The Scarlet Pimpernel Boxed Set
by Edward Bennett, Patrick Lau
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Denise Black, Julie Cox, Peter Jeffrey, Robert Langdon Lloyd, Robert PerkinsDirector: Edward Bennett, Patrick Lau
Brand: A and E Home Video
Producer: Delia Fine
Producer: Hannah Rothschild
Producer: Johan Eliasch
Producer: Julian Murphy
Writer: Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Writer: Richard Carpenter
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 294 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-05-30
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Scarlet Pimpernel Boxed Set
Movie Review: A high quality new interpretation of the Pimpernel
Summary: 5 Stars
Clearly, Baroness Orczy's original fictional character, "The Scarlet Pimpernel", and film adaptations such as the 1934 version starring Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, each stand alone. The 1998 BBC/A&E co-production is neither docudrama nor a faithful reproduction of the original works--it is a new interpretation of a favourite fictional character set in the French Revolution. Much criticism of this miniseries is ungenerous, and misses many of its finer points--in addition, in one case, to confusing Elizabeth McGovern with Elizabeth Montgomery.This is a very long piece of work--far exceeding Hitchcock's famous bladder test, if any zealot is contemplating a viewing in one sitting. That box contains five hours of viewing on three DVDs! Yet it sustains its high production values and story interest throughout, and is unusual among miniseries for doing so. Glorious locations in the Czech Republic; sumptuous, moody and squalid interiors as required; and first class costuming and property department, are combined with superb direction, photography, editing, sound, and acting.
Elizabeth McGovern is physically not the first actress one would think of casting as Lady Marguerite Blakeney. But like the highly skilled stage actress she is, Ms McGovern carries her role less on appearance than on technique. She weaves a credible romantic characterisation based on shared experience, intrigue, intellectual respect, and even a bit of physicality. She is well-matched with a strong cast also rich in stage background, including Richard E. Grant in the title role, Martin Shaw as the ruthless and complex Chauvelin, Ronan Vibert as Robespierre, and many other fine performers.
"The Scarlet Pimpernel" (1998) boxed set is fantastic value, comparable as a high quality costume drama to only one other miniseries currently in DVD, "The Count Of Monte Cristo" (1999) with Gerard Depardieu. If you saw and liked them on TV, they are even better on DVD.
Summary of The Scarlet Pimpernel Boxed Set
SCARLET PIMPERNEL - DVD MovieScarlet Pimpernel Book 3: Kidnapped King returns the series to the swashbuckling adventure of the first film. The dauphin has been kidnapped and both the Pimpernel and the Republicans are on his trail. Marguerite (Elizabeth McGovern) returns to France for a little undercover skullduggery while Percy (Richard E. Grant) travels to Paris and reunites his network of spies and secret agents. Grant plays the effete but snide Percy for all he's worth, a flamboyant snob with a tart tongue, while McGovern's Marguerite is the wayward daughter of the revolution come home for the cause. They're both covers, of course, but the play-acting becomes public theater when they hiss and spit a public breakup in front of the Republican government and Percy skulks out looking every inch the spineless fop. Free of suspicion from all but the cagey Republican agent Chauvelin (Martin Shaw), the Scarlet Pimpernel again rises to save the oppressed, shadow the suspicious, and track down the hiding place of the dauphin's captors. The plot of secret identities and murky alliances climaxes (in the best swashbuckling tradition) with crossed swords but concludes with a sneaky new conspiracy that opens the door for even more sequels. Suzanne Bertish guest stars as the theater star with a secret La Tourain. --Sean Axmaker
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