The Wicked Lady

To mark the passing of Michael Winner and to celebrate the film's 30th anniversary(2013) the time would now seem to be propitious to finally release this movie on DVD even if it's only a DVD-R as most older movies are these days. Of course it all boils down to who currently owns the rights. Originally made for the Cannon banner, most of those films wound up being purchased by MGM whose DVDs are now being distributed in conjunction with 20th Century Fox.

There could also be a problem with the soundtrack by Tony Banks (of Genesis fame). He may be due royalties which the current owner of THE WICKED LADY doesn't want to pay. That happened to a number of late 1960s and early 1970s American International titles when they first came out on video. There could be many different reasons for the delay but whatever they are, they need to be worked out! If the film looks great on VHS (which it does), think of what a proper aspect DVD would look like.

The film was roundly panned upon its original release in 1983. The Brits hated it because they saw it as an unnecessary R rated remake of the beloved 1945 film with Margaret Lockwood and James Mason and the Americans hated it because they either didn't realize that it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek or found it too over-the-top for their liking. To criticize Dunaway's performance as overblown is to totally miss the point. Alan Bates, John Gielgud, Denholm Elliot and the rest of the cast are having a fine old time and the cinematography by Jack Cardiff (THE RED SHOES) is gorgeous to behold.

There is definitely gratuitous nudity and the nearly X rated horsewhipping scene is truly outrageous but that adds to the overheated atmosphere of the film. It's either your cup of tea or it isn't but either way it deserves to be available in the digital format. Is it a fun historical romp or overdone cinematic trash? Let each viewer decide!... For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

POSTSCRIPT: A Blu-Ray / DVD version was finally released by Kino Lorber in 2015 and although still available, it is outrageously expensive.

Back in the day of 1983, I was 22 and really did not care about quality in movies like I do now at 60. There is a place for cheesy movies or drive in movies, but Cannon chose to skip and save on each budget to hoped to fund their next idiot production of knock off movies. I caught Wicked Lady 1983 for the first and final time after doing a Faye Dunaway search. When I saw the other movies were Cannon, I did not expect much. A period movie with customs was nice, but cannot compare to Richard Lester the 3 and 4 Musketeers and see for yourself the difference in quality. In defense of Michael Winner, he was a mans man director, meaning his style worked best with men who were stage actors and needed little or no direction, they could improvise out on rugged locations. Chato's Land a release by United Artist.

Another film I had the misfortune to pay money to see. Major over acting on the part of Alan Bates, Faye Dunaway, and Faye Dunaway's eyebrows. You also get to see two women, naked from the waste up, whipping each other.

Mrs. Dunaway, you should have known better.

Micheal Winner and the illustrious cast take the money and phone in the performances of this classic.

The direction is basic. The acting is 'scenery chewing in extremis', every single one bar Glynis Barber is terrible. Gielgud is clearly trading on his name at this point. Dunaway is Crawfordtastic.

The costumes and sets might be acceptable, but the editing, cinematography and direction are at times laughable.

We should expect this to be the subject of the, 'How Did This Get Made' podcast in the near future.

The spontaneous and gratuitous nudity is surely there just to keep some members of the audience awake.

This movie is listed as an action/comedy, but the only thing remotely amusing is in Marina Sirtis's nude scene. While running away, it is quite evident that she has a tan line that indicates a French cut bikini bottom, something I would think was quite rare in the 17th century.

I highly recommend that instead of this video, one either rents the original or a copy of Finney's excellent "Tom Jones".