Baroness Orczy, author of The Scarlet Pimpernel, has an interesting style that is adheres closely to the Romantic style of literature. As such, working that particular style into a film can be tricky.
Take for instance, Daniel Dafoe’s The Last of the Mohicans novel. It is a Romantic novel that spends much of its time preoccupied with the French and Indian war. Likewise, Baroness Orczy’s novel spends a lot of time with Marguerite and the Reign of Terror–the politics, opinions, and lamentations.
Today on the blog, we are going to look at an excellent adaptation of the novel, a 1999 “series,” that has great set pieces and some splendid acting as well.
Adaptation Overview
The Scarlet Pimpernel was released as a three-part series that “loosely” emulates Baroness Orczy’s novels, from the characters to the plot.
It stars Richard E. Grant as Sir Percy (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Martin Shaw as Chauvelin, and Elizabeth McGovern as Marguerite.
The series was filmed in the Czech Republic, and it was also scored by Czech composer Michal Pavlicek. It was produced by London Films, and appeared on A&E and BBC Birmingham.
Casting
Richard E. Grant is excellent as the often described “enigmatic” Sir Percy Blakeny. He has the charm and seriousness to play the dichotomy of the character. Additionally, Martin Shaw is excellent as the devious Chauvelin, who attempts to undermine those around him and capture The Scarlet Pimpernel. Lastly, Elizabeth McGovern perfectly balances the etiquette of the embroiled intrigue in French society.
Setting and Costume Design
The setting is adeptly executed in its tone rather than its actuality. In other words, the over-the-top dramatic portrayals of the characters, dances, guillotine romps, create an air of baffling lunacy during a time when people executed by the thousands to preserve an idealized version of the world.
Moreover, the characters are all dressed in the dashing and eccentric fashion that is reminiscent of stage play attire, but works wonderfully with the fantastical narrative of a roguish hero intent on rescuing foppish royalty from the guillotine.
Plot Deviations
The story is not told entirely from Marguerite’s perspective like it is in the book. Instead, it is told from a variety of points of view, including Sir Percy, Marguerite, Chauvelin, and a few others.
As addressed, Baroness Orczy’s novel is dominantly told from Marguerite’s perspective, which gives little insight into the actual workings of The Scarlet Pimpernel. With that said, the way in which the filmmakers tell the story adds missing action where there should be some, intrigue where there aught to be, and heightens the tension of the story by giving us Sir Percy’s intention and authority on the screen.
Critical Reception
The overall rating on IMDB for The Scarlet Pimpernel series is 7.4/10. By episode (out of 6 eps total), scores range from highest to lowest 7.4-8.1.
Ten-star reviews state that the series was engaging and that viewers would be “glue to the television.” Moreover, other ten-star reviewers stated that the series has “love, action, and most importantly, plenty of humor.”
Meanwhile, one-star reviews stated that it is “one of the stupidest films ever made” that “failed in capturing the gorgeous tale” such as the exciting rescues and romance of the novel. Likewise, one-star reviewers stated that it is a “very bad adaptation of the classic novel” as it changes the characters’ personality and descriptions, such as Sir Percy’s penchant for laziness in the novel versus his energy in the movie.
Conclusion
I think this is a hard literary source to transform into a film for a variety of reasons. Most notably, the source material can be construed as dry and uninteresting. If you are like me, I love a great deal of action and excitement in my stories (it’s why I love Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson), and I am often disappointed when the narrative tells us the action rather than actually present it to us as an audience. The Scarlet Pimpernel tells us that there are daring rescues and escapes happening, but we rarely see them; and, being 24 chapters into the novel now, I don’t feel as though that is going to ramp up a considerable amount.
In contrast, this series actually presents the action and adds additionally intrigue, which was seemingly promised by the novel (though seems strangely absent here). It also demonstrates the humor and absurdity of the time by making the characters larger than life, and by adding cultural flourishes, like guillotine dances and overtly foppish behavior.
After watching the first episode of the series, I have to recommend it if you enjoy The Scarlet Pimpernel source material, if only to see the actors portray these characters. I believe it is a fair representation and gives the readers insight into the happenings of the narrative in dramatic and tangible ways.
What adaptions do you think are worth watching when it comes to “books to films”? Have you seen this adaptation? What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
