Customer Reviews

The Abdication

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This beautifully filmed movie quickly disappeared from theaters and never made it to video. I am grateful to Amazon and Warners for the chance to see it again. I feared that I would be disappointed after describing the movie as my favorite, ever, but on my HD television, the stunning scenery and historic settings came to life again, and the amazing Liv Ullman when she was such a graceful young woman conveyed the joy and angst of Queen Christina with such skill. It is still a great story that is best watched with some understanding of the childhood the young queen experienced, and has relevance as women still make choices between career and family. Watch it for the cinematography, the artful story that explains how childhood experiences affect adult choices and the chemistry between Ullman and Finch, knowing it is an interesting examination of a character scarred by her role and her parents, and uses time to give us clear insights into her. Now that I have seen it again, I may change its ranking (moving Ullman's Mindwalk set in the abbey at Mont St. Michel to the top), but I thoroughly enjoyed the film despite the music that now seems bombastic at times, and will watch it again.

The Abdication was a facinating movie. It was almost believable and I wonder if it was based on a true story. Liv Ullmann is a great actress and played the part of the troubled queen very well. I would have liked to have seen her play the part of a queen more with beautiful dresses and jewelry but then she would have spoiled the vision of the tom boy that she played. Peter Finch has always been one of my favorite actors and have purchased at least a dozen of his films. In this one he does the part of a Cardinal of the Catholic church and it is he who must "examine" the queen to see if she is sincere in becoming a believer of the Faith. It is a struggle for both of them especially when they fall in love. The scene when the Cardinal confesses his past and present sins in loving another woman in his early life that Peter Finch shines as an actor. All the pomp and visual color of Rome and the Vatican are here in this film. A beautiful film to watch.

The DVD does not play on some DVD machines. I tried it in a number of players just to make sure. It played on my Sony Bly-ray and looks great as it is up-converted to near HD but on 3 regular Sony DVD players it loads but will not play. It also plays on an old surround system 6 disc DVD player I have. I've been waiting for years to see this film in a fully restored version so this made my disappointment even worse when I found it didn't play on ordinary DVD players.