First things first. This is an adaptation of Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819 and set in a fictionalised version of 12th century England. Part of the plot revolves around Wilfred of Ivanhoe, a knight whose father has disinherited him because he followed King Richard the Lionheart on a crusade. The other part is about Rebecca, a Jewish girl who is lusted after and kidnapped by Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a Knight Templar.
This version is sometimes called a film and sometimes called a miniseries. On the DVD I have, it's one really long film instead of separate episodes, so I'm going to review the whole thing as if it's a film.
There's a long list of recognisable actors.
Anthony Andrews (Sir Percy in The Scarlet Pimpernel 1982, and Murdstone in David Copperfield 2000) as Ivanhoe
Michael Horden (voice of Mr. Badger in The Wind in the Willows 1983, and Scathelock in The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men) as Cedric
James Mason (Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) as Isaac
Sam Neill (Alan Grant in Jurassic Park) as Bois-Guilbert
Lysette Anthony (Florence in Dombey and Son 1983) as Rowena
Julian Glover (Mr. Dombey in Dombey and Son 1983, and Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) as King Richard
John Rhys-Davies (Sallah in Indiana Jones, and Gimli in The Lord of the Rings) as Reginald Front-de-Bœuf
Olivia Hussey (Juliet in Romeo and Juliet 1968) as Rebecca
The story begins with Isaac on his way to a tournament. A group of men are waiting to rob him, but he's saved by a mysterious man. Isaac thanks him by offering him a suit of armour and a horse, so he can compete in the tournament.
Isaac
The mysterious man
Watching the tournament is Prince John. Yes, that Prince John. And at least three of the competitors at the tournament are his supporters, though only because they don't want King Richard to return. One of them, Bois-Guilbert, sees Isaac's daughter Rebecca. This is the start of a lot of misery for poor Rebecca.
The terrible trio. From left to right: Front-de-Bœuf, Maurice de Bracy, and Bois-Guilbert.
Rebecca
The mysterious man arrives and challenges all three of Prince John's lackeys to single combat. He defeats them all easily.
Cedric, Ivanhoe's father, and Rowena, Cedric's ward, are watching the tournament, along with Athelstane, the man Cedric wants Rowena to marry, and Wamba, a jester. Cedric is delighted to see someone beating the Normans. Rowena, who loves Ivanhoe, wishes he was there. And Athelstane doesn't care about the tournament as long as he gets enough to eat.
Rowena
Cedric and Wamba
The mysterious man wins the tournament. Unsurprisingly, he turns out to be Ivanhoe. He's injured, but Cedric is too angry with him to help. So instead Isaac and Rebecca take him away to be treated.
Meanwhile, the terrible trio (as I've nicknamed the main villains) are plotting. Front-de-Bœuf is angry they lost the tournament, De Bracy is in "love" with Rowena, and Bois-Guilbert is lusting after Rebecca. They set out to kidnap Cedric and Rowena.
Cedric and Rowena meet Isaac and Rebecca on the road. They have Ivanhoe with them, in a sort of carriage, but Cedric doesn't know this. The terrible trio capture all of them and take them to Front-de-Bœuf''s castle. Wamba is the only one who escapes.
De Bracy tries to blackmail Rowena into marrying him. At the same time, Bois-Guilbert tries to convince Rebecca to sleep with him. She threatens to kill herself rather than let him touch her.
Rowena and De Bracy
Rebecca and Bois-Guilbert
Meanwhile, Wamba has found a mysterious black knight and a group of outlaws led by a man calling himself Locksley. (Who could this be, I wonder? 😏) They storm Front-de-Bœuf's castle and rescue the prisoners... except Athelstane, who's apparently killed, and Rebecca, who's been kidnapped by Bois-Guilbert. Front-de-Bœuf is killed and De Bracy surrenders, so Bois-Guilbert goes to the lair of the Knights Templar.
The Knights Templar decide that Rebecca is a witch who's put a spell on Bois-Guilbert, so they'll burn her at the stake unless a champion arrives to fight Bois-Guilbert for her life. Isaac goes to ask Ivanhoe to be the champion. Ivanhoe and the black knight go to Templestone, and are just in time to save Rebecca from being burned. Ivanhoe kills Bois-Guilbert. Yay! And the black knight reveals that he's really King Richard, and outlaws the Knights Templar. Yay again!
King Richard
Athelstane wasn't killed after all, and he apparently comes back to life in the middle of his own funeral. This scene isn't as hilarious as it is in the book, but it's still funny. He tells Cedric he won't marry Rowena, so she's free to marry Ivanhoe.
This bit always disappoints me. Rebecca and Ivanhoe have much more interaction than Rowena and Ivanhoe, and Rebecca honestly seems like the better -- or at least more likeable -- character. Why didn't she marry him instead? I know, I know, because she's a Jew and he's a Catholic, and such a marriage would have been scandalous at the time. But it's still disappointing.
Anyway, Ivanhoe and Rowena are married.
And Isaac and Rebecca leave England forever.
This is a bit too bittersweet to be a proper happy ending, but I suppose it's the happiest ending possible. The villains are dead (or, in the case of Prince John, have had their plots foiled), the heroes are alive and well, and there are no loose ends left.
So, my overall opinion?
It's not as good as the book. (But what adaptation ever is? Except for Cranford, of course.) But it's probably the best adaptation Ivanhoe has had to date. It keeps all the major plot points. I'm disappointed they didn't include Ulrica burning down Front-de-Bœuf's castle, but I suppose that's not really an essential part of the story. All in all it's both a faithful adaptation, and a good film in its own right.
Is it available online?: I don't think so, but I could be wrong.
Rating: 7/10.
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