A Beloved Classic

1396 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critical Analysis of the Scarlet Letter

The New York Times called it “A whale of yarn! Crammed with adventure …lavish … sumptuous” (“The Scarlet Pimpernel”)! In November of 1982, the swashbuckling classic tale The Scarlet Pimpernel came to life on the screen, filled with blissful romance, assumed identities, and enthralling adventures. Based on the novels The Scarlet Pimpernel and Eldorado by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, this film adaptation tells the story of Sir Percy Blakeney, an English nobleman and master of disguise, who bears an infamous identity: The Scarlet Pimpernel. While conducting his heroic escapades in rescuing victims of the French Revolution, Sir Percy Blakeney falls madly in love with the beautiful Marguerite St. Just, who is also being pursued by the villainous Paul Chauvelin, the Chief Agent for the Committee of National Security. Directed by Clive Donner, The Scarlet Pimpernel features an intriguing cast wearing extravagant costumes, filmed at some of the most monumental sites in England. This film has the ability to appeal to a large audience, making it a production that anyone is sure to enjoy.

The cast of The Scarlet Pimpernel was perfectly selected. Casting director Rose Tobias Shaw was careful in choosing three convincing actors to play the leading roles in the film. Golden Globe award-winning actor, Anthony Andrews, plays the part of Sir Percy Blakeney, the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. Andrews was genius in making flawless transitions between his different characters, disguises, and dialects. In one scene he may be dressed as an English fop and play the part of a fool (to conceal his true identity) with lazy eyelids, a drawly accent, and poor humor. In the next scene, he may be disguised as a dirty, old Jew with a hunchback, torn clothes,...

... middle of paper ...

...for a Limited Series or Special” (“The Scarlet Pimpernel”). Astonishingly enough, the film only took six weeks to produce (IMDb). While that may seem like an insufficient amount of time to successfully produce a two-hour film, the quality of this film suggests otherwise. Not only does it feature an outstanding cast, extravagant costumes, and breathtaking scenery, but it also manages to engage audience of all ages and preferences. The Scarlet Pimpernel is dazzling and utterly irresistible adventure that is sure to capture the hearts of viewers across the globe.

Works Cited

IMDb.com, Inc. "The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982) (TV)." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb).

Web. 26 July 2010. .

The Scarlet Pimpernel. Dir. Clive Donner. Perf. Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, and Ian

McKellen. Image Entertainment, Inc., 1982. DVD.

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Syntax In The Scarlet Pimpernel

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy, is a book that has been loved and revered for more than a century since its original publishing in 1905. This book is set in the year 1792 amid the Reign of Terror in which aristocrats are getting slaughtered daily by guillotine. The Scarlet Pimpernel and his band of followers are out to save them. From the perspective of Lady Blakeney, a great struggle between the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel and Chauvelin, a french agent, is revealed. Orczy wrote using excellent foreshadowing and syntax, but at times there was poor plot development.

    Read More

  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is a satiric comedy about the quest of King Arthur. The movie starts out with Arthur, King of the Britons, looking for knights to sit with him at Camelot. He finds many knights including Sir Galahad the pure, Sir Lancelot the brave, the quiet Sir Bedevere, and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Lancelot. Through satire and parody of certain events in history (witch trials, the black plague) they find Camelot, but after literally a quick song and dance they decide that they do not want to go there. While walking away, God (who seems to be grumpy) come to them from a cloud and tells them to find the Holy Grail. They agree and begin their search. While they search for the Grail, scenes of the knight's tales appear and the reasons behind their names. Throughout their search, they meet interesting people and knights along the way. Most of the characters die; some through a killer rabbit (which they defeat with the holy hand grenade), others from not answering a question right from the bridge of Death, or die some other ridiculous way. In the end, King Arthur and Sir Bedevere are left and find the Castle Arrrghhh where the Holy Grail is. They are met by some French soldiers who taunted them earlier in the film and were not able to get into the castle. The movie ends with both King Arthur and Sir Bedevere being arrested for killing a real-life man who was a historian.

    Read More

  • The Princess Bride

    1526 Words  | 4 Pages

    An author of a book plays a crucial part in the novel’s creation. The book tells you a little a bit about the author, his or her creativity and lastly their intellectual capacity. The author of the book The Princess Bride is William Goldman. Goldman was born August 12, 1931 in Chicago, Illionis, U.S. Goldman is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He got his BA degree at Oberlin College in 1952 and his MA degree at Columbia University in 1956. William Goldman had published five novels and had three plays produced on Broadway prior to writing his screenplays. Two of his notable works include his novel Marathon Man and comedy-fantasy novel The Princess Bride, both of which Goldman converted to film. William Goldman has been an influence to other authors such as: Stephanie Meyer, Dean Koontz, and Joesph Finder. People who were an influence to Goldman were: Irwin Shaw, Ingmar Bergman, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

    Read More

  • The Maltese Falcon

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Pacific coast port city of San Francisco, California provides a distinctively mysterious backdrop in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. Unlike many other detective stories that are anchored in well-known metropolises such as Los Angeles or New York City, Hammett opted to place the events of his text in the lesser-known, yet similarly exotic cultural confines of San Francisco. Hammett used his own intricate knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area - coupled with details collected during a stint as a detective for the now defunct Pinkerton Agency - to craft a distinctive brand of detective fiction that thrived on such an original setting (Paul 93). By examining the setting of 1920’s San Francisco in The Maltese Falcon, it becomes apparent that one of Hammett’s literary strengths was his exceptional ability to intertwine non-fictional places with a fictional plot and characters in order to produce a logical and exceedingly believable detective mystery.

