Simply A Masterpiece

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Richard Grant, with his irreverent poetry and in-your-face attitude toward the villains, is absolutely, 100% perfect as THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. The production values are likewise outstanding in this mini-series. If there's one complaint I have, it's that the initial episode lacked one all-important ingredient: SUSPENSE. At no time did we ever really get the impression that Percy was in any real danger; the lack of suspense therefore works against the idea of a man who must remain masked lest he risk his head... (And, not to nitpick, but I must admit that the fact that EVERYONE speaks with an English accent sorta threw me: time and again I found myself hoping someone would silence the arrogant Brits looking to kill our hero... and then I would realize that they were supposed to be FRENCH... A minor quibble, perhaps, but a quibble, nonetheless- like white men in blackface or "Romans" and "Greeks" who speak with English accents in teleseries after teleseries...) A great show. Too bad it didn't last.

When I was in high school, the A&E adaption came out. I was anxious to watch the story from seeing the previews. The movie didn't let me down. Of course, I had never seen or read of the Scarlet Pimpernel before. I loved the movie so much that I wanted to read the book because books are usually better. (That only makes me want to roll my eyes at libraries in small towns.) It took me a couple of years to find a copy. Now, I read it on-line and the books following behind. I hate that the movie has received such horrible reviews.Even after reading the book, I think that Richard E. Grant was cast exceptionally well, perfectly portraying Sir Percy Blakeney and the Scarlet Pimpernel. I was a little disappointed in Marguerite's casting. I think the make-up artist had more of a problem than Elizabeth McGovern.Some may not have liked the adaption, but that is what it is--an adaption. Maybe the original story would have been better, but I disagree. I see it as and addition to the stories-not the original, but a new adventure--exciting wonderful adventure--to add to the past stories and characters of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Altogether, it was a wonderful series that made me want more! And more!

I so thoroughly enjoyed this trio of vignettes by A&E with BBC that I went out & bought all three, unprecedented for me! (Egad, I'm rhyming like the Pimpernel!:) A long-time BBC/PBS aficionado, I've seen other Pimpernel versions but liked this trio the best. (One with Brit Leslie Howard was also good, but more formal/stylized & lacking modern film technology.) I looked up Richard E. Grant & Elizabeth McGovern's other films, too, after enjoying these so well. In the mood for courage with style? The Pimpernel is the original James Bond, from 1792.There's also a movie about the ahead-of-her-time female authoress, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, with a similar theme to Madame Marguerite/Lady Blakeny's traumatic childhood in those turbulent times of revolution in both America & Europe...so apparently her historical romantic action dramas had a touch of autobiography.

As someone who has read all of Baroness Orczy's books and seen most of the movies based on them, I must say that the 1980's version, with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour, was better than this. It was better written and stuck more to the spirit of the story than this one, which seemed to go out of its way to involve people getting shot. This new adaptation is less light-hearted, yet does not have as much depth, either. Although there is some good acting, the actors did not have much to work with. Nice costumes, though.