Pride and prejudice, betrayal and revenge, lust and purity, kidnappings, tournaments, and ransoms... what better ingredients could be assembled in one film? This retelling of Ivanhoe has many exceptional qualities, including first-rate cinematography and chivalric music. But the quality of this Ivanhoe lies in the casting. James Mason plays an excellent Isaac of York, and Olivia Hussey's Rebecca is every bit as passionate as Elizabeth Taylor's. Lysette Anthony has all the ingenue quality of a Saxon princess; yet one wonders whom Ivanhoe would have chosen to marry if race and religious prejudices had not been the order of the day. One of the strengths of this film was, to my mind, the triumvirate of villains Bois-Guilbert, de Bracy, and Front de Boeuf. Sam Neill is brilliant as the knight torn between his order and his obsession with a "Jewess heathen", and Stuart Wilson shines in the supporting role of the besotted de Bracy. This film was released on video at one point, as I rented it from a video store. I highly recommend it.
Review of Ivanhoe
