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The Flashing Blade [1967]


RRP: £24.99
Our Price: £17.93 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The Flashing Blade is a tale of high adventure set in 1630 as the dashing Chevalier de Recci (Robert Etcheverry) undertakes a dangerous mission across occupied territory to avert war between France and Spain. This 13-episode serial was made for French television in 1967, and in dubbed form regularly shown on the BBC during school holidays from 1969 through the 1970s (usually when 1965's Adventures of Robinson Crusoe was having a rest). This release is aimed at that generation who, from the spine-tingling theme song onward, remember the show with tremendous affection. Like the classic Hollywood movie serials, each 23-minute episode packs in a couple of action sequences; some plot twists, a little comic relief and very variable acting and costumes. For a children's programme the story is remarkably complex, and takes a while to gather pace. The colours have faded, the use of classical music is clumsy, but the dubbing is surprisingly accomplished. The swashbuckling action is at odds with the more serious historical drama, but viewed with nostalgia The Flashing Blade is thoroughly entertaining vintage TV. --Gary S Dalkin


You've got to fight for what you want........
Review date: 2008-04-30 Rating: 10 out of 10


For those of an age that saw it the first time around......it is as good as you remember it.

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Reviews


Dubbing
Review date: 2008-01-06 Rating: 8 out of 10

Like MONKEY this has been dubbed. However episode 12 is still in its original french. Why they didnt complete the dubbing process is anyones guess. Its a shame that they didnt complete the job.
Its still a good plot, some of the fight scenes are a little hammy and messed up.

Here's One They Made Earlier...When They Knew How To Do It
Review date: 2005-01-02 Rating: 10 out of 10

17th century comic strip capers in southern France in one of several series that the BBC, in its infinite wisdom, imported from the continent as part of the memorable "Tales from Europe" anthology, and which lay in wait for Blue Peter viewers on Monday evenings during the Golden Age of children's television. Enjoy a satisfying wallow in nostalgia with this excellent double DVD which will evoke the good old days when summers had never been so happy and sunny. Relive the thrills, the clash of swords, the famous theme song, the quaint costumes and amusing hairstyles, the highly-strung cleric Bodinelli (they're well worth buying it for), and the love (Isabelle de Sospel - aah, François, you lucky devil!). Then recall the arguments with parents that it wasn't a foreign film ("Simon, it's dubbed." "But they're all speaking English." "Yes, but..."). It was some time before I was eventually convinced that it was indeed a French creation. Exquisitely filmed, although you do see a road sign (Roundabout ahead) whizz past as the dashing Lone Ranger de Recci and Tonto-type Guillot make their first cavalier charge across the fields. Occasionally weighed down with excessive diplomatic and military chinwagging - the defenders of Fort Casal spend far more time talking about fighting to the last man than actually doing so - and it all seems a tad too involved at times for a children's series, each episode nonetheless serves up enough action sequences to keep the kiddies entertained, always ensuring that the good guys win the day. The final episode, which I had never previously seen, offers a brief glimpse of how the rest of the series must have appeared when first shown in France: complete French dialogue, the original theme tune and title (Le Chevalier Tempête), as well as a strikingly richer colour quality. A splendid piece of vintage drama from which present-day programme makers could easily take their cue, if they had any light in their lantern, and which also qualifies for that most exclusive of epitaphs: "We shall not see their like again". An essential purchase for anyone who would relish being transported back to those halcyon days of the late 1960s, because we shan't.

The Flashing Blade
Review date: 2003-12-27 Rating: 8 out of 10

Re-live the excitement of your youth with this BBC TV childrens production.
Originally shot in French and then dubbed into English to be first shown in 1969.
In full colour it is exactly as I remember it, full of excitement and daring do by Francois and his Flashing Blade.
I was disappointed by the fact that there was no French option so that I could finally find out exactly what was going on rather than relying on the BBC story, although there is a major treat with Episode 12 which is in French with English subtitles.
Watch this with an eye for nostalgia and see if you can spot the road sign in episode 1!
Buy it you know you want to!

Brilliant Swashbucling Romantic Adventure
Review date: 2001-09-25 Rating: 10 out of 10

For those who remember 1969 for Neil Armstrongs landing on the moon,who can forget the brilliance of this adventure story:watching it now nearly 30 years on it is a journey back to carefree days; yet its message of genuine heroics againts the odds sadly rings true today. But never mind, hooray for the chevalier and his ill coiffeuerd Guillot,hooray for the Abbe Mazarin and the cure Bodinelli, and boos for Alonso,and boos and hisses for the pig dog RIcardo!!!!!Sit back and enjoy,even though we'd all re edit the sound track to make more of Berlioz.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Robert Etcheverry
Denise Grey
Jacques Balutin
Franck Estange
Geneviève Casile

Creators:
Robert Etcheverry (Primary Contributor)
Geneviève Casile (Primary Contributor)
Charlotte Fournier (Editor)
André-Paul Antoine (Writer)
P.A. Breal (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Network
Manufacturer: Network
EAN: 5027626214340
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Full Screen, PAL,
Release date: 2001-09-24
Number of discs: 2
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Running time: 270 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1967-10-01
Language: English (Original Language)

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