The Scarlet Pimpernel

This is a delightful version of Scarlet Pimpernel. Despite being made in the early 1980's, it doesn't show its age the way many older films do. Anthony Andrews makes it perfect with his incredible character development (lacking in other versions). Jane Seymour is pretty to look at, but the show belongs to Andrews. Fun to watch, and may encourage people to look at French history.

I first saw this when it debuted. Although I was 17 at the time and a guy (FYI--I'm still a guy but I'm aged a bit since), I LOVED the movie/miniseries. It was way beyond a simple "chick flick" or costume drama. Instead, exceptional acting, music and direction took this far beyond my expectations. In fact, I think it was better than Leslie Howard's movie overall--and that's saying a lot because his is also an excellent film. I was so impressed, I then showed a tape I'd made of the series to my best friend and my girlfriend (now she is my lovely wife) and they both fell in love with the series. And why not? It was exciting, engaging, historically accurate with an interesting guess as to what REALLY happened to Louis XVII and just plain fun! FYI--It's also fun to watch the performance of Ian McKellen--he is so slimy and awful as the bad guy!

I saw the film and then read the book (the first book, anyway), and I must say that Anthony Andrews is even more impressive when you have read Orczy's version. I initially thought that Sir Percy's accent was grating, and his facial expressions ridiculous, but it's really almost as if the character has sprung to life from the pages of the book. Andrews perfects Orczy's description of Sir Percy's 'lazy eyes' and 'drawly, sleepy tone' - he even has the height correct! The film then improves on the book by allowing Percy to step out of his foppish mask with Marguerite, and to reveal his true persona without that truly irritating accent. Jane Seymour has the necessary 'classic beauty', but she manages to smuggle the 1980s into the production with her bronze lipstick! Her character's innocence is also boosted onscreen - you feel as though Chauvelin has merely pinned the blame on her, whereas Orczy's Marguerite blabs about the family's whereabouts out of spite, although she doesn't intend for her words to be intercepted. The chemistry between Andrews and Seymour adds to the romantic tension between Sir Percy and Marguerite, and you can hardly wait until she discovers her husband's true identity (although you have to wonder which element of his personality she actually loves, and whether she would have stayed with him had she never figured it out).

The Scarlet Pimpernel hardly needs a description, but this particular version is my favourite by some distance. Anthony Andrews steals the show brilliantly as Sir Percy Blakeney, the dandy-ish fop from England who devotes all his time and energy to rescuing hapless French nobility from Madame Guillotine, even when that appears to be furthest from his mind. Underneath the camp act is a man of steely determination and strategic genius. He's rather good with a rapier as well. Anthony Andrews is well supported by a fine cast, including Ian McKellen (long before he found cinematic fame with X-Men and the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Jane Seymour as Sir Percy's love interest, who has never been better than she is in this role. Although it is a TV movie, it never feels cheap or under-funded. The film rattles along at a good pace and ticks all the right boxes for a true swashbuckler - the hero wins the day, wins the lady, humiliates the enemy and does it all in real style.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of my favorite movies. It may not be a big-budget blockbuster, but it certainly is intriguing. Hats off to Baroness Orczy for such an amazingly twisted tale, and again to the cast who pulled it off so well. It has that delicately beautiful balance of romance, hidden behind a latticework of deception, intrigue, bravado and hope. A fan of historical fiction, action and romance, I found it to be quite a fascinating little nugget of gold amongst a vast array of shoddy Made-for-TV movies. Anthony Andrews is very good in the role of Sir Percy Blakeney, who- in nearly the very beginning of the movie- utters some of the most romantic lines I've ever heard, as well as some of the most humorous (my personal favorite is: "T'would seem your friend is in distress... to the rescue."). Sitting alone in the house some night in the future, this would be a good flick to put in. Guys, don't expect a lot of explosions (yes, it made me weep to not see them also), but it is still a good one. Besides, there are still some good old fashioned action/chase sequences...