Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

maybe, not the best adaptation. or not the most impressive film for a generation far by the universe of Walter Scott. but one of films who could be inspired choice for the viewer looking the art and flavor and sensitivity of old times. and, maybe, this is the basic virtue of it. to be a trip. in the universe of good novel and to remind the glamour of stars from a lost time. so, Ivanhoe.

Great adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's classic novel. Interesting plot, filled with chivalry, knights doing battle and damsels in distress, Good, swashbuckling, action. Robert Taylor was so-so in the lead role. Just seemed too American for the role. On the other hand, the supporting cast put in great performances: Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders. Elizabeth Taylor is incredibly captivating as Rebecca. Joan Fontaine isn't too bad on the eye either...One of the best knights-in-armour movies you'll see.

Swashbuckler films should just by their nature always be quite fun. Unfortunately Ivanhoe is not much fun at all. This is a dull film, too serious-minded for its own good. When you think of swashbucklers Errol Flynn's Robin Hood is of course the first thing that comes to mind. This film suffers terribly by comparison. Robert Taylor, playing Ivanhoe, has none of the charm and charisma Flynn had. Taylor turns in a very bland performance. To be fair he is not helped by what is a rather lousy script. The dialogue in this film is so stilted and unnatural. The film looks good, colors pop off the screen, battle scenes are well done. But visual spectacle is not enough. The story has to engage. And, weighed down by that clunky dialogue, the story in this film falls flat.There are some saving graces here. Taylor is a bit of a dud and in a film like this if the hero is a dud that is a big problem. But the supporting players perk things up a bit. Joan Fontaine plays Rowena, the object of Ivanhoe's affection, and Fontaine falls comfortably into the role much like her sister did in Robin Hood. There is the sense though that, much as with Olivia de Havilland in that film, Fontaine's character is somewhat underdeveloped. The story would be helped if we got to know more about Rowena. We do get to know more about Rebecca, a young Jewish woman who finds herself in quite a difficult situation. Elizabeth Taylor plays the part very well, bringing some emotion to a film which desperately needs it. Of course she also brings her great beauty to the role, easy to see why a man would fall under her spell. It is De Bois-Guilbert, Ivanhoe's rival, who loves Rebecca. But she loves Ivanhoe. And Ivanhoe loves Rowena. But Rowena is jealous of Rebecca. All a bit messy.The romantic entanglements all sort themselves out in the end. But it's a bit of a slog getting to that ending. This is a rather dull, oddly lifeless movie. You can't help but compare this movie to Robin Hood. Heck, Robin Hood even shows up in this movie, serving to do little more than to reinforce the notion you'd rather be watching Errol Flynn. Ivanhoe is no Robin Hood. The women in the picture, Fontaine and Elizabeth Taylor, do good work. George Sanders, though saddled by that awful dialogue, is reasonably decent as well playing De Bois-Guilbert. But in a movie titled Ivanhoe the actor playing Ivanhoe obviously holds the key to the film's success. And Robert Taylor is not up to snuff. How can the hero of a swashbuckler film be so bland? The character of Ivanhoe disappoints so the movie can't help but disappoint. This is a movie which takes itself way too seriously. It is the type of movie you should be able to have some fun with. But fun is in desperately short supply here.

Out of MGM, Ivanhoe was spared no expense and became the costliest epic produced in England at the time. Though the studio millions that were tied into English banks is more telling than any sort of love for the project one feels.It's directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The cast features Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Finlay Currie and Felix Aylmer. The screenplay is by Æneas MacKenzie, Marguerite Roberts, and Noel Langley who adapts from the novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. The score is by Miklós Rózsa and Freddie Young is on Technicolor cinematography duties with the exterior location work at Doune Castle, Stirling, Scotland.Though the pacing is far from perfect and there's some saggy bits in the script, Ivanhoe remains arguably one of the finest and most under appreciated of MGM's historical epics. Naturally there's some differences from Scott's novel (a given in most genre pieces of this type), but Thorpe and his team come through with the material given and deliver a rousing treat.It looks tremendous courtesy of Young's lensing, where he brilliantly brings to life Roger Furse's costumes and Alfred Junge's majestic sets. Taylor (R), Fontaine and Taylor (E) look delightful, (especially Liz who can easily take you out of the movie such is her beauty here) and their romantic triangle makes for an ever watchable romantic spectacle.The action is on the money, with the attack on Front de Boeuf castle adroitly constructed (and not skimped on time wise), a jousting competition that vividly comes to life, and a Mano-Mano fight between Taylor's Ivanhoe and Sanders' De Bois-Guilbert that is grisly and adrenalin pumping in equal measure (check out the sound work here too).It's also worth acknowledging the anti-semitic part of the story, with the MGM suits thankfully deciding to not ignore this part of Scott's literary source. The three handsome lead stars are backed up superbly by a robust Williams, while the trio of villains played by Sanders, Robert Douglas and the excellent Guy Wolfe as weasel Prince John, deliver the requisite quota of boo hiss villainy.It made big money for MGM, setting records for the studio at the time. It's not hard to see why. It's a beautiful production across the board, and while it's not without faults per se, it holds up regardless as it firmly engages and stirs the blood of the historical epic loving fan. What a year 1952 was for MGM! 8/10