Pretty good adaption, but the music was outright silly at times, not to mention too loud... what could have they been thinking? Most of the time the rhythm or feeling of the music had nothing to do with what was happening, it seemed as if they ridiculed the storyline on purpose.
In my opinion the actors in general were quite talented, Berger was excellent with those long meaningful looks she cast at the others (Dimmesdale and Chillingworth). The only negative thing I can think of about her is that she had on too much makeup; it got kind of distracting since this was supposed to be a Puritan colony and I'm sure they opposed such practices (especially since she was punished for being a "wh..." and she tried as much as possible to be accepted again), oh well!
The filming location was beautiful, but I don't know if the Portuguese landscape convinced me enough to believe it was New England, particularly during the beach scenes that were originally forest ones (and the sense and objective of confrontation, darkeness, and secrecy take on a much heavier meaning in the woods, which just aren't conveyed in the same manner in a bright and sunny beach).
The actor who played Dimmesdale wasn't the best choice at all, it made me wonder how a strong-willed, sexy woman (as played by Berger) such as Hester Prynne could have fallen in love with, well, a weakling, who wasn't even strong in the looks department! He was just fainting all over the place in every other scene and it made me want to tell Hester to run away from him as fast as possible and look for a real man!
Excellent performance by the actor who played the evil Chillingworth, he was perfectly cast. His overall appearance was downright creepy, well done!
The costumes in general had the look of an elaborated school play, not very real at all. Hester's "A" was put in the wrong place; there was nothing remarkable about its design as it's so often mentioned in the book, with the gold thread and all which made all the villagers want to hire her for sewing, an important step in her eventual acceptance.
Dimmesdale "A", when finally discovered by Chillingworth was simply laughable, they would have transmitted so much if they didn't show it and maybe just showed Chillingworth's reaction.
All in all, considering the year it was filmed, 1973, and the fact that it was filmed in Europe, with European actors (who might not have learned and read the book in High School as it's done in American schools, thus making it perhaps quite difficult to understand and grasp the true meaning of living in those times in a recently colonized area where the Bible was taken literally - just my opinion, I don't mean to insult anybody-), this American classic was very well depicted and acted. The emotions the actors transmitted to the audience were the right ones, which is what in the end counts.
If anybody has the chance of watching an alternate interpretation of The Scarlet Letter, you won't be disappointed with this one!
In my opinion the actors in general were quite talented, Berger was excellent with those long meaningful looks she cast at the others (Dimmesdale and Chillingworth). The only negative thing I can think of about her is that she had on too much makeup; it got kind of distracting since this was supposed to be a Puritan colony and I'm sure they opposed such practices (especially since she was punished for being a "wh..." and she tried as much as possible to be accepted again), oh well!
The filming location was beautiful, but I don't know if the Portuguese landscape convinced me enough to believe it was New England, particularly during the beach scenes that were originally forest ones (and the sense and objective of confrontation, darkeness, and secrecy take on a much heavier meaning in the woods, which just aren't conveyed in the same manner in a bright and sunny beach).
The actor who played Dimmesdale wasn't the best choice at all, it made me wonder how a strong-willed, sexy woman (as played by Berger) such as Hester Prynne could have fallen in love with, well, a weakling, who wasn't even strong in the looks department! He was just fainting all over the place in every other scene and it made me want to tell Hester to run away from him as fast as possible and look for a real man!
Excellent performance by the actor who played the evil Chillingworth, he was perfectly cast. His overall appearance was downright creepy, well done!
The costumes in general had the look of an elaborated school play, not very real at all. Hester's "A" was put in the wrong place; there was nothing remarkable about its design as it's so often mentioned in the book, with the gold thread and all which made all the villagers want to hire her for sewing, an important step in her eventual acceptance.
Dimmesdale "A", when finally discovered by Chillingworth was simply laughable, they would have transmitted so much if they didn't show it and maybe just showed Chillingworth's reaction.
All in all, considering the year it was filmed, 1973, and the fact that it was filmed in Europe, with European actors (who might not have learned and read the book in High School as it's done in American schools, thus making it perhaps quite difficult to understand and grasp the true meaning of living in those times in a recently colonized area where the Bible was taken literally - just my opinion, I don't mean to insult anybody-), this American classic was very well depicted and acted. The emotions the actors transmitted to the audience were the right ones, which is what in the end counts.
If anybody has the chance of watching an alternate interpretation of The Scarlet Letter, you won't be disappointed with this one!