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If this genre of film appeals to you, then I highly recommend this film. It features a wonderful and talented cast who really knows how to evoke emotions from a script.

In fact, the script deserves praise. It shows the audience more than it tells, which is one sign of an excellent film, because it respects the viewer's ability to understand action and subtext without a verbal explanation for everything.

The film also features wonderful music and some beautiful scenery.

The story is about second chances. A young architect (Jake Allyn) loses his best friend (Sarah Fisher), then discovers a secret that may change his life. Expect some emotional scenes that feel rewarding, and some characters that are very likable.

This story of knights and courtly politics has the bones of a good tale, but is betrayed by inferior production values.

Robert Taylor plays the part of Ivanhoe, the true and chivalrous. Joan Fontaine plays the beautiful Rowena. They have some good moments together. The part of Rebecca is played by Elizabeth Taylor, who is stunningly beautiful.

But this is primarily a film of pageantry and spectacle, and it falls short in both areas. The scenes of man-to-man combat feel feeble. The clanging of weapon on shield sounds like beating a garbage can lid with plastic. When the archers loose their flights of arrows, they appear uneffective and silly. And the scenes of jousting, with the spectators in the stands, feel like they were filmed on a sound stage.

The bottom line is there are many other films of this era that are more rousing and more believable.

Though generally a fan of reality TV, I was pleasantly surprised by this series. The conceit is that an unwitting contestant does not realize that everyone on the show, other than himself, is an actor. And he is not competing in a real contest--it is all a "joke". As it turns out, the joke is on the producers, who apparently didn't know what they were dealing with when they signed up Ben from Baltimore, an electrician who seems like your average or less-than average guy.

Ben truly is the star of this show. Along the way, he has proved to be more clever than anticipated. He has repeatedly blown up the script by challenging the "reality" presented to him. He is also more lovable than anyone probably anticipated, so the cast is fans of the boy from the bay.

It might have been fun to watch them fool Ben full-time, but it is genuinely engaging to watch what is, really, a battle of wits between the manipulators behind the scenes and good ole Ben, who is a real charmer.