"The Scarlet Pimpernel" (1999) TV series

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

24 January 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Swashbuckler | Betrayal | Mask | Revolution | Hero

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Richard E. Grant	...	Sir Percy Blakeney / ... (5 episodes, 1999-2000)
Ronan Vibert	...	Robespierre (5 episodes, 1999-2000)
Gerard Murphy	...	Planchet / ... (4 episodes, 1999-2000)
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Marguerite Blakeney / ... (3 episodes, 1999)
Anthony Green	...	Sir Andrew Ffoulkes (3 episodes, 1999)
Martin Shaw	...	Chauvelin (3 episodes, 1999)
Beth Goddard	...	Lady Suzanne Ffoulkes / ... (3 episodes, 1999)
Ron Donachie	...	Mazzarini / ... (3 episodes, 1999)
Christopher Fairbank	...	Fumier (3 episodes, 1999)
Jonathan Coy	...	Prince of Wales / ... (3 episodes, 1999-2000)
Emilia Fox	...	Minette Roland (3 episodes, 1999)
Michaela Flenerova	...	Jannet Carnot (3 episodes, 1999)
Milton Johns	...	Fisher (2 episodes, 1999)
John McEnery	...	Sir William Wetherby / ... (2 episodes, 2000)
Jim Sturgess	...	Erik (series 2) (2 episodes, 1999)

Runtime:

90 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Company:

A&E Television Networks

Trivia:

The Scarlet Pimpernel was filmed in Prague, Czech Republic, for its resemblance to 18th century Paris (and absence of satellite dishes).

Quotes:

Lady Blakeney: They say love's a disease and marriage the cure for it.

Movie Connections:

Version of "The DuPont Show of the Month: The Scarlet Pimpernel (#4.4)" (1960)

No Matter What Anyone Tells You, This IS a Good Film...

...if not a very good adaptation. Yes, the film deviates a little from the book, but what adaptation does not? (i.e. Sense and Sensibility, An Ideal Husband, Gone With the Wind, etc.) Some guidlines for watching this oft-critised film: do not expect a line-for-line, blow-by-blow, true-to-the-nth-degree page to film adaptation. Take the film on it's own, and enjoy it as the solid show it is. Do expect an exciting, romantic, wickedly funny trilogy. The costumes a quite good, and the music adds quite a bit, being rather good. The story of The Scarlet Pimpernel is well known, so I won't bore you by recounting what you already know, but I will say this - I and those who have watched with me found ourselves laughing at the exhanges, loving Sir Percy, and cheering on Marguerite. I have read the book, and can say that Richard E. Grant brings a vivacity and new depth to the Pimpernel, and Elizabeth McGovern, though not always outstanding, is wholly adaquate as the passionate, willful and dedicated wife of Sir Percy, Marguerite St. Just. Just watch this film, and enjoy it for what it is. I know I did.