Rating: 
Summary: SEE THIS ONE FIRST
Review: I saw today that the remake of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL starring Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews is finally coming out on DVD. Wonderful! But before you buy it and see it and applaud the performances by Seymour and Andrews you must watch the original starring the great Leslie Howard as Sir Percy Blakeney and, as his Lady Blakeney, Merle Oberon because Seymour and Andrews take virtually all of their mannerisms, accents and cues from the original, greater duo. Raymond Massey also creates the role of the sinister Citizen Chauvelin that Ian McKellen parrots in the newer version. Please don't get me wrong. The Seymour/Andrews/McKellen version is not poorer in its presentation than the original. It is simply richer for having followed almost completely the standard set by this original version. It is a statement to the greatness of the original production. This original version is wonderfully classical from its black and white presentation to its script and acting. THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL tells the story of a robust heroic man who must play the dandy in order to conceal his efforts as a British superhero to save as many as he can from the guillotine during the French Revolution. In the process he not only saves lives but also ultimately wins the love of his life all over again. THE HORSEMAN
Rating:
Summary: SEE THIS ONE FIRST
Review: I saw today that the remake of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL starring Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews is finally coming out on DVD. Wonderful! But before you buy it and see it and applaud the performances by Seymour and Andrews you must watch the original starring the great Leslie Howard as Sir Percy Blakeney and, as his Lady Blakeney, Merle Oberon because Seymour and Andrews take virtually all of their mannerisms, accents and cues from the original, greater duo. Raymond Massey also creates the role of the sinister Citizen Chauvelin that Ian McKellen parrots in the newer version. Please don't get me wrong. The Seymour/Andrews/McKellen version is not poorer in its presentation than the original. It is simply richer for having followed almost completely the standard set by this original version. It is a statement to the greatness of the original production. This original version is wonderfully classical from its black and white presentation to its script and acting. THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL tells the story of a robust heroic man who must play the dandy in order to conceal his efforts as a British superhero to save as many as he can from the guillotine during the French Revolution. In the process he not only saves lives but also ultimately wins the love of his life all over again. THE HORSEMAN
Rating: 
Summary: DVD version
Review: I was very dispointed with the DVD verison. The cut takes out two scenes which where some of my favorites and where important to the moive because of what was said and seen in the moive.
Rating: 
Summary: The Movie vs. the Book
Review: I would have liked this movie had I not read the book first. But once you read the book, you realize that this movie is a VERY poor adaption. The movie unfolds very slowly, is very choppy, and is over too soon, cutting out the most exciting part of the book....the ending. Sir Percy Blakeney is lovable in the book. He's complex and funny (clearly not as dumb as he seems), providing a lot of the book's comic relief. But the script does him no justice, and neither does Leslie Howard, who is clearly (from his first scene to the last shot of the film) too bland (and too thin if you ask me) for the role...and I say that as a big fan of his. At times he seems almost embarrassed that he even took the part. Marguerite was also a character who was done no justice by the script. She spends most of the movie sitting there and complaining....where as in the book, she's another three dimensional character that you understood and sympathized with. The relationship between Marguerite and Percy is also a complex one that is described beautifully in the book. There was a particular part in the book that makes it just as much a romance as an adventure, and it was completely left out of the movie. I was crushed because it was the one moment where you could actually feel the longing between the two of them, and it gave you a glimpse as to what type of man Percy was when it came to his wife. But the movie barely touches on this relationship. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why these two were even together. Everyone in the film seems embarrassed by the project, and I can't say I blame them. The book is fantastic, and this film is probably as shoddy as it can get when it comes to the Scarlet Pimpernel.
My Point: It was a HUGE disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: The Movie vs. the Book
Review: I would have liked this movie had I not read the book first. But once you read the book, you realize that this movie is a VERY poor adaption. The book is a lot more exciting and fun. And Leslie Howard was really miscast as Sir Percy Blakeney. He's too.....I guess depressing is the word. The point is that he doesn't do the character any justice. If you want "The Scarlet Pimpernel"....Read the Book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this one!
