The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)

You may well ask why I was watching this version which was made for US television; well the simple answer is that the DVD came "free" with one of the Sundays a while ago, and I just got around to having a look.  Despite its peculiarly high rating on IMDb, I found it lacking, but then again being a traditionalist, the Leslie Howard version from the '30s is the only one I reckon.  For a start, it was incredibly long and with the penchant for ad-breaks in the States, it must have run ten hours there -- it certainly felt long enough yesterday.  Secondly I thought the standard of acting was pathetic.  Sir Ian McKellen might be one of our National Treasures today, but as the villain Chauvelin here, he was very lightweight.  The lead was taken by Anthony Andrews whose foppish pose (essential for the role) was simply annoying and his love interest was Jane Seymour, an actress who looks pretty enough but who has built a career playing in drecky movies.  The production values were high, but these did not compensate for what seemed like amateur night to me.