Search - Scaramouche on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Mild Violence, Excellent For Children Movie Release: 1952 DVD Release: 07/01/2003 Format: DVD - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 55 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 18 Genres: Adventure, Swashbuckler, Costume Adventure

This delightful adaptation of Rafael Sabatini's swashbuckling novel stars Stewart Granger as Andre Moreau, an 18th-century French nobleman who is publicly humiliated by the Marquis de Maynes (Mel Ferrer). Challenged to a sword duel by the Marquis, Andre, who knows nothing about fencing, runs away, taking refuge with a theatrical troupe. He hides behind the personality of Scaramouche, a zany clown, and in his spare time romances his sexy leading lady Lenore (Eleanor Parker). Seeking revenge against de Maynes, Andre takes fencing lessons from swordmaster Doutreval (John Dehner). It isn't long before Andre has developed a reputation as the finest swordsman in France--which, as intended, arouses the ire of de Maynes. The two opponents face off in a deserted theater; the ensuing sword duel, running nearly seven minutes, is one of the best ever committed to film. Before he can plunge his blade into de Maynes, Andre discovers that he and the Marquis are half-brothers. The two men instantly forget their differences, and Andre's honor is fully restored. He ends up not in the arms of the sensuous Lenore but with a woman of his own class, Aline de Gavrillac (Janet Leigh)--while a gag ending reveals that Lenore has found herself a new and highly influential boyfriend. Lewis Stone, star of the 1923 silent version of Scaramouche, appears in the remake in the supporting role of Georges de Valmorin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Stewart Granger - Andre Moreau/ Scaramouche
Eleanor Parker - Lenore
Janet Leigh - Aline de Gavrillac
Mel Ferrer - Noel, Marquis de Maynes
Henry Wilcoxon - Chevalier de Chabrillaine

George Sidney's Scaramouche has had an extraordinary history on high-end video. In the late '80s, it was among the very first MGM movies ever licensed out by Turner Entertainment and given deluxe treatment by the Criterion Collection on laserdisc, in a two-platter CAV edition complete with a secondary audio interview with the movie's star, Stewart Granger -- in a sense, it was the first swashbuckler ever to be issued in the audio equivalent of a "hardcover" gift edition. The Granger interview is lost to history, and Granger himself passed away a few years ago, but in its place, the 2003 DVD offers us a seven-minute on-camera interview with Mel Ferrer, who remembers vividly the sword-fight sequences and offers recollections of director George Sidney. Ferrer, rather than the editor, selected every shot from the sword fight used in the final cut of the movie -- and the rest of the cast. The other bonus materials include an astonishingly good-condition 1952 animated television commercial -- in color, no less -- for the movie; a rather superficial onscreen account of the history of sword fights in movies, which will be irrelevant to anyone over the age of 17, and also to virtually anyone who would be buying this disc in the first place; and the original theatrical trailer, superior to the look of the complete movie on the Criterion laserdisc, with some shots so sharp that they give the momentary illusion of being in 3-D. All of these are accessible through a three-layer menu that's very easy to maneuver around and make selections from. As to the movie itself, as good as the Criterion CAV laserdisc looked, the advancement of film-to-video transfer technology into the digital realm has rendered it obsolete, except for its interview material. The image is so sharp that it has pushed the resolution of the source materials (which are in excellent condition) right to the limit, to the point where, on a screen of over 30 inches, one momentarily gets the illusion of watching a theatrical showing; the clarity of the details and the richness of the color are extraordinary. The 115-minute movie has been given 32 chapters, which reflects a great deal of care taken in the preparation of the disc. The audio, however, is deficient in one important respect: volume. The audio is simply mastered too low; it boosts up without distortion, however, and between the dazzling image and the bonus materials, the overall release is impossible not to recommend to swashbuckler fans. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide