Scarlet and Black

A friend put me hot on the trail of a 1993 adaptation of Stendhal's enthralling political novel "The Red and the Black." There are two adaptations and this particular one stars Ewan McGregor and Rachel Weisz. I was extremely distressed to discover that it isn't even available on DVD. This striking omission in the DVD canon must be rectified as soon as possible. Luckily there is a petition. Join the fight! Make a Difference! --Kim

Ivan "Whoa"...

Burly saxons with frizzy hair, corrupt knights, evil monks, damsels in distress, effeminite kings and, of course, a noble hero. What more could you possibly ask for in a miniseries, I ask? We recently watched Ivanhoe, a 1997 miniseries jointly produced by the BBC and A&E (god bless them both) based on the classic novel by Sir Walter Scott.

The movie kept us on the edge of our seat, with plenty of action, surprising plot turns and captivating character development. Somewhere in the middle of the two-part series, I found myself feeling secretly guilty over the fact that one of the movie's most hateable villains, the Templar Knight Sir Brian Dubois-Guilbert (played by Ciaran Hinds), was beginning to win me over. "Is it wrong of me to be rooting for this horrendous cur?" I wondered, wishing his kidnap victim, Rebecca of York, would fall as madly in love with him as I was beginning to. (In the end, this villain's redemption becomes complete, assuring me I wasn't such a sicko to be rooting for him after all.)

Meanwhile, I found myself less moved by Steven Waddington's portrayal of Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe. "If he were only a mite bit sexier -- or less dopey," I crassly sighed during his most heroic endeavors.

The sword-wielding heroics of the Black Knight (a.k.a Richard the Lionhearted) were fairly swoon-worthy, and the mounting tension in the film's final hour was interrupted only by a truly brilliant comic moment where Prince John and King Richard's mother ordered them to make nice.

All in all i could definitely watch this one again. Hooray for A&E/BBC! -- Amy

BBC to Adapt Shakespeare

"The BBC is remaking The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream in its first Shakespeare adaptations for 15 years," reports The Guardian. The adaptations will star Rufus Sewell, (Middlemarch, Cold Comfort Farm, and the upcoming Tristan & Isolde) Shirley Henderson, (Bridget Jones, Intermission, and Sophia Coppola's next film Marie-Antionette) and Damian Lewis from Speilberg's Band of Brothers. --Kim

This Girl's Life

The Life of Suzanne le Peletier, ""Mademoiselle Nation," would make a fascinating film. You can see her portrait on exhibit at the Getty through April 24. --Kim

Test Your Knowledge

If you're the type of person who knows the difference between Becky Sharpe and Becky Thatcher, test your literary knowledge with this selection of quizzes.

The Black Death or Mischa Barton?

Which would you choose? Band of Brothers director David Leland will be directing Hayden Christensen in an adaptation of Boccaccio's The Decameron (THR). That's all fine and dandy, but it will unfortunately also feature Mischa Barton. (via Defamer) --Kim

Austen, Indian-style

Time magazine didn't seem to love the new "Bollywood" spin on Jane Austen, "Bride & Prejudice," but I'm still intrigued by the idea of this Indian adaptation from the maker of "Bend It Like Beckham." Like 19th century England, modern India has a similar social conservatism that makes it a nice backdrop for Austen's tale of courtship and classism. Of course, this version has some glitzy musical numbers thrown in for good measure, like when the protagonist sings, "I just wanna man who gives some back/Who talks to me and not my rack." (I'm sold!)



The article in Time also referenced another version of Pride & Prejudice set among a group of young Mormons. It sort of sounds like a squeaky clean "Clueless" knock-off, but perhaps I'll eventually check it out. -- Amy