My personal ratings are given using the following symbols :
< : poor
%: watchable
* : good
^ : good and particularly relevant
WFRP.Bretonnia : Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), La Reine Margot (1994),
Le
Capitaine Fracasse (1943), Ridicule, The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982), The
Beauty
and the Beast (1946), Henry V (1989), Le Bossu (1997)
WFRP.Empire : The Seventh Seal (1957), The Last Valley (1971), Twins
of Evil (1971)
WFRP.Kislev : Andrei Rublev (1972)
(novel) by Michael Crichton
Plot Summary: In AD 922, Arab courtier Ahmad Ibn Fadlan accompanies a
party
of Vikings to the barbaric North.
Cast includes : Antonio Banderas
Synopsis: a romanticized vision of the 3rd crusade (1190-1192)
Cast includes : Henry Wilcoxon as King Richard
(Novel) by Sir Walter Scott
Normand vs. Saxon knights in medieval England. Robin Hood, Jews and
King Richard
the Lion Heart thrown in for good measure.
Cast :
Robert Taylor .... Ivanhoe
Elizabeth Taylor .... Rebecca
Joan Fontaine .... Lady Rowena
Synopsis: {13th century, England} When Prince John and the Norman
Lords
begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence, a Saxon
lord
fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army.
Early Technicolor swashbuckler
Cast :
Errol Flynn
.... Robin Hood (Sir Robin of Locksley)
Olivia de Havilland .... Maid
Marian
Basil Rathbone ....
Sir Guy of Gisbourne
Cast includes : Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn
The story of the late part of Robin Hood's life, where things
just aren't
the happy tale everyone would like. Mirian is in a nunnery, King
Richard
has gone mad and his brother is incompetent. The only thing that goes
as
expected is the evil of the Sheriff. Gritty, tough movie, with
Robin as
an old man.
English Title : The Warrior's
Brother
Living is surviving in this unusual representation of 13th century
France
Cast :
Vincent Lindon .... Thomas
Mélanie Doutey .... Guillemette
Guillaume Canet .... Arnaud
Cast includes : The Monty Python
Synopsis : King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search
for
the Grail, encountering many very silly obstacles...
Features irritating frenchmen, Tim the Enchanter and much more.
Medieval love story with fights, evil and a touch of magic.
Cast :
Matthew Broderick .... Phillipe
Gaston, the Mouse
Rutger Hauer .... Captain Etienne
Navarre
Michelle Pfeiffer .... Isabeau
d'Anjou
Accroche: He Will Rock You
Synopsis: A peasant squire takes up the identity of his master when the
knight
suffers an untimely demise.
[Could've been an absolute bomb, but somehow magically works perfectly!
this film is ridiculously unbelievable, thin on
plot, shamefully predictable,
historically inaccurate in so many ways...yet it all works! The
combination
of modern music to medieval setting should be awful, but no, it works!
The
costumes are totally wrong for the period (on purpose I'd hazard to
guess...]
Very true the movie works, however the first half hour is hard to get
through.
Cast :
Heath Ledger .... Sir William
Thatcher/Sir Ulrich Von Lichtenstein
of Gelderland
Rufus Sewell .... Count Adhemar of
Anjou
Shannyn Sossamon .... Jocelyn
Paul Bettany .... Geoffrey
Chaucer, Sir William's Herald
Tower of Nesle
(novel, play) by Alexandre Dumas
{Paris, 1314} Every morning three young Noblemen are found dead
downriver from the Tower of Nesle...
Cast :
Pierre Brasseur (as Jehan Buridan)
Silvana Pampanini (as Marguerite de Bourgogne, the Queen)
Language : English
Synopsis: {France, Hundred years' war, Jeanne D'Arc (1412-1431)}
A
young
girl receives a vision that drives her to rid France of its oppressors.
Cast includes : Milla Jovovich
worthy battle scenes
(novel) by Umberto Eco
Murder and investigation in a medieval abbey.
Synopsis: An intellectually nonconformist monk investigates a series of
mysterious
deaths in an isolated abbey.
