King Richard and the Crusaders [1954]

Customer Reviews:

"War, war! That's all you ever think about, Dick Plantagenet! You burner, you pillager!" .......2007-11-13

David Butler may have directed Calamity Jane and a slew of successful Doris Day pictures, but in 1954 he also directed one of the great onscreen calamities, King Richard and the Crusaders, a well deserved entry in the original volume of the 50 Worst Movies of All Time that pretty much killed off his career in features. For decades the epic genre got no critical respect, being regarded as spectacularly stupid fare for the less discerning masses, and it's scripts like this one that are the reason - the cast should have been paid danger money for uttering lines like "Go squat on your alps!" or the immortal "War, war! That's all you ever think about, Dick Plantagenet! You burner, you pillager!" (yes, Virginia Mayo really DOES say that). But far worse than being stupid is the fact that, once the shock of the atrocious dialog wears off, it's also very dull: brief skirmishes and a tedious chase finale aside the Crusaders spend more time bickering among themselves than fighting Saracens in a Holy Land that looks just like Bronson Canyon and Chico, California.

Very loosely based on Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman to cash in on the success of Ivanhoe, at times it looks like it was designed as an Errol Flynn vehicle, although Laurence Harvey, with a quiff like a tsunami and a Scottish accent so bad you'll thank whatever god you worship when he drops it after the first scene, makes a poor a replacement for the ageing and ailing star (though fair dos, he does a neat line in leaping off a horse). George Sanders plays most of his scenes as Richard from his bed, and he probably wished he'd stayed there. Rex Harrison plays the `Persian popinjay' Saladin like a cross between the King of Siam and the genie of the lamp in a very bad panto, which is pretty much all you can do when you're saddled with lines like "These strange pale-eyed Goths, they show their hearts like the bumps on a pomegranate." Over in the villains' corner a grinning rabbit-like Michael Pate impersonates Michael Rennie for all he's worth while Robert Douglas reprises his Adventures of Don Juan shtick to decent effect. Yea, verily, it's enough to make you miss Henry Wilcoxen and Cecil B. De Mille.

The German PAL DVD has fairly poor picture quality but is a 2.55:1 transfer with English soundtrack (but a German main title), so avoid the Asian fullscreen version and order the German disc from Amazon.de if you must have it (it's retitled 'Der Talisman' over there).

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Avatar - The Last Airbender: Book 1 - Water, Vol. 5 [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Avatar: the Last Air
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Children's DVD | Children's DVD | Categories | DVD | Video
Region 1 | Special Features | DVD | Video
DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000FZETKW
Release Date: 2006-09-19

Amazon.co.uk Review

Airbender: Book 1 Water, Vol. 5 finds Aang, the 12-year-old Avatar destined to bring peace to the world by mastering the four elements, once again in direct collision with the forces of the Fire nation.

In "The Northern Air Temple," a sad Aang visits the ruins of a monastery well known to him in his past life. Aang is shocked to discover a tribe of faux Airbenders living there, presided over by an inventor with a dark and even treacherous secret. "The Waterbending Master" introduces Aang to a mentor he would just as soon avoid: an old Waterbender who can teach him to move, shape, and fight with liquid, prerequisites to Aang assuming his place as the world's savior. Meanwhile, Aang's traveling companion Katara is frustrated by that same master's refusal to sharpen her own natural, Waterbending talent; until, that is, an unexpected link between them becomes clear. (Aang's other friend, Sokka, stays busy--and crazy--chasing a princess who gives him mixed signals about her romantic interest.) "The Siege of the North, Parts 1 and 2" is yet another epic confrontation between Admiral Zhao's Fire Navy fleet and the Aang gang. The twist this time is that Zhao attempts the murder of Prince Zuko, an action that cannot go without consequences. As usual, Avatar is visually exciting and highly original, an otherworldly yet fully accessible fantasy full of dreams and good humour. --Tom Keogh

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