Young Ivanhoe VHS

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS** "YOUNG IVANHOE" is a pleasantly suprising film. It was never released theatrically, had a low budget, and certainly turned out to be nothing special. However, what makes it such a good movie are the characters, action, romance, and music, which are all surprisingly well-done. But out of all these advantages, none stand out so much as the story. It is extremely complimentary to the original "IVANHOE" in both story and character."YOUNG IVANHOE" has a grand cast, but also serves as a delightful origin story. Ivanhoe (Kris Holdenreid) is a young man, somewhat mischevious and impetous, who lives with his father, Cedric (James Bradford). His best friend is the boy that will become Friar Tuck (Matthew Daniels). He falls in love with the beautiful Rowena (Rachel Blanchard), and learns the knightly graces from Pembrooke (Stacy Keach). Rowena has come to England to avenge her father's death at the hands of Count du Bourget (Nick Mancuso). The Count's mistress, Lady Margarite, (Margot Kidder) convinces him to wed Rowena, and then murder her afterwards. Since Rowena is a direct descendant of King Alfred, the Count would gain possession to many Saxon lands. If anybody tries to attack the Count's castle or save Rowena from a most unhappy marriage, the Count would kill Sir Cedric.Not only are the movie's elements surprisingly well-crafted and the story complimentary to the original novel, but the acting is very good. "YOUNG IVANHOE" features a huge cast. While only Keach and Mancuso give standout performances, they are all obviously very dedicated to the material. However, even with the cast, the most success is found in the story. Even though the screenplay is roughly written, the film itself is sparsely edited, and has a few moments that don't quite ring true, the story stands up effectively to the original novel. Not to mention it is very sentimental, especially with the performances of Blanchard and Holdenreid. King Richard is away fighting the Crusades, Prince John is trying to take over the throne, there is civil unrest between Saxons and Normans, and Ivanhoe doesn't always agree with his father. All these things and more are present in both Ivanhoe stories. Despite the fact that it is a little too similar to the original novel, that does not matter in terms of the cast and crew. At the very least, it shows they respect the original novel.NO SPECIAL FEATURESAlso Recommended: "THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD" (1938), "IVANHOE" (1952), "THE STORY OF ROBIN HOOD" (1952), "ROBIN HOOD" (1973), "IVANHOE" (1982)THIS REVIEW IS DEDICATED TO ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, INVOLVED IN THE MAKING OF "YOUNG IVANHOE".

This is a great movie! The movie trys to show what may have happened before the Ivanhoe book. How Ivanhoe met and fell in love with Rowena. Why Rowena really came to be at the caste. When Ivanhoe first met King Richard. Do not go into this movie to compare it to the Ivanhoe book or movie, but to see it on it's own merits. The movie takes place when Ivanhoe looks to be about 17 to 20, so he's young(and I think cute!).This movie has action, sword fighting, and even the Black Knight. In this movie the black knight is not the king, but a loyal subject who helps the people. There is fighting, but no blood, gore, or guts so it's more kid friendly. There are a couple of scenes where a knife is thrown into a person, but no blood.This movie also has romance. If you're like me and believe or are at least willing to go along with the love-at-first-sight aspect of the movie, then you'll love that part. But, if you're like my dad, then you'll think that it's a sappy, unrealistic story, since they're only together a day or so and already proclaiming their undieing love for each other.I personally encourage all you romantics out there, who like some action and even sword fighting, to watch this movie.

I mainly purchased this film because I had seen Kris Holdenreid in the first series of "The Tudors" and was impressed with his acting. I also saw him in a minor role in "Rowing Trough". This film is a low budget production with a few "names" in it to give it credibility. I was disappointed with the performances of Stacey Keach and Margot Kidder, but Kris Holdenreid was delightful in the role of the young Ivanhoe, bearing in mind it was very early in his career. I would like to see more of his acting now that he has matured. The film could have been much better with a bigger budget. I enjoyed it because of Kris.

Not the greatest movie ever made but one that is good for a rainy day. I bought it because it was and early film of Kris Holden-Ried and was not disappointed. I'd been told he did a good joy for a young actor and they were right. Some of the more experienced actors and actresses could really have been better, but perhaps they were not taking their parts seriously. So if you are purchasing this because you are a Kris Holden-Ried fan ENJOY! You will like what you see ;)

a fun swordplay and action movie in the Robin Hood genre. Intended for kids, it's clean and funny and has a lot of charm.

Pretty good swashbuckling fun, Robin Hood, the Black Knight, Norman Invaders, what more can you ask

Gift for grandson.

I liked it. It's an older movie, but I found it to be entertaining. I love the clothes from that era.