The Scarlet Pimpernel

While the standard-bearer for film versions of Baroness Orczy's classic 18th-century adventure-romance remains the 1934 adaptation starring Leslie Howard, this 1982 made-for-TV production is quite a treat. Anthony Andrews stars as the unlikely British hero who poses as a fop in order to secretly rescue condemned members of the aristocracy in Robespierre's Paris. Jane Seymour plays his beloved but estranged wife, whom the Pimpernel assumes is on the side of the French revolution's Reign of Terror. Andrews and Seymour capture the angst of a relationship that labors under misunderstandings and is starving for passion, while director Clive Donner brings a captivating cloak-and-dagger feel and crackling action to the proceedings. Presented in its original full screen format in a decent transfer with no extras, this is recommended. (T. Keogh)