Tristan + Isolde (2006)

Sophia Myles is without a doubt one of the most gorgeous actresses ever to appear on screen, and most people's ideal image of what Isolde should look like. The scenery is breathtaking, the cinematography stunning, and the costumes remarkably authentic. Kevin Reynolds, who has a proved track record with making accessible period films (Count of Monte Cristo), mercifully gives the film a believability that is missing in most modern historical films.

This is not an adaptation of the Wagner opera, nor a retelling of any specific version of the tale, but a distillation of its strongest elements. The absence of magical elements is a strength, as it was in Petersen's Troy.

The actor playing Tristan is acceptable, neither spectacular nor awful, but plays the part well enough not to distract from the other fine elements in the film.

Overall, a remarkably successful film, and the only shame is that it hasn't received wider publicity.

Fmovies: I took my GF to it last night. It was her birthday and she had the pick of which movie to see. I had not seen any of the trailers for it and was told it was a romance. What I saw was not at all what I expected! Set back when there were Kings and Lords, it kept me entertained through the whole 2 hrs! There were several lesser name actors that I recognized which made it even more appealing. No huge stars overacting! I've been told that the movie does not follow the fable exactly, but I had never heard the fable so I can't verify this. Not an action flick like Gladiator or Troy, but if you like that era this is a movie for you!

I have to admit that I do not remember much about this story from my college Western Civ class, but I enjoyed this director's work in other films, so I took a chance. What a lovely film! The story is well told, paced well, and full of thought provoking moments. I found the leads, particularly Sophie Myles, who plays Isolde, to be mesmerizing in their roles. The supporting cast is also terrific. I know this won't be for everyone, but it's also not strictly a chick flick. There's plenty of war scenes, adventure, action, etc. to keep those action film fans happy, and yet there's a lot of good love stories, and not just between the two leads as you might expect. I recommend this one!

Tristan + Isolde fmovies. Tristan & Isolde was basically the best Love story that I have seen in a good while. Better than the Notebook, better than Romeo & Juliet, better than anything you could imagine. I went into the movie realizing that I would shed a few tears, it is a given with me and love stories. I did not know that this movie would cause me to sob severely and to really fall in love with Tristan & Isolde. This movie can not even be exclaimed, it truly is a work of art. I went with a couple girl friends, and in the car ride home this movie was all we could talk about. The parallels between it and Romeo & Juliet are apparent, yet this love story seems to be more passionate and true love. The actors and actresses really gave off the impression that they were in love and troubled by all of the heartache they must overcome. Even though it is 2 hours long, I lost track of time and all sense of my surroundings. This movie both captures and captivates the audience. A must see...

There are love stories,and then there are love stories that pack a powerful punch.Tristan and Isolde indeed falls in the latter category. I must confess to not being an avid watcher of romance films,and was expecting not to enjoy much,if any of this film at all.I came away pleasantly surprised,as this film has a power that is hard not to acknowledge.It is two love stories in one.An English warrior is torn between the love of a woman from a country with which they are at war, and the man to which he owes his very life.The problem is,his two loves are sworn to one another,though not by the lady's choosing.The story is told well,and the film beautifully done.As of this writing,it is still in theaters and is worthy of the admission price,not to mention a worthwhile future rental.

I must say that I didn't even originally plan on going to this movie, but after I was asked by a friend to see it on its opening night, I said that sure, I would go. I figured that it would be alright, nothing more than mediocre at the most, but this movie was amazingly wonderful.

I have heard many people's comments on how they didn't like it because "Myles' accent was completely wrong," "the chemistry between Franco and Myles was horrible," "it didn't even follow the original story," and many other miscellaneous things. While the story line was changed a little from the original story, I believe that it was still good. And come on, how many times does Hollywood actually stick to the original story anyway? I think that the way the story went was much easier for people who were not familiar with the story of Tristan and Isolde to follow.

Further, I thought that Myles did a wonderful job with her accents. I found it very easy to differentiate between the Irish and the English.

And lastly, I found the chemistry between Myles and Franco to be simply wonderful. They really showed me that the characters were truly in love; it was compelling and deep, put together for a very good movie.

I can honestly say that this is one of the best movies I have seen in a while; it was not the watered-down relationship kind of thing that comes from Hollywood most of the time. From the battles to the most intimate of scenes, it stayed simple; not the high-tech kind of thing that you would usually see. There were some parts meant to be funny, some meant to be sad, and the movie averaged out to give you the best of both. I will tell you that in its opening weekend I saw it more than once, something that I would usually never do. It's a movie that gets better and better each time you see it; one where you pick out things each time that you had not seen before.

Simply put, this is a wonderful movie. I loved it, but I would not recommend going if you're just going because you think that James Franco is hott! I know some people who didn't like it, I won't lie, but if you come to the movie with an open mind and know that some things are going to be different, you will absolutely love it, as I did.