Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
Director :
Kevin Reynolds
Cast :
James Franco……….Tristan
Sophia Myles……….Isolde
Rufus Sewell……….Lord Marke
David O’Hara……….King Donnchadh
Henry Cavill……….Melot
JB Blanc……….Leon
Jamie King……….Anwick
The Movie
The first quarter of any year is generally a dumping ground for movies a studio has no confidence in. Often times films scheduled for late in the prior year are shuffled into the first quarter of the next year, hoping to make a good profit in a time of year when movies. And for years even good films like Tristan & Isolde get lost in the shuffle if no one has any confidence in it. On the shelf for over a year before a short run early in 2006, it has the polish of Ridley Scott without his directorial touch to take it to that next level.
Kevin Reynolds, best known for directing Waterworld and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, mans the helm of this telling of an English myth that Scott was once attached to direct but didn’t due to Alien. Scott would stay on as a producer for a film that would need the director of big period pieces like Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven as opposed the guy behind the film that sunk Kevin Costner’s career. At its heart, Tristan & Isolde is a tale of doomed lovers at the fall of the Roman Empire. Based off a Celtic Legend, it would be a story which the Arthurian tale of Lancelot and Guinevere would follow as well.
Tristan (James Franco) is an English knight under the helm of Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell); Marke saved Tristan’s life as a child and has raised him as his own. In the years after the Romans left and before England was united, the Irish ruled the land. Under King Donnchadh (David O’Hara), war has raged between the two peoples. After a fierce battle, Tristan is presumed dead after being poisoned and his body is sent to the sea. Washing up on the shores of Ireland, he is taken care of by the King’s daughter Isolde (Sophia Myles) and they promptly fall in love. With all of the inherent difficulties in their relationship and some needed misdirection, as well as the king searching for Tristan, he departs back to England. Lured back to win the hand of the King’s daughter, Tristan wins her on behalf of Marke, and as a means of ending the bloodshed. The two have to handle their feelings for one another in the context of their relationship with Marke, all the while trying to maintain secrecy about it.
And Tristan & Isolde has its share of battle sequences as well. While limited as not to take away the relationship between Tristan and Isolde, there are plenty of medieval sword fights and battles to be found. What they lack in gore they make for in intensity; pared down to get a PG-13 rating, as well as attract the requisite teenaged audience to see a tragic love story, it takes away from what should be a much better series of battles.
The love story is quite good, though. Franco, Myles and Sewell have a strong sense of chemistry between each other. The sense of love between Myles and Franco is strong and defined. They have a strong bond between each other and do the little things well. When the two are together (and in public) they react and interact with one another (and others) in two distinct ways. When it comes to the human element Reynolds touch is much better; his touch with the battle scenes is good but feels hampered. There’s a sense that the battle scenes have been heavily edited as to not earn an R rating. The intensity of the drama doesn’t match the tense nature of the battles; part of the charm of Gladiator is that the dramatic moments were as engaging as the battle sequences. It takes away from what could’ve been a special film, leaving just a good one.
| CATEGORY | SCORE |
| STORY | 8 / 10 |
| ACTING | 6 / 10 |
| LOOK/FEEL | 9 / 10 |
| ORIGINALITY | 6.5 / 10 |
| ENTERTAINMENT VALUE | 7.5 / 10 |
Score : 7.5 / 10
The Video
Presented in a widescreen format with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, the film has a great transfer. It isn’t a smorgasbord of color or an effects spectacle, but the film’s limited effects and subtle colors come through clearly. The film has a lot of picturesque shots that come through very well in the transfer.
The Audio
Presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format, Tristan & Isolde sounds as good as Scott’s other highly pronounced efforts. No qualms as the dialogue is crisp and clear, the score and action scenes coming through loud and clearly.
The Extras
Love Conquers All: Making Tristan & Isolde is a making of featurette focusing on the film’s beginnings and it’s striving for authenticity. It’s interesting to hear how the film was made with minimal resources, as the struggle for the production lasted several decades and was almost set in space. Running around 28 minutes in length, it’s filled with lots of fascinating things like training videos from James Franco’s pre-production for his role as Tristan to go with a lot of candor from the cast and crew about the film.
Image Galleries from the film are presented, with Behind The Scenes, Production Design and Costume Design categories to choose from.
Gavin DeGraw Music Video for “We Belong Together” is presented in both a short and long version. Set to clips from the film, it’s a pretty forgettable tune.
Theatrical trailer and TV Spots
Commentary by Writer Dean Georgaris
Commentary by Executive Producer Jim Lemley and Co-Producer Anne Lai
Score : 6.5 / 10