    Read More

  • The Princess Bride -x

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    The princess bride is an incredibly entertaining book. Although it was written mostly as a parody it contains many themes. The developments seen in the dynamic characters are astounding ones. The theme, or motif, which I'm going to follow through the story is that of Fezzik and his quest for self confidence and a good self image. From the time that the novel starts to the end, Fezzik achieves a good self image. He starts out with a very low self image and, by the end, he finds in himself talents that give him a better image of himself.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter: Compare and Contrast

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the most respected and admired novels of all time. Often criticized for lacking substance and using more elaborate camera work, freely adapted films usually do not follow the original plot line. Following this cliché, Roland Joffe’s version of The Scarlet Letter received an overwhelmingly negative reception. Unrealistic plots and actions are added to the films for added drama; for example, Hester is about to be killed up on the scaffold, when Algonquin members arrive and rescue her.

    Read More

  • Ballad Of Birmingham

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    Dudley Randall's Ballad of Birmingham gives a poetic account of the bombing of a Birmingham church in 1963. The poem was written in ballad form to convey the mood of the mother to her daughter. The author also gives a graphic account of what the 1960's were like. Irony played a part also in the ballad showing the church as the warzone and the freedom march as the safer place to be.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a cult classic. And with good reason. Anyone who simply believes that the title of this book just signifies that the protagonist wears a scarlet “A” on her dress in punishment of her adultery is ignorant. Obviously this paper would not be required if such were true. Instead, The Scarlet Letter is extremely ambiguous. One can argue that the scarlet letter is a character itself. I intend to flesh this out in literary, historic, and symbolic terms.

    Read More

  • A Christmas Carol

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    The well known holiday of Christmas today is far from what it was in it’s former being. Many aspects led to the change in Christmas, however Charles Dickens, a Victorian era author was arguably the most influential in the change. There was a time when christmas was not much more important than your average holiday. Without the work of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Regency Christmas would not have changed to be the way it is today. As we examine the Regency Christmas, the Christmas events in A Christmas Carol, new Christmas ideas, and today’s new christmas we will form the true Christmas.

    Read More

  • Public Humiliation

    2349 Words  | 5 Pages

    Bensick, Carol. “His Folly, Her Weakness: Demystified Adultery in The Scarlet Letter.” New Essays on The Scarlet Letter. Ed. Michael J. Colacurcio. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. 137-159. Print.

    Read More

  • Elizabeth The Golden Age Analysis

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    Overall this film was exciting to watch and was good to help learn a little about the Elizabethan Era. Although the goriness is too much for someone who is sensitive to that kind of thing, you can still enjoy the movie. The costumes are eccentric, the set design is, although outdated, extremely detailed, and was a good movie if you were looking for something to watch and enjoyed a little bit of history in your life.

    Read More

  • National Treasure

    1145 Words  | 3 Pages

    Few movies have been panned by critics but widely accepted by viewers across the nation. National Treasure is one of them. Even after receiving sub par reviews including only two stars from Roger Ebert, National Treasure won over the public, earning almost $350 million worldwide. Even though the movie is under the Walt Disney Company and has a PG rating, this movie is not just for children. Superb acting and action from beginning to end will keep people of all ages glued to their seat as they follow one man’s quest for a hidden treasure.

    Read More

  • Christmas Carol

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christmas spirit can be defined in many different ways and mean many different things. For some people it can be giving to other or it can just spending time together with the people you love. Personally, I don’t really give for Christmas because I always felt like giving was only providing material happiness. Generally for Christmas I just spend time with the family and have fun, laugh and catchup on all the things that has happened over the year. Ebenezer Scrooge on the other hand, lack all of these traits therefore he is regarded as having no Christmas spirit. Scrooge said Christmas was a humbug, refusing to spend time with his family, not giving to anyone and keeping to himself on Christmas. To Scrooge, Christmas was just a waste of time as he makes his worker Bob Cratchit work for grueling hours at low pay, refuses his nephew Fred's Christmas dinner invitation, and turns away two charitable workers seeking donations for the poor.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    The historical context, psychological exploration of the characters, and realistic dialogue make this fictional novel more realistic. The symbolic representation of the scarlet letter, Pearl, and the settings along with the morals taught by the stories of the characters make the novel more insightful, symbolic, and allegorical. These aspects of The Scarlet Letter make the novel a brilliant combination of the literary devices of Realism, symbolism, and allegory, and fill the novel with profundity, suspense, romance, and tragedy.

    Read More

  • A film I have seen

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    I’ve seen a lot of films, and with a lot of different genres. But I don’t think that romantic films are pretty good. They are too boring. The good films are action or comedy films, but the best films are action and com-edy films mixed together. That’s why I’ve chosen the film Taxi 2. It’s a French produced film, with a lot of action and comedy. It’s a pretty new film, and I saw it in the cinema last month. I’ve looked very much forward to see that film, because Taxi was very good too. It took only 5 weeks to get 10 mil-lion Frenchmen into the cinema. Just for watching Taxi 2.

    Read More

More about A Beloved Classic

Open Document