I was delighted to find this scarce film on DVD recently. Based on a very short story by Thomas Hardy called The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion, director/writer Stuart St. Paul and his fellow scribes Colin Clements and Mark Jenkins have done an excellent job of fleshing out a very spare tale. On the direction front St. Paul would appear to be out of his comfort zone, his filmography showing a background in stunts and action but period romance and action are blended seamlessly here and he has gathered together a wonderfully eclectic and atypical cast. French actor Jean Marc Barr plays the titular hussar and Emma Fielding his beloved. Both are excellent, Barr managing to be both macho and sensitive and Fielding passionate and intelligent in their respective lead roles. A plethora of other named actors people the film with Simon Callow as a scenery chewing Captain with latent homosexual designs on Barr's Matthaus, Jack Shepherd as Fielding's overprotective and Querulous father, John Sessions as a would be suitor and Lynda Bellingham as a warm hearted family retainer (Even Gareth Hale, one half of comedy duo Hale and Pace, pops up as a comic servant!). All do good work but Thomas Lockyer as the lead character's brother and Laura Aikman as the young daughter of Bellingham's character, do particularly fine work, both delivering warm and poignant performances that stay with you after the film. As a Thomas Hardy fan, I would thoroughly recommend this as a welcome addition to Hardy adaptations on screen.
Review of The Scarlet Tunic