Cast :
Sean Connery .... William of
Baskerville
Christian Slater .... Adso of Melk
F. Murray Abraham .... Bernardo Gui
US title : The Advocate
{Rural 15th Century France} This quirky comedy deals with the strange
custom of animal trials
Cast:
Colin Firth (as Richard Courtois)
(play) by William Shakespeare
Cast includes : Kenneth Branagh
Synopsis: The gritty adaptation of William Shakespeare's play about the
English
King's bloody conquest of France.
Plot Summary: Epic film of the legendary Spanish hero
Cast :
Charlton Heston .... El Cid
(Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar)
Sophia Loren .... Jimena
English Title : The Song of Roland
Pelerins on the long road to St-Jacques de Compostelle play the Song of
Roland.
Some excellent scenes.
Cast includes : Klaus Kinski
Original Title : Det Sjunde
inseglet
Cast : Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson
Follow the journey of a Knight and his squire returning home after the
crusades
and seeking answers about life, death, and the existance of God.
One of the key inspirations for the Empire in WFRP.
(poem) Lewis Carroll
Has a strong WFRP feel (dark setting, humour, grit)
Cast :
Michael Palin .... Dennis Cooper
(novel) Samuel Shellabarger
{Italy, 1500}, Duke Cesare Borgia played by Welles hopes to marry his
sister
Lucrezia (widowed by poison) to the heir of Ferrara... Filmed in Italy.
Cast :
Tyrone Power (as Andrea Orsini)
Orson Welles (as Cesare Borgia)
English Title : Profession of Arms
Plot Summary: (Italy) The history of the first victim of modern
artillery,
amidst conspiracies and betrayals of the powerful...
(play) William Shakespeare
{16th century Venice} When a merchant must default on a large loan from
an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the
bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead.
Cast :
Al Pacino (as Shylock)
Jeremy Irons (as Antonio)
Joseph Fiennes (as Bassanio)
Lynn Collins (as Portia)
English Title : Delusion of
grandeur
Synopsis: {16th century Spain} comedy about a money-loving ruthless tax
collector,
who loses his job and is determined to get it back. Brilliant retelling
of
Victor Hugo's "Ruy Blas"
Cast :
Louis de Funès .... Don Salluste
de Bazan
Yves Montand .... Blaze
Alice Sapritch .... Dona Juana
Synopsis: {The court of England, 1530-40s} How King Henry VIII came
to marry five more times after his divorce from his first wife. A dark
comedy. Features a French Executionner cameo and Anne of Cleves
portrayed as a quirky german princess.
Cast :
Charles Laughton .... King Henry
VIII
Other Title : Crossed Swords (USA)
Cast : Mark Lester (Edward/Tom), Oliver Reed (Miles Hendon)
Tom Canty is a poor English boy who bears a remarkable resemblance to
Edward,
Prince of Wales and son of King Henry VIII. The two boys meet and
decide
to play a joke on the court by dressing in each other's clothes, but
the
plan goes awry when they are separated and each must live the other's
life.
{London 1593, Elizabethan theater}
Comedy on the writing of the play Romeo and Juliet by young Shakespeare.
Cast :
Joseph Fiennes ....
Will Shakespeare
Geoffrey Rush ....
Philip Henslowe
Judi Dench ....
Queen Elizabeth
English title : Carnival in
Flanders
(story) Charles Spaak
Synopsis: {1616, Flanders under Spanish rule} Spanish troops are due to
stop
in a town for the night, leading the inhabitants to fear for their
safety.
A fun and charming film.
(Novels) by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
{Spain under Phillip IV, 1620s up to the battle of Rocroi 1643)
Adventures of tercio soldier / mercenary Capitan Alatriste
Cast : Viggo Mortensen (as Diego Alatriste y Tenorio)
English Title : The Miser
(play) by Molière
Worthy Filmed theater (Molière's text is scrupulously respected), this
comedy is a good introduction to the work of Molière.
The extremely funny Louis de Funès was certainly a shoo-in for the role
of the irascible, mean and greedy Harpagon.
