Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Benedito Dias Rodrigues Apart some few Sellers's movies where he was really funny,all remains is hard to watch,this one is palatable and has funny moments really,on triple acting this movie is a spoof of so good movie made previously by Stewart Granger,quite often Sellers didn't make me laugh,but this turn is quite acceptable acting,having a valuable supporting casting as the funiest Lionel Jeffries,an already older Elke Sommer and the gorgeous newcomer Lynne Frederick!!Resume:First watch: 1991 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7

JohnHowardReid If you can manage to sit through the tedious intro with Peter Sellers as the aged king, the movie itself is not half as bad as we might expect. In fact, some of the sequences are genuinely amusing. And whilst it's true that Sellers is far too indulgently treated by the writer, the cameraman and the director, it must be admitted that the film has been produced with rare pomp and splendor on actual Austrian locations. The scenery is great and a lot of money has been spent on both location and studio filming. A fair amount of the action sequences are played fairly straight, and some of them even build up a modicum of suspense. True, the Elke Sommer sub-plot is often a bit of a bore, but the special effects are so outstanding, they thoroughly eclipse anything Whitlock has done before. Director Quine makes the most of his budget and puts the production money where it belongs, namely up there on the screen!

SnoopyStyle King Rudolf IV (Peter Sellers) crashes his balloon and dies falling into a well. General Sapt (Lionel Jeffries) and his nephew Fritz travel to London to retrieve the playboy son Rudolf V (Sellers) from a gambling house. The King's half-brother Michael sends an assassin to kill him. He's having an affair with the married Countess Montparnasse (Elke Sommer). Cab driver Frewin (Sellers) rescues him from an assassin. General Sapt hires Frewin as a coachman but really he's being used as a decoy without his knowledge. Frewin is attacked by Michael's men and the new King meets him. Rudolf is captured and imprisoned in Michael's castle of Zenda. Frewin is coronated instead but Rudolf's fiancée Princess Flavia (Lynne Frederick) notices the ruse.Peter Sellers is playing multiple roles once again. There is nothing wrong with the plot. It's functional as a drama except it has no intention of being one. As a comedy, there are very few laughs. It's late in director Richard Quine's career and maybe the laughs weren't in him anymore. The slapstick is lazy. The jokes aren't there.

Jonathon Dabell Anthony Hope's swashbuckling 19th Century novel has been filmed numerous times, perhaps the most successful occasion being the 1937 Ronald Colman version. It's a fabulous story – one of my all-time favourite novels, in fact – and really lends itself well to movie adaptations. Alas, this 1979 remake is a pretty weak affair which is played primarily as a spoof, thereby giving star Peter Sellars the chance to indulge in some risqué double entendres and slapstick swashbuckling. Various rumours abound that Sellars was difficult on set, sabotaging the entire production with his outlandish behaviour. Despite this he still has some priceless scenes along the way, but between the infrequent highlights it emerges a leaden and largely ineffective film that does justice neither to its marvellous source material nor its amazing cast.Victorian cabbie Sidney Frewin (Peter Sellars) inadvertently saves the life of a soon-to-be-crowned European prince named Rudolph (Sellars again). Since there are many in Rudolph's home nation of Ruritania who plot to see the prince assassinated, Sidney is hoodwinked into travelling to Ruritania as a "decoy" target. Along the way, the real prince is kidnapped by the agents of Black Michael (Jeremy Kemp). Michael plans to seize the throne himself when the prince fails to turn up at his coronation…. but his plan is thwarted when the prince's loyal sidekicks Fritz (Simon Williams) and Sapt (Lionel Jeffries) persuade Sidney to attend the coronation posing as the prince. Reluctantly, Sidney carries out the charade but is unable to convince the prince's future wife, the gorgeous Princess Flavia (Lynne Frederick), that he is who he claims to be. Gradually, others begin to figure out the deception – including Black Michael himself – and Sidney's game of switched identity escalates into a desperate struggle to protect the throne and rescue the real prince.A few things about the film really jar with me. Firstly, as much as I like Sellars - and as funny as I find him in many of his comedy films - The Prisoner Of Zenda simply isn't the right choice of story for a spoof movie. Secondly, the book concludes with one of the most heartbreaking scenes ever written – a scene that would make for deeply moving cinema if handled in the right fashion – but this film completely neglects the original ending and opts for something unsuitably light and fluffy. Thirdly, the film is punctuated with some absurd slapstick violence that would fit better in a Road Runner cartoon – especially the ludicrous scenes featuring Gregory Sierra as a jealous Count trying to kill Sidney (a la Wile E. Coyote). There are a handful of compensations to be found – Sellars is enjoyable, especially in his "Sidney-scenes" (has anyone noticed how remarkably like Michael Caine he sounds from time to time?) Also, the film has a sprightly score by the dependable Henry Mancini, and some attractive sets and cinematography. It's just a shame that the occasional bright spots are far outweighed by the misfiring elements, making this version of The Prisoner Of Zenda perhaps the weakest of them all.