Franchise Pictures
Scott Free Productions
Not part of a collection.
Tristan & Isolde
Fighting countries can still love...
An affair between the second in line to Britain's throne and the princess of the feuding Irish spells doom for the young lovers.
- Original title
- Tristan & Isolde
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US,GB,IE
- Budget
- $31,000,000
- Revenue
- $28,000,000
Wuchak
May 22, 2025 · via TMDB
**_One of the Best Medieval/British Isle flicks_** Remember the three such movies of 1995: "Braveheart," "Rob Roy" and "First Knight"? "Tristan + Isolde" is better than all of them or, at least, on par. It shares plot elements of "First Knight" with the king's trusted protégé playing around with his young wife, but "Tristan + Isolde" is just overall superior. James Franco plays the brooding Tristan, who has good reason to be sullen, except when he escapes into Isolde's arms in secret. Sophia Myles works well as the Irish princess, Isolde, who's given as a gift to the king of the Brits, Marke (Rufus Sewell). Also on hand is Marke's nephew, Melot (Henry Cavill), who's passed up by the king for Tristan; David O'Hara as the wicked Irish king, Donnchadh; and the ignoble Wictred (Mark Strong). These are all strong, memorable characters. Although there are some contrived plot elements, the story (based on the medieval romantic legend) is coherent and pretty compelling. Meanwhile the locations (Ireland) and cinematography are breathtaking. The score's good too. Yet this isn't just a film that's beautiful in appearance & sound, it's beautiful period, despite the brutal violence, bloodshed and betrayal. The general ambiance is similar to, say, "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) and lacks the crude elements of "Rob Roy." Some complain that James Franco is too selfishly sullen as Tristan, but that's a big part of the story. Should he have played Tristan as elated that the one & only woman he's ever loved has become the king's wife, a gift from Ireland? The whole adulterous tangled web could have probably been avoided if either Tristan or Isolde simply told the truth about their relationship BEFORE Isolde married the king, but it's not always easy to do this, especially when you're so young and dumb. By "dumb" I don't mean stupid, but rather naive and lacking the life-skills that only come with age & experience. There's also a lot of good stuff to glean from the tragedy: Everyone wants someone to believe in them; never trust a proven scoundrel; humble confession, remorse & repentance; the natural desire for freedom and "true love," etc. Despite its early 2006 release date, it was shot over two years earlier in September-October, 2003. It runs 2 hours, 5 minutes, and was shot in west-central Ireland at Connemara, County Galway. Exterior shots were done in the Czech Republic at Pruhonice Park and Castle, Krivoklat and Prague. GRADE: A
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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James Franco
Tristan
Sophia Myles
Isolde
Rufus Sewell
Marke
David O'Hara
Donnchadh
Mark Strong
Wictred
Henry Cavill
Melot
Bronagh Gallagher
Bragnae
Ronan Vibert
Bodkin
Lucy Russell
Edyth
JB Blanc
Leon
Leo Gregory
Simon
Dexter Fletcher
Orick
Richard Dillane
Aragon
Hans Martin Stier
Kurseval
Thomas Morris
Kaye
Jamie Thomas King
Anwick
Wolfgang Müller
Rothgar
Cheyenne Rushing
Lady Serafine
Barbora Kodetová
Lady Marke
Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Young Tristan
Marek Vašut
Luther
Philip O'Sullivan
Paddreggh
Winter Ave Zoli
Widseth's Sister
Miroslav Šimůnek
Pict Guard
Johnny Byrne
Set Decoration
Artur Reinhart
Director of Photography
Rico Torres
Still Photographer
Mariano Tufano
Assistant Costume Designer
Monika Fišerová
Stunt Coordinator
Nick Powell
Stunt Coordinator
Jakub Švec
Stunt Double
Raicho Vasilev
Stunts
Roman Jankovič
Stunts
Kevin Reynolds
Director
David Minkowski
Associate Producer
James Flynn
Co-Producer
Jim Lemley
Executive Producer
Ridley Scott
Executive Producer
Tony Scott
Executive Producer
Elie Samaha
Producer
Giannina Facio
Producer
John Warhurst
Music Editor
Anne Dudley
Original Music Composer
Dean Georgaris
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