Ivanhoe (miniseries)

We didn't enjoy this much during the first three quarters, but the last part made it all worth it. Overall, it is poorly filmed with weird camera angles, cheesy choreography on the large-scale action scenes, too much quick cutting back and forth, and no wide-angle shots during the joust scenes. Many scenes are short and choppy and the extra depth it tries to bring in from the classic novel is more confusing than interesting. However, it very realistically portrayed Medieval England in all its gritty detail: as one reviewer commented, "You could almost see the lice on the Saxons."

Rowena is a passionate character worth rooting for and Brian De Bois-Guilbert is a multi-faceted villain with depth. We started enjoying ourselves during the climactic battle between Ivanhoe and Bois-Guilbert. Surprisingly, this was very well-choreographed and Sir Brian's last line made us almost sorry that he had to die. Amanda especially enjoyed watching Rowena transform from a jealous and suspicious bride to a loving and smiling wife after Rebekah's wise and tasteful lies about what she and Ivanhoe talked about during their imprisonment. Whether or not this is accurate to the book, it made for a satisfying ending. Some might find parts of this enjoyable film violent and gory, but it's mostly cheesy and overdone, though Sir Brian does lose an eye during his last battle.