Rating: 
Summary: Great Story
Review: This is a great movie and an awesome story. The acting of Julianna Marguiles is absolutely wonderful. The character portrayal was magnificent and each actor delivered a great performance. The story told by the woman's (Morgaine) side mekes the story magical and enchanting. The romance, the war, the secrets are all present in this movie. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Very, very good
Review: This movie was VERY well done- a great movie all in all- although having read the book it is a little disappointing in that some very key parts are left out. To make "The Mists of Avalon" into a movie and to really DO it right would have taken a lot more time, and the movie would have been about twice, maybe three times as long. So as it is and for what it is, I give it thumbs up.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed...
Review: When I saw the callings for the mini-series of "Mists", I got really happy and kept thinking when it would pass on Brazilian TNT. I expected almost 4 months till I had the opportunity of knowing the dates of its exhibition. I was actually counting the days. But I don't know why... They always say that when you read a book, its adaptation to a movie or a TV serie makes of it a terrible and senseless retelling. And then, I must agree with them.My two stars go to the beautiful songs that were chosen to complement the movie - The Mystic's Dream, by Loreena McKennitt is fantastic - and the costumes, that were not so unreal for the historical time this story happens. But that's all. Sadly, that's all. That's all because some important characters have been cut off, like Kevin, and some others, like Gwenhwyfar and Morgause have lost their most interesting aspects and strong personalities. Some parts of the story have been totally forgotten, or readapted, like Viviane's murder, which I thought one of the most stupid scenes I have ever seen in an Arthurian movie. A classic novel, with powerful characters, interesting new situations, that almost leads us into another dimension - has become a ridiculous soap opera, with meaningless situations and banal dialogs. Where is the 20th century Arthurian classic? I guess it has faded through the mists...
Rating:
Summary: Not Perfect But Still Great
Review: I for my part saw the mini series on TNT before reading the book but that's what it took for me to finally make up my mind about reading the 800 plus page book and by the Goddess was it worth it! True, the mini series left out a great deal of info from the book but that is always to be expected when there is a movie adaptation of a book. Some things were also changed from the book to the movie but all in all I thought that the mini series did a fair job and I'm sure that Ms. Zimmer Bradley would have been satisfied with the finished work. The fifth star is for the things that were left out and or changed. For those of you who haven't read the book and wished to know what was left out, GET THE BOOK! For anybody interested in the Arthurian Legends, this is a must!
For anybody interested in Goddess worship and Pagan lore, again a must!
Rating:
Summary: Mists
Review: I saw the movie on TNT. I loved it because it told the Authurian tale from the womens perspective. It had all the scandal,betrayal and love that molds a great movie. The movie inspired me to read the book by Bradlay (which was great also)and look into the pagan rites and rituals. Being from celtic lines it definatley interested me and entertained. KUDOS to TNT for bringing history alive to all
Rating: 
Summary: Good.... And Bad....
Review: Yes, it is a TV movie of the best book I have in my collection, I drooled over this for months. But when it came time to actually watch it.... At first I hated it. They left out some of the best parts, the parts that explained things, and the good parts, like when Lancelot was fooled by Morgaine and Elaine... It was so disappointing. The changes in the plot I didn't like either, like when Viviane was killed, not by the son of the woman she helped to die peacefully, but by Morgause? That didn't make sense...
Then I read around on the internet, read some reviews by other pagans, who brought up good points- that it had to be suitable for the masses, that it had to be interesting enough for people of the traditional religions to want to watch it, but not be offensive to them, which I'm sure the book would have been. The ending had nothing to do with the book either, but I liked it, it worked.
Hubby was getting quite frustrated with me as I kept interrupting the movie: "It wasn't like *that* in the book.." and he'd have to pause it and listen to what was wrong with the movie.. Thank Goddess he's patient. :}
Don't watch this if you want a faithful retelling of the book- it's not like that. And don't watch it and never read the book- there is a world of difference between them.
~My two cents.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing yet disapointing
Review: The movie is great. It's absolutely wonderful, but if your a Mists fan then you'll see how badly some books are cut apart when brought to the screen. The characters are very well cast but small details that really make the story sorta disappear as if they were never there. The setting is perfect and just like I would imagine things in the book, especially Avalon. And The soundtrack is utterly amazing. I bought it as soon as i could. The music fits so well and, to me, is part of how effective the whole movie is. Even though the movie is very different from the book I'm still going to buy it because had I never read it I would love this movie and not critize one thing about.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment!