Review: If you're looking for a DVD of the Leslie Howard/Merle Oberon version of _The Scarlet Pimpernel_, buy _Drama Classics Triple Feature, Vol. 2_ (The Black Pirate / The Scarlet Pimpernel / The Iron Mask) from Navarre Corporation.
This one chops lines and even entire scenes out of the movie. The one on the triple-feature DVD is all there, and the transfer is better too. ('Better', not 'good'. This film is badly in need of restoration.) And the extra two bucks gets you a pair of Doug Fairbanks features into the bargain. (And if _that's_ not a good enough deal for you, the film is also included in _50 Movie Family Classics_.)
It's beyond me why anyone would release this classic swashbuckler in such a hacked-up edition. But it's even further beyond me why anybody would _buy_ it while there's a better version available. That damned elusive Pimpernel isn't _that_ hard to find!
Rating:
Summary: This wonderful movie has been butchered !
Review: In the film "Scarlet Pimpernel", Leslie Howard plays Sir Percy Blakeney. He is able to bring across such nuances that no other actors has captured in the remakes. He mixes drama and comedy so masterfully that it's a delight watching him in each scene! I'm a great fan of Leslie Howard and I feel that this is one of his best work... HOWEVER, I cannot recomend this DVD because the quality IS SOOOO BAD! The image is muddy and even worst APROX 4 MINS HAD BEEN CUT FROM THE FILM! Most notable scenes that are missing:(1) the very opening of the film- the changing of the guards. (2) the "intro" of Lady Blakeney as she is sitting for her portrait. She is expressing her opinion about the mysterious Pimpernel. Just then Percy walks in as foppish as ever, critiquing the painting of Lady Blakeney and conversing with her lady friends. This is not a throw- away-scene! It establishes Lady Blakeney's character, the relationship between her and Percy as well as hints to its estrangment. Reading the other comments on this DVD, I agree, don't buy any movies under the MADACY label. This company puts out shoddy material. I have the "Scarlet Pimpernel" on video under the Samuel Goldwyn label. I recomend that version.
Rating:
Summary: This is an altered cut - buyer beware!!!!!
Review: Just a friendly word of advise - this Hollywood Classics version is NOT the cut of the movie that has been available on VHS for many years, what I assume is the original version of the movie. I am astounded that an edit like this even exists - several funny and informative sections are GONE!!!! I love this movie and just purchased a second copy, in hopes of the print being better - not only is not better, there are scenes and shots and partial scenes missing - buyer beware!! The three-in-one DVD that has the Iron Mask and Black Pirate pics has the original Pimpernel, if you're interested.
Rating:
Summary: A Story for Our Times
Review: Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon, I think, are in their most romantic roles ever. This movie is based on the legendary story of the Scarlet Pimpernel, risen in a time of rampant Leftism (revolutionary France, set on social and political implosion) and burgeoise England (eventually saved only by the rise of Rev. Wesley). My wife is one for early romantic movies, but I am the one who thinks the most romantic and tear-jerking scene (don't psychoanalyze me here -- I think I just love the play of raw courage vs. naivite) I have ever seen is in this movie. Holding Oberon by the shoulders in his palms, Howard stares her straight in the eyes, "What price did you pay?!!" he declares. This is the crux of their relationship. The political savior, Howard, is in a much more subtle plot -- saving men, women, and children one at a time from the reach of hard-Leftists set on destroying stability in Europe militantly and in blood in order to rebuild the society under their own ideal. Perhaps many people won't get it, but this movie is well worth the watching no matter by whom, a lesson for those who can think, and real entertainment for those who will not.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites!
Review: Leslie Howard is fantastic in this movie. His facial expressions perfectly portray the emotion of the movie. On the basis of this movie I have become a Leslie Howard fan, and want to find everything he has done. The movie IS at times technically distorted, but cut it some slack--it's almost 65 years old! I highly recommend this movie.
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