(novel) Tracy Chevalier
Plot Outline: A young peasant maid working in the house of painter
Johannes
Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his
most
famous works.
Cast :
Scarlett Johansson .... Griet
Colin Firth .... Johannes Vermeer
Tom Wilkinson .... Van Ruijven
Synopsis: Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas and the
effect
this has on the indigenous people
Cast :
Gérard Depardieu .... Christopher
Columbus
Sigourney Weaver .... Queen Isabel
Music by Vangelis
Spanish nobles, navigators, voyages of discovery, colonization
(novel) Samuel Shellabarger
Synopsis: {1519, The invasion of Mexico by Cortez, the fall of the
Aztec
Emperor Montezuma} as seen by a young Spanish noble fleeing the
Inquisition
(la Santa Hermandad) and a servant girl who is in love with him.
This big budget spectacle film is quite uninvolving and stops half-way
through
the conquest story.
Cast:
Tyrone Power .... Pedro De Vargas
Jean Peters .... Catana Perez
Cesar Romero .... Hernando Cortez
English Title : Aguirre: The Wrath
of
God
Synopsis: {1560, the Andes, Pizarro expedition) The ruthless and insane
Aguirre
leads a band of conquistadors in search of El Dorado.
Cast: Klaus Kinski .... Don Lope de Aguirre
Synopsis: {Virginia, 1607 : founding of the Jamestown Settlement}
Inspired by the legend of John Smith (Farrell) and Pocahontas,
acclaimed filmmaker Terrence Malick transforms this classic story into
a sweeping exploration of love, loss and discovery.
Cast:
Q'Orianka Kilcher (as Pocahontas)
Colin Farrell (as Captain Smith)
Christian Bale (as John Rolfe)
Christopher Plummer (as Captain Newport)
Trailer : HD
480P (39.8Mb), HD
720P (113Mb), HD
1080P (165Mb)
(Novel) by Brian Moore
{Quebec 1643} A Jesuit priest and a young companion are escorted
through the wilderness of Quebec to a mission among the Huron indians.
Cast:
Lothaire Bluteau (as Father Laforgue)
Synopsis: 18th century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South
American
Indian tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery
Portugal.
Cast :
Robert De Niro .... Rodrigo Mendoza
Jeremy Irons .... Gabriel
{1552 England}
Plot Summary: The death of King Henry VIII throws his kingdom into
chaos because
of succession disputes...
Cast :
Helena Bonham Carter .... Lady Jane Grey
Cary Elwes ....
Guilford Dudley
{Elizabeth I, English Court} The making of The Virgin Queen
Cast :
Cate Blanchett ....
Elizabeth I
Geoffrey Rush ....
Sir Francis Walsingham
Joseph Fiennes ....
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
Christopher Eccleston .... Duke of
Norfolk
{Elizabeth I vs the spanish armada} Quite dull romantized sequel to
Elizabeth.
Cast :
Cate Blanchett ... Queen Elizabeth
I
Clive Owen ... Sir Walter
Raleigh
Abbie Cornish ... Elizabeth
Throckmorton
Geoffrey Rush ... Sir Francis
Walsingham
Samantha Morton ... Mary Stuart
Trailer : 480P
(50.6Mb) HD
720P (123Mb) HD
1080P (178Mb)
{Elizabeth I vs Philip II of Spain}
Cast :
Flora Robson (as Queen Elizabeth I of England)
Laurence Olivier (as Michael Ingolby)
Vivien Leigh (as Cynthia)
English title : Queen Margot
(novel) Alexandre Dumas
Plot Summary: {France, 1572} A dark and bloody film set during the
French
wars of religion.
Cast :
Isabelle Adjani ....
Margot
Daniel Auteuil ....
Henri de Navarre
Jean-Hugues Anglade .... Charles IX
Vincent Perez ....
La Môle
Plot Summary: { Germanies, 1641, the twenty-third year of the Thirty
Years'
War} Soldiers occupy a village in a hidden valley untouched by the war.
