The Wicked Lady Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

The Wicked Lady Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 9, 2015

Cannon Films gives the director of “Death Wish II” a chance to make a period piece, and this is the result. 1983’s “The Wicked Lady” should rightfully challenge helmer Michael Winner’s base sensibilities, tasked with bringing a costume drama to the screen, yet his blunt ways with cinematic craftsmanship bend the material towards a routine of sex and violence. While not without a few scenes of beguiling madness, the movie spends more time struggling than soaring, grounded by a bizarre lead performance from Faye Dunaway and Winner’s dedication to transforming a bawdy story into a Penthouse Letter, with a few softcore scenes breaking up the action. While never intended to be a Merchant/Ivory production, “The Wicked Lady” could use a blast of dignity, often caught trying too hard to be raunchy and ridiculous, lacking proper creative lubrication to carry this semi-farce, kinda-melodrama all the way to the finish line without encouraging a few pained reactions from the viewer.

Caroline (Glynis Barber) is a young maiden about to be married to Sir Ralph (Denholm Elliot), an older landowner known for his compassionate attitude toward his tenants. Hoping to share the excitement of the upcoming event with her sister, Barbara (Faye Dunaway), Caroline welcomes the regal woman into her home. However, joy is replaced with confusion when Barbara conspires to steal Sir Ralph’s affections, earning a title and a taste of power after their wedding. When daily duties begin to bore her, Barbara encourages attention from potential lovers, including Kit (Oliver Tobias), and commences a life of crime, becoming a highwayman targeting passing carriages, stealing jewels and gold bars for thrills. During this criminal education, Barbara meets Jerry (Alan Bates), a fellow rogue who’s drawn to the lady’s confidence with sex and thievery. As the community bustles with gossip and fear, Barbara continues her secretive excursions, drawing the attention of Sir Ralph’s butler, Hogarth (John Gielgud).

“The Wicked Lady” (adapted from a novel by Magdalen King-Hall, which also inspired a 1945 production starring Margaret Lockwood) is not a film that wastes time finding its tone. The opening act of the movie is supported by an enormous score composed by Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks, who inflates the picture with movements of romance and drama, giving the effort a true gallop to inspire the screenplay’s introductions. The feature also establishes the setting as one of severity, with Sir Ralph trying to keep his compassionate attitude while royal enforcers hang locals for stealing food, with their bodies dangling from roadside trees like Christmas ornaments. And there’s sex, with excited villagers gathering to watch a couple devour each other in a nearby barn, capturing a bawdy atmosphere of voyeurism that’s returned to periodically. “The Wicked Lady” works itself into a lather early, which is a smart move from Winner, who delays the actual plot for as long as possible, tending to moments of seduction and betrayal before the endeavor begins to attack dramatic goals.

It takes some time before “The Wicked Lady” explores Barbara’s days as a thief on horseback, but the character lives up to the titular promise early. Barbara is a fiendish woman, wasting little time before she destroys Caroline’s dreams of domestic bliss, coldly enticing Sir Ralph with opportunities for heroism and elicit sex that blind the old man to the true love before him. Barbara is a force of nature, controlling and demanding, entering lives without cleaning her boots first, using her skills of deception to persuade others to do her bidding. While Dunaway seems like a slam-dunk casting choice, she’s actually quite unsuited for the role, making a specific acting choice to push what passes for emotion through her eyes, always wiggling and staring her way through scenes. It’s bizarre to watch, but Winner appears convinced this is how Barbara should be. Dunaway is also buried in extravagant costuming and long wigs, mummifying her body language to a point where it’s difficult to see why men are drawn to Barbara, who merely represents a willing alternative, not the Venus flytrap-style femme fatale she’s initially designed to be.

“The Wicked Lady” is most secure with the details of Barbara’s schemes, including use of a secret passageway to ensure anonymity during her crime spree, and her attempt to murder those on to her evildoing, forcing her to spin plates as lovers and accusers begin to pile up. Winner also happily keeps chaos a supporting player, showcasing village celebrations with drunken revelers (some dancing with farm animals), and bedroom trysts, adding plenty of nudity to the picture. Large portions of the effort are devoted to dancing, drinking, and grinding, capturing decadence that certainly distracts from the film’s shortcomings, even working its way to a climatic duel that features a topless Marina Sirtis wielding a bullwhip in front of a raging crowd. The balance between sensitivity for Barbara’s actions and sheer spectacle (complete with some rough and tumble stunt work) isn’t felt, but when Winner gets all worked up, he manages to enliven “The Wicked Lady” with substantial R-rated distractions.

The Wicked Lady Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation shows minimal signs of damage, with a few vertical scratches detected, and some minor speckling. "The Wicked Lady" arrives on Blu-ray looking fresh and inviting, with healthy colors displayed on ornate costuming and pinkish skintones, also capturing an outdoorsy feel of estate greenery and blue skies. Primaries hold their power, showing little sign of fade. Grain is managed successfully, delivering a filmic appearance. Fine detail is almost a requirement when dealing with all the debauchery Winner stages, giving viewers satisfactory sharpness with facial textures and group celebrations, while distances are also preserved. Delineation is acceptable, with nothing lost to crush issues, keeping candlelit excursions open for inspection.

The Wicked Lady Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix only runs into trouble during emotional extremes, exposing a crispiness to the highs that pushes into distortion, but only momentarily. The rest of the track is manageable without being remarkable, holding to nuances during dialogue exchanges (sound recording also loudly captures the movement of fabric, which isn't the norm for this type of entertainment), while scoring retains its considerable size, detailed with passable instrumentation. Action introduces some slightly heavier sounds, but the majority of the track is devoted to performance. Group activity is preserved to satisfaction.

The Wicked Lady Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (1:28, HD) is included.

The Wicked Lady Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The screenplay shows difficulty juggling Barbara's lovers, positioning Kit as the one who got away without ever securing his passions to begin with, and Jerry is more of an afterthought than a vital participant in the narrative. And the potential for campy escapism is permanently erased with a finale that includes rape, finding "The Wicked Lady" pulling a "Showgirls" in terms of catastrophically misguided cruelty. The ending also indulges tragedy in a way, but by this time, all possible feeling has been drained out of the picture, creating a void where a climatic stinger should be. "The Wicked Lady" wins points for strangeness, boldness, and periodic insanity, but it doesn't generate an overall sensation of passion-gone-mad, missing a few key ingredients of thespian flexibility and narrative focus to truly knock viewers flat.