The Lady and the Highwayman

I saw this movie a year after it came out when I was ten and I haven't seen it since. I could only remember small details like Lysette having her dog killed by her new husband (I cried, but I was only ten!) and also the executioner remarking that it will only take one blow to lop Lysette's head off. It is one of the best adventure stories for young kids (and old ones), up there with Blackbeard's Ghost and the Goonies! If you can find it, watch it, and then watch it again!!

Don't! Oh, I know it's cheap - looks like a real bargain, eh? NOT! Put the wallet down and don't throw away your money. It's not even worth the $1.25 it routinely lists for on EBAY and HALF.com.

In a decent print, this might be a fun bit of fluff. But, the DVD print is far from decent. It looks for all the world like an old re-copied and re-copied video tape. The poor video quality completely spoils the viewing experience - it's flat, muddy, blurry, and dark. I've never seen anything even remotely this bad in any retail video product, much less a DVD.

It wasn't the greatest material to begin with - the script, dialogue, and acting are a bit dodgy and *quite* stagy. Some worthwhile stars are not allowed to shine (Oliver Reed, Hugh Grant, Michael York, John Mills). However, the costumes and sets are really quite nice - pity we can't appreciate them in this release.

Although filmed in 1988, this British made-for-TV movie captures the look and feel, the melodrama and romance, even the stagy lighting, of a big-budget 1930s Hollywood swashbuckler. By 1930s standards, it is a first-rate film. By today's standard, well, that's not really a fair standard to judge it by. It lacks the scale and fancy visual effects of "Braveheart," or "Gladiator," but in its quirky old-fashioned way, it is a better movie than either of them. And it is miles better in every possible way (including historical accuracy) than the egregious BBC/A&E "Charles II" mini-series (USA title "The Last King"), set in the same time period, with many of the same characters, that was broadcast in 2004.

"The Lady and the Highwayman" is based on a Barbara Cartland romance novel, and set in Restoration England of the 1660s. Yet with a shift of locale, and a slight re-write, it could just as well be a western. Think "Zorro." Indeed it borrows lots of bits and pieces from classic westerns -- such as Hugh Grant's character jumping from atop a 30 foot wall on to the back of his horse.

"The Lady and the Highwayman" was filmed in England, using several real period castles and manor houses as locations. Both the detailed sets and the lavish costumes mesh seamlessly with the period buildings. The costume department did a great job, as much with the soldiers' uniforms, armor, and weapons, as with the courtiers' finery.

The cast is excellent, and the dialog, by Terence Feely, was well written. 28-year old Hugh Grant looks young and suave, but doesn't say a whole lot. The star is young Lysette Anthony, then 25, and she is terrific. Oliver Reed is a menacingly villainous Phillip Gage. Michael York is a dashing King Charles II.

I just saw the film on a $1 DigiView DVD sold by WalMart. It was definitely not a digital transfer -- but its graininess and off colors actually enhanced the impression of its being a 1930s film, rather than 1980s. It's no classic, but I enjoyed watching it, and I've seen plenty worse. 6/10.

For another quirky and retro view of 17th century England, check out "Winstanley" by Kevin Brownlow.

I loved this movie growing up, it was a lot of fun and always amusing to know you were a fan of Hugh Grant before he became famous ;) This movie was released as "SilverBlade" in Australia where I grew up and first saw it, and it wasn't until I came to the United States that I found out it had another name. So if there are any Aussies out there wondering if this is the same movie - it is - I have seen both SilverBlade and The Lady & The Highwayman and they are exactly the same.

I first saw The Lady and The Highwayman, the year that Four Weddings And A Funeral came out. I barely knew who Hugh Grant was at the time (and at the time was not interested in Four Weddings) but I sat down to watch The Lady and The Highwayman which was on TV. I loved it, and last Christmas it aired again, so I recorded it. It's great fun. I love Emma Simms bitchy Barbara Castlemaine, and Lysette Anthonys sweet Panthea Vine, and of course Hugh Grant as the dashing Silverblade. Great fun!