Lorna Doone (2001)

Star-crossed lovers, feuding family, royal plots, noble destinies, and salt-of-the-earth heroes. No wonder R.D. Blackmore's romantic classic has been a perennial favorite. Amelia Warner (Michael Caine's innocent child bride in Quills) is Lorna, the beautiful young brunette "queen" of the feral Doone clan in this latest adaptation, a handsome 2.5-hour co-production between the BBC and A&E. The once noble line now lives out of a swamp fortress and preys off the local farmers and tradesmen, but the family patriarch (Peter Vaughan) has hatched a plot to win back his title and his land. Handsome John Ridd (Richard Coyle) swears vengeance against the Doones when they murder his father, but he falls for Lorna, and the rakish, ruthless Doone scion (Aiden Gillen, who swaggers through the drama with a perpetual sneer) refuses to give up his claim on the girl without a fight.

This is the kind of British romantic adventure that decries the tradition of nobility and privilege while rewarding its heroes with those very privileges, all within a grand framework of melodramatic twists, thrilling battles, and chivalrous heroics. Director Mike Barker creates an appropriately larger-than-life world at once pastoral and savage for his little epic--shot in the verdant British countryside, where a lush forest green permeates every outdoor scene, while the dusky interiors glow with candlelight--giving in completely to the sweeping emotional melodrama at the core of the story. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

I love this movie!

This is a wonderful movie! It is complete and entertaining. The actors are wonderful and the scenery is amazing! It's also a beautiful love story! July 5, 2008

Not A&E's Usual Great Productions

I love A&E's high quality entertainment movies; sadly this movie is disappointing. The movie doesn't flow, and it's hard to relate and become involved with the characters because the movie doesn't flow. It's watchable, but you wouldn't want to waste your time watching it again.
May 31, 2008

Excellent acting of a moving story

This DVD offers an excellent acting of an extremely moving story that includes love, revenge, grace, loyalty and moderation versus fanaticism and evil. March 21, 2008

Great Family-Friendly Entertainment

A very nice mounting of the old romance novel by R.D. Blackmore. Production values are very good, especially the fortress erected by the outlaw Doones, the costumes, and the battle scenes. Lovely hill and dale landscapes of Wales--even though the story is set in county Devon--are a major plus.

One wonders why the exiled Doones, a Scottish clan, so long to return to their ancient homelands in the north, when it's even more wet, frosty, and desolate up there! You can feel the damp and cold of the misty green moors in your bones. It's good to see the venerable Peter Vaughn once again playing the crusty, slightly crazed patriarch, the type of role he's played to perfection, going all the way back to Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, more than thirty years ago. And I was very surprised to see Aidan Gillan playing his evil, treacherous, scheming grandson Carver Doone, having seen him more recently in season 3 of HBO's The Wire, as the scheming and treacherous councilman Calcetti, complete with amazingly authentic eastern US accent.

Gun experts might find it problematic that the single shot flintlock pistols are fired continuously during battle scenes, as if the guns were revolvers or held magazines! But I quibble.....

The two young leads make a very handsome couple. Lorna is played perfectly by the stunningly beautiful Amelia Warner, with her flawless, dewy complexion, magnificent lips, fabulous eyes. You can easily see why she would be an object of obsession! Her warmth and genuine compassion shine through as well, making her a paragon of virtue and beauty.

This would make a great evening or two of family entertainment. And you will probably want to read the book as well.
January 28, 2008

one to watch and watch again

I read this book over and over as a teen but it had been perhaps twenty years since my last reading when I found this dvd in the library.

Upon reflection, I think I have to agree with the reviewer who found this portrayal of Lorna unsatisfactory as her range did feel pretty limited. However, I have long since forgotten that first minor impression in the spell that the rest of the production creates. Mrs. Ridd is engagingly portrayed. John Ridd is stalwart, honest, and charming. The story is spellbinding. Sir Ensor Doone is magnificently decaying. Judge Jeffries is mesmerizingly appalling. The highwayman is a believably delightful rogue, something few have successfully pulled off. The music and cinematography are particularly good. What more can one ask?

The only really jarring item for me is Aiden Gillen as Carver Doone. Carver is fairly well acted, but Gillen's looks are difficult to take seriously somehow, and the final scene at the mudpit ends up making him seem ridiculous and petulant rather than brooding, hateful, and tragic. This doesn't in any way diminish my enjoyment of any of it, however. I bought this movie from Amazon because I kept checking it out of the library over and over. Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a story on film that richly delivers the essentials of a literary classic. November 13, 2007

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