This episode is for members only! It’s part of a monthly series of episodes we do for members to fill in a hole in a previous series. Learn more about supporting The Next Reel Film Podcast through your own membership so you can listen today! It’s New Year’s which must mean it’s time for Ivanhoe in Sweden again! That’s right, every year since the TV movie aired on New Year’s Eve in 1982, this British TV movie has played on Swedish television and has become as much a tradition as anything else. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we provide a Member Bonus episode that fits somewhat awkwardly in both our on-and-off Holiday series as well as our Robin Hood series, Douglas Camfield’s 1982 TV movie Ivanhoe. We talk about the nature of the story and how it’s a bit of a soap opera, and why it worked a bit better for Andy than it did Pete. We look at the odd nature of the story and how it’s largely not about the titular character, and how the two women in his life are more interesting than he is. We chat about the villains and why they may not work as well as they should, even with people like Sam Neill and John Rhys-Davies filling the roles. We try to decipher some of the actual history between the Normans and Saxons and why everyone seems to hate the Jews, but we do a terrible job and may actually confuse the issue more for ourselves. And we touch on the strange holiday tradition that this movie has become and what Sam Neill thinks of it. It’s a light bit of British history that feels a bit more soap opera than anything else, but it’s a fun one to look at and chat about. We have a great conversation about it so check it out then tune in! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins! Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel’s Discord channel!
Film Sundries
- Watch this film: JustWatch
- Original poster artwork
- Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
- Flickchart
- Letterboxd
