Customer Reviews

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

If you're looking for a DVD of the Leslie Howard/Merle Oberon version of _The Scarlet Pimpernel_, buy _Drama Classics Triple Feature, Vol. 2_ (The Black Pirate / The Scarlet Pimpernel / The Iron Mask) from Navarre Corporation.

This one chops lines and even entire scenes out of the movie. The one on the triple-feature DVD is all there, and the transfer is better too. ('Better', not 'good'. This film is badly in need of restoration.) And the extra two bucks gets you a pair of Doug Fairbanks features into the bargain. (And if _that's_ not a good enough deal for you, the film is also included in _50 Movie Family Classics_.)

It's beyond me why anyone would release this classic swashbuckler in such a hacked-up edition. But it's even further beyond me why anybody would _buy_ it while there's a better version available. That damned elusive Pimpernel isn't _that_ hard to find!

The Scarlet Pimpernel

This 1935 telling of the classic story has many pluses; first is the cast, with Leslie Howard as Sir Percy Blakeney, Merle Oberon as Lady Marguerite Blakeney, Raymond Massey as Chauvelin, and Nigel Bruce as Prince of Wales. The next is the script, which was adapted from the novel by Robert E. Sherwood, Sam Berman, Arthur Wimperis, and Lajos Biro. Finally, the overall production and look is superb -- while the story may be short on action, it is strong in character and intrigue.

I do quibble with the tape quality -- it looks as if it was taken from an old print of the film; there are several scratches and one apparent break; however, the sound is pretty good. I hope that one day, the film will be restored and new audiences will have an opportunity to watch Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon together in this project.

If you are a fan of Leslie Howard or Merle Oberan, if you are a fan of films from Hollywood's "Golden Age" or if you simply enjoy the story of the Scarlet Pimpernel, then add this video to your collection.

We had rented a VHS copy after not seeing this for years. Shortly after we bought this DVD version. What a disappointment! Especially the missing material related to the Romney portrait scene. Whole portions of the sub-plot make no sense without it all. Wait till someone gets this right.

This movie has been one of my favorites. I just purchased this DVD for my collection. I can live with poor film quality, I can live with bad sound, but missing scenes is unacceptable.

The scene where Percy tells Armand that he still loved Marguerite is missing!! This my be the most important scene in the movie.

I love the Leslie Howard version, lets hope someone will do a proper restore of this great classic.

This is not a review of the film itself, of which I have fond memories. However, this release is simply awful.

The picture is distorted, cramped and shaky - imagine someone videotaping their television screen while the movie was playing. That's precisely the "quality" of this dvd. The sound is muffled and distorted as well.

Even the packaging is poor - the cover design is something which a half-way competent ten year old could have made if given access to Adobe. Not to mention that the prongs holding the dvd in place are ineffectual in retaining the disc.

Truly terrible dvd of a very good movie. There are other versions of this very same movie available. I can't believe Amazon put this on their site as a legitimate commercial product when it has all of the ear marks of being a pirated copy. Do not be gulled into buying this travesty of a dvd put out by "Reel Classic Films".

Madacy continues to underwhelm when it comes to video transfers to the DVD medium. Copies always look as though they were made from an inferior VHS tape. If you ever wondered why Madacy's DVD titles were so inexpensive, now you know. The movie itself is a classic, though.

This is a wonderful film (I have the Samuel Goldwyn laserdisc release that was distributed a few years ago by HBO) but the public domain print that Madacy has released is absolutely criminal! I have burned a couple of times by this label. The low price may seem to be a bargain, but remember, you get what you pay for. Leslie Howard deserves better treatment!

Speaking of Mr. Howard, his last film, PIMPERNEL SMITH (which updates the story to World War II) is also available through Amazon.Com. I cannot, as yet, attest to it's video quality, but the film is a worthy successor to the original.

The 1-star rating is for the Madacy print - the movie rates 4 stars. As a general rule avoid anything by Madacy, they market some of the worst prints imaginable of movies in the public domain. This one is no different. It is dull, dirty and virtually unwatchable. If you want to see the Scarlet Pimpernal then wait for the TCM movie channel to broadcast their beautiful print from time-to-time.

I had a tattered old copy of this movie on video for years that had finally begun to degrade due to the number of passes it had endured through the VCR. When I brought this DVD home I had such high anticipation to see the classic on a digital format, but was sorely disappointed to find out that Madacy Entertainment had shortened the movie by removing scenes from it. Now, why they had done this is unknown, but it was a great disappointment to both me and my wife.
I constantly wonder why the scenes aren't there (being in video post production myself), and often question whether the DVD has an error in it's encoding and is skipping the scenes, or if Madacy for some reason took the scenes out due to time constraints.
In spite of this flaw, the movie is still a classic.

I saw today that the remake of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL starring Jane Seymour and Anthony Andrews is finally coming out on DVD. Wonderful!

But before you buy it and see it and applaud the performances by Seymour and Andrews you must watch the original starring the great Leslie Howard as Sir Percy Blakeney and, as his Lady Blakeney, Merle Oberon because Seymour and Andrews take virtually all of their mannerisms, accents and cues from the original, greater duo. Raymond Massey also creates the role of the sinister Citizen Chauvelin that Ian McKellen parrots in the newer version.

Please don't get me wrong. The Seymour/Andrews/McKellen version is not poorer in its presentation than the original. It is simply richer for having followed almost completely the standard set by this original version. It is a statement to the greatness of the original production.

This original version is wonderfully classical from its black and white presentation to its script and acting. THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL tells the story of a robust heroic man who must play the dandy in order to conceal his efforts as a British superhero to save as many as he can from the guillotine during the French Revolution. In the process he not only saves lives but also ultimately wins the love of his life all over again.

THE HORSEMAN