Review: After thoroughly enjoying the novel, Mists of Avalon, I was very disappointed with this video adaptation. Key plot elements, such as the complex relationship between Morgaine and Kevin and its tragic outcome, were missing and as a result, the storyline was one dimensional and boring. The entire alternative flavor of the novel was missing and this movie seemed too much like every other version of the Arthur legend. Skip the video and buy the novel( and the Marion Zimmer Bradley prequels ) instead.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but Not MZB's Mists
Review: Visually beautiful, musically enchanting, perfectly cast, this movie drew me back again and again. I was transported by the misty lakes, green hills, and evocative soundtrack, yet the enjoyment was purely superficial. The movie is not MZB's "Mists," but a poor adaptation that reproduces selected events and characters without capturing the novel's spirit. Condensing 876 pages to four hours, with half the time spent on the first 250 pages, completely undermines a thorough understanding of Paganism and its conflict with Christianity. I was disappointed that Christianity was repeatedly shown to be the sole refuge for those seeking peace and forgiveness, while the Goddess religion was reduced to fertility rites. The characters, though brilliantly portrayed, lack depth and seem more like the proverbial cardboard cut-outs than human beings. In addition, the makers of this film did not concern themselves with story continuity. Many events were changed, but other events and dialog were not modified to reflect those changes, resulting in numerous inconsistencies. Igraine is shown wearing a crescent, marking her as dedicated to the Goddess, yet she is married to "Britain's greatest Christian warrior" and he to her. Morgause performs a certain ritual and tells her husband of it, yet later the two speak as though it never happened. Viviane is shown early in the movie to be an active, powerful force for Pagan preservation, yet later does nothing when it falls out of favor at Camelot.
I sincerely hope that another, truer version of the book will be made by someone who loves and understands it as much as Peter Jackson loves "The Lord of the Rings."
Rating:
Summary: First you prop your sword between two rocks...
Review: ...then you throw yourself on it. Such is my impression of TNT's "The Mists of Avalon". MZB's book upon which this retelling is based is one of my favorite books of all time. When I heard that TNT was making a movie ersion I was excited... ooOOooooh, the same people who did "Animal Farm" and "Moby Dick" and "A Christmas Carol" (all of which I thoroughly enjoyed) were going to adapt a book which I have read and reread several times since my senior year in high school. I watched TNT looking for previews, commericials, anything in which I could see the appropriatley beautiful and haunted-looking Juliana Marguiles (as Morgaine) and the iron-faced Anjelica Houston (as Viviane) shine in their roles. And ooOOOOoooh the ads tempted and teased me. They showed a movie that was carefully constructed and lovingly filmed in perfect locations with the perfect mood. Well, they lied. What else can I say? When The Day finally arrived to watch, I was glued to my TV, and as time progressed I was still glued to my TV waiting for the movie to really "start". Six hours (or was it days?) later TMoA finished and I was left feeling hollow. This was it? What were they thinking?? It's... well, it's cheesy (when it should be dignified); it's banal (when it should be sexy); it's simple (when it should be subtle); and it's bland (when it should be interesting). There was no meat in which to sink my teeth.. no emotions for anyone (maybe for morgaine).. no anger at the hypocrisy of people... *sigh* It's another example of how A Good Book Can Go Bad on Film, which is sad because TNT had been doing so well up until then. Told from the viewpoint of Morgaine (Le Fey), the history of Camelot is laid out as Christians and Druids vie for control of Dark Ages England by supporting the High King Arthur, each trying to ensure their survival in England's future. But here it really boiled down to a love story between Arthur and Gwenhwyfar, Gwenhwyfar and Lancelot, Lancelot and Arthur, Morgaine and Lancelot and Morgaine and Arthur. No real political or religious strife was shown; but ironically no hearts really seemed to be broken. All the passion of Camelot was dropped for the beauty of the image.. no one got dirty, the colors were way too bright, the moods were shallow and, honestly, for as much gold as Gwenhwyfar was decked out in I'm surprised she could stand up. Poor frail thing. Avalon was full up with veiled-women (which reminded me of Paradise Island in the Lynda Carter Wonder TV series) and magic that was uninteresting to say the least - where was the awe of the Goddess? The horror of The Sight? And what was going on with Joan Allen's eye make-up?? That star-burst design was distracting in the least and Cleopatra Schwartz in the extreme. And why were all the Christians so clean? Thomas Aquinas himself eschewed bathing in favor of fleas whom he referred to as "my little brothers". I doubt there was that much yellow in the world back then. To be fair, though, I *was* touched two times during the movie - when Arthur and Morgaine were separated as children; and when Mordred was told his destiny was to betray his father Arthur. There was real emotin behind those moments. Sadly, they were brief. I also have to applaud TNT for not backing down form the incest issue, as it was integral to the plot.. even if they did A.) beat it over our heads, and B.) never really explain WHY Morgaine had to have a child with Arthur. The idea that Mordred would be raised to be the next High King as he was from two royal bloodlines (Pendragon and Avalon) was lost somewhere, so the incest in the movie just became kinda... well, gross. Noble effort, bad follow through. I really wanted to like this movie. I really did. Sorry, guys, I didn't.
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