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The High Crusade

The High Crusade

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not the book, and its not Monty Python
Review: I was disappointed that this was not an adaption of the very funny Poul Anderson book. Other that a credit to him and the fact that the story involves knights and aliens, there is scant relationship between the book and the movie.

This movie is more akin to Benny Hill than Monty Python. Very low brow and broad.

That said, the movie was mildly amusing. Not worth buying unless you find it in a cut-out bin.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Oh dear! Where's the Dubbing?
Review: I've got a dubbed version of this on video quite a few year when it was on T.V. which is absolutely excellent, I live in England and can't get The High Crusade on DVD over here. So I got the U.S. version, all I can say is it's terrible. In the british version, all the aliens were dubbed with hilarious English accents and didn't sound like dodgy Jawa's out of Star Wars.

All I've got to say is, watch the English dubbed version if you get the chance. It's a completely different movie...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: 90 minutes without engaging your brain
Review: It looks as though someone has seen Monty Python & the Holy Grail, thought it funny but not really understood why. The outward attempt at humour is there, but it never really comes off. A pity, since this was an enjoyable book, and it could have made an enjoyable film in the right hands.

However, that said, there are worse ways of spending 90 minutes, and the plot will not require the use of any intellect to understand.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Simply terrible.
Review: My father bought this movie thinking it was a historical account of the crusades. Maybe he didn't read the back or see the spaceship flying across the cover. In any case, he cursed me for not notifing him of the film's contents. My father somehow managed to sit through this movie, then disowned it. I have tried several times to sit down and watch this movie to the end with no avail. It's not funny, or scary, nor does it accomplish anything I'm sure the director was trying to accomplish. A funny movie is "Rikki-Oh," "High Crusade" is definately not worth your time. Instead try poking small needles under your fingernails. This is a more gratifying experience than the "High Crusade." From a historical background, the "High Crusade" fails on several levels. First I don't think there was an alien invasion during the crusades. Second, well...I guess only the invation thing is wrong, but trust me it's wrong on so many different levels. The French guy is not funny either. He tries to get with the main character's wife and then I don't know what happens because I usually shut of my dvd player. I have passed along this movie to my friends and family with hilarious results. They watch the movie, the entire movie, hoping it has some redeeming value, but of course, it doesn't. Then they bring me back the DVD and curse me for wasting 90 minutes of their lives. Well, watch at your own risk, and mind your pints and quarts.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: An insult to a great book
Review: Poul Anderson's "The High Crusdae" is an SF classic. This garbage under the same name is one of the worst movies ever made.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Oh dear
Review: Sorry, but this is a dismal movie. It starts badly when the credit blurb on the packaging says Paul, not Poul Anderson. Not only is it completely unlike the book but the attempted humour almost entirely misses the mark. The human characters are portrayed as complete imbeciles and the aliens are not much better. I accept that compromises have to be made when adapting novels to screen, but why bother with the license in the first place if you are simply going to use the title and ignore the plot?

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!
Review: THE OLDER I GET, THE MORE I DREAD THE POSSIBILITY OF ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS BEING TURNED INTO A MOVIE. "RAISE THE TITANIC" WAS A PERFECT EXAMPLE, OR ANYTHING WITH THE NAME "TARZAN" ON IT. OH, I KNOW, NO DIRECTOR CAN EVER MAKE, NO ACTOR CAN EVER PORTRAY, OUR LITERARY HEROES THE WAY WE IMAGINE THEM, BUT COME ON, NOW! THIS IS THE STORY OF A HUGE SUPER-TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY WHO COMPLETELY UNDERESTIMATES A PRIMITIVE, BACKWATER SOCIETY AND GETS THEIR BUTTS KICKED IN THE PROCESS. IMPOSSIBLE? ASK THE VIETNAMESE. THEY DID IT TO US IN ALMOST THE SAME WAY. ANYHOW, THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY GREAT MOVIE WITH A MODEST BUDGET AND NO MORE SPECIAL EFFECTS THAN IT HAS. WHY DID THEY HAVE TO MAKE A COMEDY OUT OF IT?PLEASE..PLEASE..PLEASE KEEP THESE BUTCHERS AWAY FROM "A PRINCESS OF MARS". LEAVE SOME THINGS SACRED!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Well, its not perfect but......
Review: This is a cute little movie if you like anglophilic SiFi movies. To combine a subject like the crusades with an alien invasion theme is quite unique and leads to some interesting happenings. While the acting will never win awards and the plot is somewhat simple, it is the little things in this movie that can warm you to it. For instance, where else can you see proof of the English long bow's superiority over common blasters or watch the extreme frustration of a captured small alien trying to explain to these English medievels that the Earth travels round the sun and not the other way around, or the comical heath problems of the alien base commander. Well, its not perfect but you can always chuckle your way back to Star Trek or Star Wars if you need to. By the way, when is Amazon going to put spell check on these things!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Comedy
Review: This is a masterfully done movie. If you like renting 'B' movies and laughing at them, this picture is for you. The plot couldn't be better.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A Major Disappointment
Review: When I found this movie, I was excited. I've been a serious fan of Poul Anderson's work since I started reading. "The High Crusade" has always been one of my favorite books by Anderson and I have long thought that it would make an excellent movie. I still think it would make an excellent movie. Unfortunately, this is not it.

I was completely surprised by the direction taken by the screen play and direction of this movie. Or maybe shocked would be a better word. It had simply never occurred to me that Anderson's book would be interpreted as a comedy. Certainly, there is humor in the novel, but it is basically a story of high adventure with some very serious elements balancing the humor. There is none of that in the movie. Brown (the screen writer) and Knoesel & Neuhauser (the directors) extracted elements from the book and used them as a skeleton on which to build a second rate "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

This movie was almost painful for me to watch because I could see enough of the novel on the screen to know that a good movie could have been made from "The High Crusade." The SFX, though a little cheezy by current standards, are still acceptable. The cast was adequate, though some of the parts would have been cast differently if this were not a comedy, I'm sure. Certainly, John Rys-Davies makes an excellent Brother Parvis and he is one of the few redeeming factors of this film. And the few scenes taken from the novel were almost watchable. But the overall tone and direction were not even remotely true to the novel. Frankly, even fans of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" will be disappointed because it's just not that funny.

If you have never read the book, then you may find this movie mildly amusing. If you are a fan of this classic science fiction novel, then I recommend steering clear of this movie. It will taint your good memories of the book forever.


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