Cast :
Michael Caine .... The Captain
Omar Sharif ....
Vogel
Classic swashbuckler set in France in 1616, as Prime Minister
Concini
is plotting against the young King Louis XIII. The movie works on a
number
of levels : on the heroic character played by Jean Marais and on the
comic
character played by Bourvil as well as a number of good cameos. All in
all,
a well wrapped-up movie, well worth checking out.
Original title : Le Chevalier Tempête
Lyrics of the memorable theme tune (dubbed version) :
"It's right to fight for what you
want
and all that you believe .... and truth and love and happiness are well
worth
fighting for"
Plot : A French castle is under seige by those nasty Spaniards and it's
up
to a French pretty boy to save the day
While this is actually a French series, it seems it is better known in
England
than
in France.
Cast:
Robert Etcheverry .... François de
Ricci/Le chevalier Tempête
Jacques Balutin .... Guyot
(novel) Alexandre Dumas
Plot Summary: The hectic adventures of D'Artagnan, a young provincial
noble
who has come to Paris to enter the musketeers...
Cast includes : Gene Kelly as D'Artagnan
Lana Turner as Milady De Winter and Vincent Price as Richelieu make a
stunning
evil pair.
English Title : The Iron Mask
(novel) by Alexandre Dumas
Synopsis: The imprisonment in an iron mask of the identical twin of the
King
of France, Louis XIV.
Enjoyable swashbuckling movie.
Cast includes : Jean Marais (D'Artagnan), Jean Rochefort
(play) by Edmond Rostand
Days of rhymes and nose with excellent production values.
Synopsis: {1640, Paris} Embarrassed by his large nose, a poet/soldier
romances
his cousin by proxy.
Cast :
Gérard Depardieu .... Cyrano De
Bergerac
Anne Brochet .... Roxane
Vincent Perez .... Christian de
Neuvillette
Jacques Weber .... Comte De Guiche
(play) by Edmond Rostand
Accroche: Fabulous Hero! Famous Nose!
Cast :
José Ferrer ....
Cyrano de Bergerac
Mala Powers ....
Roxane
Earlier film version of the play, this time in non-rhyming English.
D'Artagnan meets Cyrano !
Cast :
José Ferrer (as Cyrano de Bergerac)
Jean-Pierre Cassel (as D'Artagnan)
Sylva Koscina (as Ninon de l'Enclos)
Daliah Lavi (as Marion de l'Orme)
English Title : Captain Fracasse
(novel) by Théophile Gautier
{France, under the reign of Louis XIII, 1635} The empoverished country
baron
Pierre de Sigognac joins a group of comedians travelling towards Paris.
The
story is a tribute to Cyrano de Bergerac and theatre.
English Title : D'Artagnan's Daughter
{1654, France} Eloise lives in a cloister, where her famous father left
her...
Cast :
Sophie Marceau (as Eloïse d'Artagnan)
Philippe Noiret (as D'Artagnan)
Claude Rich (as Duke of Crassac)
Charlotte Kady (as Eglantine de Rochefort)
English Title : On Guard
Accroche: Si tu ne viens pas à Lagardère, Lagardère ira à toi!
Plot Summary: The Comte de Gonzague schemes against his cousin, the Duc
de
Nevers, even though he is the Duke's heir and will inherit his
estates...
Cast :
Daniel Auteuil .... Lagardère/Le
bossu (The Hunchback)
Fabrice Luchini .... Gonzague
Vincent Perez .... Duke of Nevers
Marie Gillain .... Aurore
Yann Collette .... Peyrolles
Philippe Noiret .... Philippe
d'Orléans
(novel) Paul Féval
Ayez confiance...
The story is slightly different from the 1997 version. This movie feels
dated
in comparison. I would recommend "Le Capitan" which has the same
director/cast
over this one.
Cast:
Jean Marais .... Henri de Lagardère
Bourvil .... Passepoil
(novel) Rafael Sabatini
Synopsis: An enslaved English doctor and his comrades in chains escape
and
become pirates.
