James Franco

Sophia Myles

Rufus Sewell

David O'Hara

Mark Strong

Henry Cavill

Bronagh Gallagher

Ronan Vibert

Lucy Russell

JB Blanc

Graham Mullins

Leo Gregory

Dexter Fletcher

Richard Dillane

Hans Martin Stier

Thomas Morris

Jamie Thomas King

Wolfgang Müller

Cheyenne Rushing

Barbora Kodetová

Isobel Moynihan

Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Gordon Truefitt

Myles Taylor

Jack Montgomery

Marek Vašut

David Fisher

Bronwen Davies

Philip O'Sullivan

Nevan Finegan

Jón Ólafsson

Todd Kramer

Winter Ave Zoli

Miroslav Šimůnek

Kevin Flood

Kevin Reynolds

Artur Reinhart

Peter Boyle

Srdjan Kurpjel

Lisa Ellzey

Ridley Scott

Tony Scott

Johnny Byrne

Kate Dowd

Elie Samaha

Mark Geraghty

Giannina Facio

Hana Kučerová

Maurizio Millenotti

Moshe Diamant

Rory Bruen

Pamela Power

Frank Hübner

Matthew Stillman

John Hardy

James Flynn

John J. Kelly

Robert Huberman

David Minkowski

Dean Georgaris

Jennifer Leshnick

Anne Lai

Stephen Boucher

Jim Lemley

Jan Fantl

Morgan O'Sullivan

Nick Powell

Christian Frohn

Monika Fišerová

Mirella Ginnoto

Vít Komrzý

Geraint Huw Reynolds

Zeljko Lopicic-Lepierre

Zbynek Travincky

Marius Mohnssen

Tony Devlin

Larisa Šrámková

Graham Daniel

Roman Rigo

Adéla Robová

David Vondrasek

Jaroslav Polensky

Erwin Lanzensberger

Nancy Bishop

Šárka Zázvorková

Larry D. Horricks

Catherine Allinson

Kacper Lisowski

Jack Stew

Stefano Ceccarelli

Miro Gábor

Mariano Tufano

Peter J. Clark

Howard Bargroff

Anja Dihrberg

Sarka Zvolenska

Lucie Samcova

Sefi Carmel

Martin Schinz

Ales Dlabac

Ivo Grešák

Kirsty Kinnear

Giovanni Casalnuovo

Sophie Cornet

Jaroslav Šámal

David Voborský

Pavel Sagner

Jiří Farkaš

Alena Marečková

Marketa Puzmanova

Kevin Byrne

Mandy Rahn

Peter Crooks

Manlio Rocchetti

Anthony Wonsoff

Jan Vseticek

Rico Torres

Gareth Rhys Jones

Mario Michisanti

Kriz David

Cathy Smith

John Warhurst

Helge Felgendreher

Rebecca Higginson

Samir Fočo

Anne Dudley

Raicho Vasilev

Jan Petřina

Jakub Švec

Roman Jankovič

Saulius Janavičius

Jan Holíček

Michal Grün

Jean-Jacques Desplanque

Drama

Romance

Tristan & Isolde

QI Quality International GmbH Co. KG

Epsilon Motion Pictures

Franchise Pictures

Scott Free Productions

World 2000 Entertainment

Stillking Films

ApolloProMedia GmbH & Co. 1. Filmproduktion KG (I)

MFF (Tristan & Isolde) Limited

20th Century Fox

Mandate International

Mazowiecki i Warszawski Fundusz Filmowy

Czech Republic

Germany

Ireland

Switzerland

United Kingdom

United States of America

**_One of the Best Medieval/British Isle flicks_**

Remember the three such movies of 1995: "Braveheart," "Rob Roy" and "First Knight"? "Tristan + Isolde" is better than all of them or, at least, on par. It shares plot elements of "First Knight" with the king's trusted protégé playing around with his young wife, but "Tristan + Isolde" is just overall superior.

James Franco plays the brooding Tristan, who has good reason to be sullen, except when he escapes into Isolde's arms in secret. Sophia Myles works well as the Irish princess, Isolde, who's given as a gift to the king of the Brits, Marke (Rufus Sewell). Also on hand is Marke's nephew, Melot (Henry Cavill), who's passed up by the king for Tristan; David O'Hara as the wicked Irish king, Donnchadh; and the ignoble Wictred (Mark Strong). These are all strong, memorable characters.

Although there are some contrived plot elements, the story (based on the medieval romantic legend) is coherent and pretty compelling. Meanwhile the locations (Ireland) and cinematography are breathtaking. The score's good too. Yet this isn't just a film that's beautiful in appearance & sound, it's beautiful period, despite the brutal violence, bloodshed and betrayal. The general ambiance is similar to, say, "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) and lacks the crude elements of "Rob Roy."

Some complain that James Franco is too selfishly sullen as Tristan, but that's a big part of the story. Should he have played Tristan as elated that the one & only woman he's ever loved has become the king's wife, a gift from Ireland?

The whole adulterous tangled web could have probably been avoided if either Tristan or Isolde simply told the truth about their relationship BEFORE Isolde married the king, but it's not always easy to do this, especially when you're so young and dumb. By "dumb" I don't mean stupid, but rather naive and lacking the life-skills that only come with age & experience.

There's also a lot of good stuff to glean from the tragedy: Everyone wants someone to believe in them; never trust a proven scoundrel; humble confession, remorse & repentance; the natural desire for freedom and "true love," etc.

Despite its early 2006 release date, it was shot over two years earlier in September-October, 2003.

It runs 2 hours, 5 minutes, and was shot in west-central Ireland at Connemara, County Galway. Exterior shots were done in the Czech Republic at Pruhonice Park and Castle, Krivoklat and Prague.

GRADE: A

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Tristan and Isolde (2006) Trailer