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So, the 1997 Ivanhoe...
Mar. 21st, 2011 11:57 pm...is kinda like a largely-faithful rewrite by a Robin Hood* fan who ships Rebecca/Wilfred and Rowena/de Bracy? (One of which is most people, I think, the other...well, it could be worse.)
It's a 6 episode BBC/A&E series and is..largely good. It aims for realism in the costumes and setting, as opposed to shiny pageantry and gorgeous costumes. And I liked that it actually let Rowena do a few things without really reducing Rebecca's role, instead of having her be pretty and silrnt and emptyheaded, which I think is how most interpret her. (Also, I really liked the actresses they had for both heroines.)
Though, I wonder if modern cinema can really tell this story without making Wilfred seem like a flake? I mean, it's been a long time since I read the book, but I don't remember thinking he was there, but he's come across a bit that way in both adaptations I've seen? (Admittedly, I don't think I've seen the Anthony Andrews version in almost 10 years.) I think that part of it is that western cinema (or at least, all the US and UK stuff I watch) is kind of...losing the ability to see or convey intimacy/attraction without physically acting on it, in some way, or to believe that a person can choose not to act on romantic or sexual desire (or feel it without lessening feelings for someone else) for various reasons (in this case, Wilfred and Rebecca's religions, which would make marriage impossible, or at least extremely difficult, and the fact that he's been in love with someone else his whole life and hasn't stopped, just thinks he won't be able to be with her). But this is probably a whole territory I'm not quite equipped to dive into
*Not that RH hasn't adopted a lot of traits himself in some versions.
It's a 6 episode BBC/A&E series and is..largely good. It aims for realism in the costumes and setting, as opposed to shiny pageantry and gorgeous costumes. And I liked that it actually let Rowena do a few things without really reducing Rebecca's role, instead of having her be pretty and silrnt and emptyheaded, which I think is how most interpret her. (Also, I really liked the actresses they had for both heroines.)
Though, I wonder if modern cinema can really tell this story without making Wilfred seem like a flake? I mean, it's been a long time since I read the book, but I don't remember thinking he was there, but he's come across a bit that way in both adaptations I've seen? (Admittedly, I don't think I've seen the Anthony Andrews version in almost 10 years.) I think that part of it is that western cinema (or at least, all the US and UK stuff I watch) is kind of...losing the ability to see or convey intimacy/attraction without physically acting on it, in some way, or to believe that a person can choose not to act on romantic or sexual desire (or feel it without lessening feelings for someone else) for various reasons (in this case, Wilfred and Rebecca's religions, which would make marriage impossible, or at least extremely difficult, and the fact that he's been in love with someone else his whole life and hasn't stopped, just thinks he won't be able to be with her). But this is probably a whole territory I'm not quite equipped to dive into
*Not that RH hasn't adopted a lot of traits himself in some versions.