Carribean pirates. One of the all-time great swashbuckling films.
Cast :
Errol Flynn
.... Dr. Peter Blood
Olivia de Havilland .... Arabella
Bishop
Synopsis: Elizabeth's Privateers vs Spain
Cast :
Errol Flynn ....
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe
Brenda Marshall .... Dona Maria
Alvarez de Cordoba
(novel) Rafael Sabatini
Accroche: Seas Ablaze...with black villainy, with fiery romance, with
breathless
deeds of daring...in the roaring era of Love, Gold and Adventure!
Plot Summary: Notorious pirate Henry Morgan is made governor of Jamaica
to
hunt down pirates...
Cast:
Tyrone Power .... Jamie
'Jamie-Boy' Waring
Maureen O'Hara .... Lady Margaret
Denby
George Sanders .... Captain Billy
Leech
Cast:
Robert Newton .... Blackbeard, Edward Teach
Linda Darnell .... Edwina Mansfield
Keith Andes .... Edward Maynard
Language: English
Plot Summary: A tribute to carribean pirates movies
Cast :
Walter Matthau .... Captain Thomas
Bartholomew Red
Cris Campion .... The Frog -
Jean-Baptiste
(novel) by Barbara Cartland
Plot Summary: The young lady Panthea Vyne falls in love with the
handsome
highwayman who saves her from her brutal husband...
Charles the 2nd of England royal court.
Cast :
Lysette Anthony .... Lady Panthea
Vyne
Hugh Grant .... Lord Lucius Vyne
also starring : Oliver Reed, Michael York
Emma Samms as the scheming Castlemaine is the key interest in this Romance piece.
DVD : Region 1 only (USA)
Plot Summary: {1660s restoration England} An aspiring young doctor,
Robert
Merivel finds himself in the service of King
...
Cast includes : Robert Downey Jr
Historical drama about the English restoration, the chronicle of
Charles
II's time on the throne, starting from his ten year exile from Oliver
Cromwell's
England.
Cast : Rufus Sewell .... King
Charles II
(novel) by Françoise
Chandernagor
Cast :
Dominique Blanc .... Françoise
d'Aubigné, Mme de Maintenon
Didier Sandre .... Louis XIV
{Royal court life in XVIIth century France}. The life of Mme de
Maintenon.
English Title : The King's
Daughters
(novel) by Yves Dangerfield
Cast includes : Isabelle Huppert as Madame de Maintenon
On the condition of noble women in pre-revolutionary France
{1694, english nobility} An artsy Agatha Christie story set in a
country
estate with an immaculately kept English style garden. Great
background,
great dialogue, good actors, but don't expect an action movie.
{1748, England} Will Plunkett and Captain James Macleane, two men
from
different ends of the social spectrum, partner as highwaymen. Best
known
for being a period movie filmed in modern clip-like style.
Cast :
Jonny Lee Miller .... Macleane
Robert Carlyle .... Plunkett
Liv Tyler
(novel) James Fenimore Cooper.
Lavish remake of the 1936 movie
Synopsis: {1759, Canada} The settlers and the indians are pawns in the
war
between the two great old world powers France and England.
Cast :
Daniel Day-Lewis .... Hawkeye/Nathaniel Poe
Madeleine Stowe .... Cora Munro
Plot Outline: A group of Irish noblemen kidnap girls in order to
marry
into their fortune.
Cast :
Alice Evans .... Catherine Kennedy
Daniel Lapaine .... Garrett Byrne
Sophia Myles .... Anne Kennedy
Matthew Rhys .... Strang
(novel) William Makepeace Thackeray
Plot Summary: A gentlemanly rogue travels the battlefields and parlors
of
18th century Europe...
Cast :
Ryan O'Neal ....
Barry Lyndon/Redmond Barry/Lt. Jonathan
Fakenham/Lazlo
Zilagy
Marisa Berenson .... Lady Lyndon,
Countess of Lyndon, Vicountess of
Bullington, Baroness Castle Lyndon of Ireland
{1781, Vienna} Salieri's crazed fantasy of how he killed Mozart.
