first time over Easter and I was surprised at how for the most part it avoided many of the more immoral elements of the story. Another production of 3 years later "The Bible: In The Beginning", directed by John Huston is much more explicit in showing the depravity and vice of the twin cities, which makes it an interesting companion piece to this lavish production.
But did it fill in the extra blanks?
This is a very good telling of the story of these 2 cities. However, I'm inclined to ask that maybe it was too long of a movie? This is not a very long story at all in the scriptures, and alot of it was filler of Lot's faith and life. It also shows Lot's side of where he backslid, and hopes to repent, and start anew with God. I'm just wondering if maybe it was a little bit too long? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

This 1982, 180-minute television remake of the original MGM feature, produced 30 years before, is the rare makeover of a classic that works quite well under its own steam. Anthony Andrews plays the disinherited knight who returns from the Third Crusades and is determined to raise the ransom to free a kidnapped King Richard (Julian Glover). With his bid rebuffed by his estranged father (Michael Hordern), and the affection of the latter's ward, Rowena (Lysette Anthony), compromised, Ivanhoe looks toward the generosity of the beautiful Rebecca (Olivia Hussey)--whose father (James Mason) he rescued from anti-Semitic Normans--for help. But a plot by faithless friends to discredit Ivanhoe, and his subsequent partnership with Robin Hood (David Robb) to save the day, keep this story from slowing down even for a minute. Originally a miniseries, this production has enough breadth to provide lots of breathing room for the script and cast to mine all the drama they can from Sir Walter Scott's novel. This is also a great-looking movie, with wall-to-wall pageantry, superb costumes--the works. Read more

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Reviews (24)

Fun, but it doesn't do justice to the book
I must admit that I loved the book.I was hoping that this would be an accurate movie or at least keeping with the spirit.I found that it was a bit flat and that it didn't have the flair and excitment that the book had.Well done for a tv series, but not likely to satisfy the die hard fans.

"If I could only get my strength back!"
"Ivanhoe" is a curiosity of literature; a long adventure novel whose hero spends most of the plot unconscious, a medieval romance with a not-so-subtle rail against prejudice, and a tale that proves when all else fails, have Robin Hood show up. This made-for-TV adaptation follows the book fairly closely, and it stars the always welcome, decidedly delicious Anthony Andrews to boot.
Love Affairs and Pageantry
From what I remember of the 1952 version, it was all about Robert Taylor and whether or not he would wind up with Elizabeth Taylor or Joan Fontaine.Today it seems like a different world, of course, and even in 1952 Taylor was a bit long in the tooth to play Wilfred of Ivanhoe properly, while Liz Taylor was a good 20 years younger than him and way younger than Joan Fontaine (who plays her successful rival, a lesson that even the mature women can still get a man--a lesson we heard very seldom in the 1950s).
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-action/Adventure    3. Movie    4. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

This 1991 comedy by Gabriele Salvatores was knocked for notbeing deep enough, but it is what it is, and it's actually an easygoing, sunnymovie about eight Italian soldiers who manage to strand themselves on a tiny Greek island paradise during World War II. The sort of mutts who would shoota donkey for not knowing the proper password, these clumsy warriorsbecome a comic variation on the Lotus Eaters of myth, their fighting spirit evaporated in the midst of so much beauty and sexual availability among the local women. There are also sundry opportunities for the men to find another purposefor their lives (one particularly artistic fellow works on the restorationof a church, for example). Amid the sometimes coarse jokes and gratuitous nudity, there are subtle themes about the contrast between what men are truly like in their natural state versus what they are like as killers. (