Bad Movie Review: Michael J Murphy's Tristan and Iseult

British bad movie director Michael J Murphy had an obsession with the legend of Tristan and Iseult, so much so he filmed the story multiple times in 1970, 1986 and 1999
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Mastodon: mastodonapp.uk... Summary: The classic tale of forbidden love between a Cornish knight and an Irish princess.
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Written and presented by Robin Bailes @robinbailes
Directed and Edited by Graham Trelfer
DARK CORNERS OF THIS SICK WORLD S14E05
#badmoviereview #DarkCornersReview #CultMovieReview

[@artirony410]

I like how this dude made this movie 3 times and none of them are good and its like he actually got worse at telling the story that being said, I love the Indicator set of his work and its been a fun experience seeing his work evolve

[@robotrix]

Sounds like Neil Breen. Minus the wish to kill half the population of the Earth.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

Favorite mythological film? Gotta be the original Clash Of The Titans, which introduced me to Greek myth and Ray Harryhausen. If you haven't reviewed it yet, you should.

[@Donathon-qx8kq]

Mine also

[@thatlittlevoice6354]

That was top tier entertainment as a kid. That and Flash Gordon.

[@CaptOrbit]

I'm not sure if this is three movie reviews for the price of one or one movie review for the price of three. Either way, this is Dark Corners firing on all cylinders. Keep up the great work!

[@naparry4772]

I have the Indicator box-set and I love it! A terrific review as always.

[@BenSimpson1998]

This box set was one of my favourite releases from last year! Introduced me to so many films I’d have never otherwise seen. Sure the quality is rarely there but the homemade quality does add a certain something. Quite wholesome and endearing I thought.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Not sure I would use the world wholesome

[@DWNicolo]

Britain’s answer to Andy Milligan. Do a review of Lou Ferigano’s Hercules.

[@paultapner2769]

Couldn't help but think during those bits without sound that if you added the Benny Hill music and sped the film up, then they'd be fun.

[@varanid9]

Holy shit, these were teeth-grindingly tough to get through even in review format.

[@RussLudwig]

3:21 Just a flesh wound. Also, pop-up bandits rule!

[@stillhuntre55]

A new Dark Corners? Yeah! Wait.... and it's Michael J. Murphy?? HELL yeah! This has been a horrible couple of weeks for me - and watching these has been a chance to smile.

[@Gappasaurus]

0:30 “Whether this is the best use of _anybody’s_ time and resources, I really couldn’t say.” 😆

[@otterproof1]

Thank you, I'm a non-english speaker and I've just learned the word "sultifying" which is quite appropriate indeed... 😅

[@DarkCornersReviews]

All part of the service we offer

[@KiramidHead]

This is like an even more extreme version of that guy who adapted Gawain and the Green Knight twice and neither has a good reputation.

[@chuck4579]

Love channel,ur funny,no bs filler and straight to it here's to 100,000 subs by Christmas ❤

[@andrewparsons2391]

My favorite mythological film? Any one of several with special effects by Ray Harryhausen.

[@thrashpondopons8348]

Gonna go for the obvious & say 'Excalibur'!

[@herculesthedestroyer758]

please send me a link to this movie if I can buy a copy and DVD

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Here's the link for the Indicator box-set www.powerhousefilms.co.uk/collections/frontpage/products/magic-myth-mutilation-the-micro-budget-cinema-of-michael-j-murphy-1967-2015-le

[@phonon1cv1brat1on]

Looks a great LARP.

[@ianmcnulty799]

Well after reviewing this there's no reason you shouldn't review the Way We Were or Grease. Both films are quite mythological in their own way.

[@MephProduction]

im sad he didn't try a fourth

[@ritawing1064]

However long even 3 films could be, however appalling the characters, however ghastly the script, the whole miserable business will never rival the dreary length of Wagner's "music drama" on the same grisly legend. Good grief, it takes Tristan a solid hour just to die!

[@TheRealNormanBates]

is it anything like that guy from the Turkish film *Karate Girl?*

[@NinjaNezumi]

I think you're a little too harsh on the dialogue, although it's not great, it really isn't as bad as you say.