Synopsis: The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787 to sail to Tahiti and
load
bread-fruit.
Cast :
Marlon Brando .... 1st Lt.
Fletcher Christian
Trevor Howard .... Capt. William
Bligh
(novel) by J. Meade Falkner
{1757, Dorset, England} Noble but penniless young boy John Mohune is
sent by his dying mother to Moonfleet, to put himself under the
protection of a certain Jeremy Fox. The boy discovers that Fox is both
a former lover of his mother and the leader of a gang of smugglers.
Cast: Stewart Granger (as Jeremy Fox)
(novel) by Daphne Du Maurier
{In Cornwall, around 1800} A gang of criminals at Jamaica Inn arrange
shipwrecks for profit.
Cast :
Charles Laughton (as Sir Humphrey Pengallan)
Maureen O'Hara (as Mary)
Robert Newton (as James 'Jem' Trehearne)
Cartouche is a well-loved swashbuckling bandit in 18th century Paris
Cast :
Jean-Paul Belmondo (as Cartouche)
Claudia Cardinale (as Vénus)
(epistolary novel) by Choderlos de LaclosCast :
Glenn Close ....
Marquise de Merteuil
John Malkovich .... Vicomte de
Valmont
Michelle Pfeiffer .... Madame de
Tourvel
Uma Thurman ....
Cécile de Volanges
Keanu Reeves .... Chevalier Danceny
(epistolary novel) by Choderlos de Laclos
Sexual decadence before the time of the guillotine
Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Firth ....
Valmont
Annette Bening .... Merteuil
Meg Tilly ....
Tourvel
Fairuza Balk .... Cécile
Synopsis: To get royal backing on a needed drainage project, a poor
French
lord must learn to play the delicate games of wit at court at
Versailles.
Cast :
Charles Berling .... Le Marquis
Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoy
Jean Rochefort .... Le Marquis de
Bellegarde
Fanny Ardant .... Madame de Blayac
Judith Godrèche .... Mathilde de
Bellegarde
Bernard Giraudeau .... L'Abbée de
Vilecourt
(Novel) by Süskind
Synopsis: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory
sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a
dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.
Trailer : HD
480P (32.5Mb), HD
720P (106Mb), HD
1080P (164Mb)
English title : Brotherhood of the
Wolf
(2002)
Synopsis: In 18th century France, the Chevalier de Fronsac and his
native
American friend Mani are sent by the King to the Gevaudan province to
investigate
the killings of hundreds by a mysterious beast.
A period film action movie !!! The first half is good (but things go
very
awry in the second half).
Cast :
Samuel Le Bihan .... Grégoire de
Fronsac
Vincent Cassel .... Jean-François
de Morangias
Émilie Dequenne .... Marianne de
Morangias
Monica Bellucci .... Sylvia
Mark Dacascos .... Mani
{1786, France} Accroche: Her Birthright Was Stolen. Her Dignity
Taken.
Her Rights Denied. Deception Was The Only Option.
Cast :
Hilary Swank .... Jeanne
St. Remy de Valois, aka Countess De La
Motte
Jonathan Pryce ....
Cardinal Louis de Rohan
Simon Baker .... Rétaux de
Vilette
Adrien Brody .... Count
Nicolas De La Motte
Christopher Walken .... Count Cagliostro
Charles Dickens (novel)
Plot Summary: {England and Paris before and during the French
Revolution}
British barrister Sydney Carton lives an insubstantial and unhappy
life.
He falls under the spell of Lucie Manette...
The key interest in this movie is the representation of the Parisian mob and the revengeful bloodthirsty revolutionary Therese.
Cast :
Dirk Bogarde .... Sydney Carton
Dorothy Tutin .... Lucie Manette
Paul Guers .... Charles Darnay
Christopher Lee .... Marquis St.
