Search - Young Ivanhoe on DVD

Nothing great, but entertaining.

Henry-Clyde | North of Nowhere, South of Everywhere, East of The | 12/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""YOUNG IVANHOE" is a pleasantly suprising film. It was never released theatrically, had a low budget, and certainly turned out to be nothing special. However, what makes it such a good movie are the characters, action, romance, and music, which are all surprisingly well-done. But out of all these advantages, none stand out so much as the story. It is extremely complimentary to the original "IVANHOE" in both story and character. This story is very true to historical fact and leads up very nicely to the original novel.
"YOUNG IVANHOE" has a grand cast, but also serves as a delightful origin story. Ivanhoe (Kris Holdenreid) is a young man, somewhat mischevious and impetous, who lives with his father, Cedric (James Bradford). His best friend is the boy that will become Friar Tuck (Matthew Daniels). He falls in love with the beautiful Rowena (Rachel Blanchard), and learns the knightly graces from Pembrooke (Stacy Keach). Rowena has come to England to avenge her father's death at the hands of Count du Bourget (Nick Mancuso). The Count's mistress, Lady Margarite, (Margot Kidder) convinces him to wed Rowena, and then murder her afterwards. Since Rowena is a direct descendant of King Alfred, the Count would gain possession to many Saxon lands. If anybody tries to attack the Count's castle or save Rowena from a most unhappy marriage, the Count would kill Sir Cedric.
Not only are the movie's elements surprisingly well-crafted and not only is the story complimentary to the original novel, but also the acting is very expansive and very good. "YOUNG IVANHOE" features a huge cast. While only Keach and Mancuso give standout performances, they are all obviously very dedicated to the material. However, even with the cast, the most success is found in the story. Even though the screenplay is roughly written, the film itself is sparsely edited, and has a few moments that don't quite ring true, the story stands up effectively to the original novel. Not to mention it is very sentimental, especially with the performances of Blanchard and Holdenreid. King Richard is away fighting the Crusades, Prince John is trying to take over the throne, there is civil unrest between Saxons and Normans, and Ivanhoe doesn't always agree with his father. All these things and more are present in both Ivanhoe stories. Despite the fact that it is a little too similar to the original novel, that does not matter in terms of the cast and crew. At the very least, it shows they respect the original novel.


NO SPECIAL FEATURES



Also Recommended: "THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD" (1938), "IVANHOE" (1952), "THE STORY OF ROBIN HOOD" (1952), "ROBIN HOOD" (1973), "IVANHOE" (1982)




THIS REVIEW IS DEDICATED TO ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF "YOUNG IVANHOE"."