[@dawwe8869]

Eyy

[@Medraut00]

looks like the worst adaptation of this old legend.

[@TravisWillden-b2m]

I'm here!!

[@jfess1911]

Dark Corners has become one of my favorite channels. I was hooked after "The Batwoman". I now frequently interrupt whatever my Wife is doing and show her Robin's comments on something. This time it was "Another candidate for the Dark Corners Uncomfortable Bra Award" and "Unfortunately, most of the sound track is lost. Even more unfortunately, some of it has survived".

[@alandhopewell]

My favorite mythological film is definitely JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, still a fun watch after sixty years.

[@Shadowman4710]

It's the Ray Harryhausen stop action photography right? The sword wielding skeletons get me every time...

[@johnathonhaney8291]

​@@Shadowman4710 Among other effects for me, some of which have me asking "how the hell did Harryhausen do THAT with mid-20th Century tech?"

[@johnathonhaney8291]

I remember renting a DVD copy of that and loving it. The bonus features included an interview of Harryhausen. When the guy interviewing him introduced him like a gushing fanboy, the look on Harryhausen's face was just "stop, you're embarrassing me".

[@cujoedaman]

Agreed, everyone else had 'Clash of the Titans', I had 'Jason and the Argonauts' :D

[@johnathonhaney8291]

​@@cujoedaman Both are great in their own way. There's a reason the God Of War video game franchise filched so much from both that I described the series as "Ray Harryhausen Heavy Metal".

[@leppeppel]

I don't know if "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" counts as a mythological film or just taking influences from myth, but who would have thought that the Odyssey could work as a musical dust-bowl dramedy?

[@stephenpmurphy591]

He's been loved up and them their Serins turnt him into a toad. He's bona-fided.

[@DaleRibbons]

The scene where Tristan runs Mallot (spelling guess) through reminded me of two things: Alan Cummings' character from GoldenEye, screaming "I am invincible!" right before he is killed, and the Black Knight from Monty Python & The Holy Grail. "It's only a scratch!"

[@TheRealNormanBates]

and here I thought you were going to say "and the Black Knight from Monty Python & The Holy Grail. "I am invincible!" for.. you know.. symmetry. Or poetry. Or something to do with rhyming. Or sand.

[@markiangooley]

Iseult and Battery, more like.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

I got the joke. 🤣

[@fisheyenomiko]

And the fact that he made *three* of them... that's just adding Iseult to Injury.

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

None of these versions are good, but as you say the '72 version is the least bad. Please consider doing, 'The Blood Splattered Bride' from 1972, based on 'Carmilla' by Sheridan Le Fanu, directed by Vincente Aranda and starring Alexandra Bastedo, Maribel Martin and Simón Andreu.

[@doublep1980]

Favorite film based on a legend/myth whatever? John Boorman's Excalibur, that movie just slaps, like the youths of today say. No seriously, that movie is just, what's the word...bombastic. King Arthur and his knights riding out one last time, while Carmina Burana plays in the background. Doesn't get more epic.

[@lakrids-pibe]

I agree. John Boorman's Excalibur has that wonderful medieval weirdness and symbolism. It's a trip.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

I really wish that would get the 4K and Dolby 7.1 Atmos treatment. I know Arrow is releasing *Conan the Barbarian (1982)* and the sequel in 4K this January. It has all 3 cuts of the film as well!

[@raindog8802]

Good video. I must admit that this filmmaker and his films (of which I have to admit to being previously unaware) are now strangely fascinating me. Here in the US, we generally have a perception that all British filmmaking is the quality of Merchant and Ivory, BBC/Masterpiece Theater type productions, with Royal Shakespeare Company level acting. This is proof that is clearly not the case. The UK is obviously no more immune to producing inept and unintentionally comical "art" than the US (or anywhere else, for that matter), nevertheless, it's amusing to see concrete examples of such.

[@stephen70edwards]

I think it's just the really bad stuff rarely has the energy to cross the pond

[@SoundJudgment]

"Unfortunately, most of the soundtrack is lost.. .... Even more unfortunately, some of it has survived." 😂😂

[@jonathan45278]

So let me get this straight! Mallot was sleeping with his maid for months because he thought it was his wife before he finally cottoned on. The dude's not the sharpest tool in the shed, is he. Well, I guess the same thing happened to Schwarzenegger.