Evremonde
Rosalie Crutchley .... Therese
Defarge
Marie Versini .... Marie Gabelle
English title : The Black
Tulip
{Rural France, July 1789} A mysterious masqued highwayman intervenes to
help the French Revolution
Cast : Alain Delon (as Julien & Guillaume de St-Preux)
Baroness Emmuska Orczy (novels)
"We seek him here, we seek him there
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in Heaven? Is he in Hell?
That demmed elusive Pimpernel!"
Plot Summary: {France/England, during the French Revolution, around
1793)
A mysterious English nobleman, The Scarlet Pimpernel, saves
French aristocrats
unjustly sentenced to the guillotine by the revolutionary committee.
Cast :
Anthony Andrews .... Sir Percy
Blakeney\The Scarlet Pimpernel
Jane Seymour .... Marguerite St.
Just
Ian McKellen .... Chauvelin
An earlier film version of the scarlet pimpernel, also not without
merits.
Cast :
Leslie Howard .... Sir Percy
Blakeney/The Scarlet Pimpernel
Merle Oberon .... Lady Marguerite
Blakeney
The Scarlet Pimpernel Meets Madame Guillotine {France 1993, The
Vendean
uprising)
This episode is the best of the 3 part series IMO. Still not as good as
the
1982
version however.
Cast:
Richard E. Grant .... Sir Percy
Blakeney
Elizabeth McGovern .... Marguerite
Blakeney
(novels) C.S. Forester
Fine nautical action for armchair sailors
Plot Outline: Lt. Hornblower and his mates {from the british Royal
Navy}
are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary
France.
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd .... Horatio
Hornblower
Set during the period of the French Revolution and the early napoleonic
era,
the Hornblower series is of more interest than the dissapointingly
boring
and empty Master and Commander film.
A provoking comedy about the scandalous Marquis de Sade
Synopsis: In a Napoleonic era insane asylum, an inmate, the
irrepressible
Marquis De Sade, fights a battle of wills against a tyrannically
prudish
doctor.
Cast :
Geoffrey Rush .... The Marquis de
Sade
Kate Winslet .... Madeleine
'Maddy' LeClerc
Joaquin Phoenix .... The Abbe du
Coulmier
Michael Caine .... Dr.
Royer-Collard
(story) by Joseph Conrad
{Europe, 1800-1816} A life-long enmity between two officers of the
French
army during the grand, sweeping Napoleonic age
Cast :
Keith Carradine .... D'Hubert
Harvey Keitel .... Feraud
(novel) by Alexandre Dumas
Synopsis: A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friends,"
escapes
and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge
Cast :
Jim Caviezel .... Edmond
Dantes/Count of Monte Cristo
Guy Pearce ....
Fernand Mondego, Count of Morcerf
Synopsis: {New England} Constable Icabod Crane is sent to an
isolated
village to investigate a series of murders reportedly commited by a
headless
horseman.
Cast :
Johnny Depp ....
Constable Ichabod Crane
Christina Ricci .... Katrina Anne
Van Tassel
English title : The Horseman on
the
Roof
(Novel) by Jean Giono
Synopsis: {around 1832, Provence region, South of France, cholera
epidemic)
In a time of war and disease, a young officer of italian origin
gallantly
tries to help a young woman find her husband.
Cast :
Juliette Binoche .... Pauline de
Théus
Olivier Martinez .... Angelo Pardi
Original swedish title : Ansiktet (The Face)
A Great Duel Between Science and Magic
Plot : {1846, Sweden} When 'Vogler's Magnetic Health Theater' comes to
town,
there's bound to be a spectacle.
Cast :
Max von Sydow .... Albert Emanuel
Vogler
Ingrid Thulin .... Manda Vogler
(alias Mr. Aman)
Synopsis: {1860s New-York, gang wars in the Five Points quarter}. An
inspiration
for the city of thieves, Brionne.
Cast :
Leonardo DiCaprio .... Amsterdam
Vallon
Daniel Day-Lewis .... William
'Bill the Butcher' Cutting
Cameron Diaz .... Jenny Everdeane
English title : Beauty and the
Beast
(story) Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
Plot Summary: "Once upon a time..." A half-ruined merchant lives in the
country
with his son Ludovic and his three daughters...
For its time, as for today, a unique, emotionally involving adaptation
Cast:
Jean Marais .... The Beast/The
Prince/Avenant
Josette Day .... Belle
Cast includes : Drew Barrymore
A retelling of Cinderella set in 16th century France.
{1812, Napoleonic French occupied Germany} Will and Jake Grimm are
travelling con-artists who encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse which
requires genuine courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms
Cast:
Matt Damon Will (Wilhelm) Grimm
Heath Ledger Jake (Jakob) Grimm
Lena Headey Angelika
Peter Stormare Mercurio Cavaldi
Jonathan Pryce General Vavarin
Delatombe
Monica Bellucci The Mirror Queen
Trailer: HD
480P (58.3Mb), HD
720P (143Mb), HD
1080P (168Mb)
Plot Summary: The old bat researcher, professor Abronsius and his
assistant,
Alfred, go to a remote Transylvanian village looking for vampires...
A great tribute to Vampire movies
Cast:
Jack MacGowran .... Professor
Abronsius
Roman Polanski .... Alfred,
Abronsius' Assistant
Sharon Tate ....
Sarah Shagal
Synopsis: The notorious monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to
stop
Count Dracula who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf
for
some sinister purpose.
Cast :
Hugh Jackman .... Van Helsing
Kate Beckinsale .... Anna Valerious
The Fellowship of the Ring (New Zealand/USA, 2001) Directed by Peter
Jackson
The Two Towers (New Zealand/USA, 2002) Directed by Peter Jackson
The Return of the King (New Zealand/USA, 2003) Directed by Peter Jackson
(novel) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Accroche: One ring to rule them all
Synopsis: The epic journey of Sam and Bilbo to destroy the one ring.
The extended editions of the films are even better.
(stories) by Robert E. Howard
Accroche: Thief Warrior Gladiator King
Cast includes Arnold Schwarzenegger
(story) George Lucas
Synopsis: A reluctant halfling must play a critical role in protecting
a
special baby from an evil queen.
Cast :
Val Kilmer .... Madmartigan
Warwick Davis .... Willow Ufgood
written by : Michael Palin & Terry Gilliam
Synopsis: Adventures through time. A young boy accidently joins a band
of
dwarves as they jump from time-period to time-period looking for
treasure
to steal.
Cast :
John Cleese
.... Robin Hood
Sean Connery ....
King Agamemnon/Fireman
Ian Holm ....
Napoleon
Michael Palin ....
Vincent
Shelley Duvall ....
Pansy
(novel) Virginia Woolf
Plot Summary: {Starts with 1600 England} Young nobleman Orlando is
commanded
by Queen Elizabeth I to stay forever young. Miraculously, he does just
that...
The movie goes a bit flat in the middle, but the beginning is very good.
Cast :
Tilda Swinton .... Orlando
English title : The Seven Samurai
Synopsis: {Japan, 1652} A poor village under attack by bandits recruits
seven
samurai to help them defend themselves.
Cast :
Toshirô Mifune .... Kikuchiyo
Andrei Rublev (1972) (USA)
Summary: {Russia, 1400, Tatar invasion}
Andreiv Rublev charts the life of the great icon painter through a
turbulent
period of 15th Century Russian history.
Visual Poetry : Vignettes of Russian life are combined in a slowly
unfolding
story with beautiful cinematography.
All star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio as King Louis
XIV/Philippe. Awful movie.
The reason why women should rightly never be allowed to become
musketeers.
Cast (shame on you!):
Susie Amy .... Valentine D'Artagnan
Gérard Depardieu .... Cardinal
Mazarin
Michael York .... D'Artagnan
Nastassja Kinski .... Lady Bolton
John Rhys-Davies .... Porthos
Silly Hollywood action movie.
Synopsis: {1668, the Caribbean) A female pirate and her companion race
against
their rivals to find a hidden island that contains a fabulous treasure.
Cast : Geena Davis, Matthew Modine