[@jfjoubertquebec]

Reading the story of Tristan and Isold as an adult I was surprised at the main arch subplot. I won't say any more... but read it and you may be surprised at what this play actually is about. In the original Welsh version, the title is referred to the story of Marc. (March )

[@bostonrailfan2427]

should we beware of the Ides?🤣

[@jfjoubertquebec]

@user-pq4fc1mc7q Mabinogion... that's all I have

[@danddoty3981]

Guys , I know sat through three different versions of the same bad/sad movie. First thank you for your sacrifice, let us hope your brain cells did not die in vain. Fav myth/ legend film? JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. Nothing can top the Skeleton battle.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

It was a long day

[@Segalmed]

I wonder what you'd make of the Icelandic adaptation of Tristan: In the Shadow of the Raven (Icelandic: Í skugga hrafnsins) by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson. Or for that matter the other two parts of his Raven trilogy. The third clearly qualifies as a Bad Movie, at least in its unabridged form.

[@derworfnet]

I never even heard of this director before today but once I checked out his IMDb page, he was prolific: About 30 Movies and I trust that none of them is a hidden gem or something. Although to be fair, he did his first T&I Movie when he was only 18/19 so I’ll cut him some slack for that one.

[@DarkCornersReviews]

We have done a few of his films. Avalon, Atlantis, bloodstream, qualin

[@varyar77]

I recall the Tristan and Isolde movie with James Franco and Sophia Myles was pretty good. Maybe give that a look one of these days?

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

Although it's a conglomeration of myths and symbols, my vote would be for "Legend". If you don't love Tim curry, somethings wrong wit ya, ya git.❤

[@only257]

Agreed 😊

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

"Unfortunately, some of the soundtrack is lost. Even more unfortunately, some of it survives."😂🤣

[@martincann5052]

The invincibility potion didn't work because in ancient times, swords were made from pure kryptonite. I though everybody knew that.

[@RavenHouseMystery]

Clearly, Michael J. Murphy loved the story of Tristan and Iseult but putting it to film seemed to be a bridge too far. I feel that Harry Alan Towers had a similar track record with Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians. He made three different film versions (1965, 1974, & 1989), each one worse than the previous.

[@zerberuz8631]

I knew Mike murphy back in 1974 when he visited Canada. He drank like a fish, smoked and was one of the most rude and obnoxious person you would ever want to meet. Just discussing.

[@alexnejako777]

this is one of the better parts from any written adaptation of the Arthur story including Tennyson's, since Tristan is a Knight of the Round Table. there wasn't room for it in a if a Boorman inspired director could take a run at it without using any CGI i'd give it a watch

[@bostonrailfan2427]

I pity this man…he is obsessed with the story and just can’t string anything together while others made movies thousands of times better than his despite being failures

[@andysmith9720]

Entertaining review as always Robin, thank you. Have you ever reviewed Fritz Langs 'Doctor Mabuse'? I'd like to know more about it. Thanks.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

Three films, that one: the silent saga Dr. Mabuse The Gambler, the sound era Testament Of Dr. Mabuse (which got banned by the Nazis) and Thousand Eyes Of Dr. Mabuse (Lang's final film and hard to get ahold of).

[@DarkCornersReviews]

We've not reviewed it but we talked a little about it when we reviewed cinema seating! kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmbJi3SHfdSArtU&pp=iAQB

[@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat]

The guy made the same movie 3 times...that takes talent! Consider becoming a patreon supporter to see more stuff!❤

[@stevegreenfield758]

Thanks to you Robin I will now avoid these movies like the plague!

[@resrussia]

I am almost to point that I can tell whether you liked the film or not without watching the video - films you like, are shorter than ones you don't like. Keep up the good work!

[@tuckerbowen4626]

My favorite part of Monday: a new Dark Corners review 😁

[@fisheyenomiko]

"Under the Shadow" is a great movie. It's set in Iran during the Iran-Iraq War, and features a djinn terrorizing a woman and her young daughter. And on the other end of the spectrum, there's the so-bad-it's... still pretty bad, actually, but absolutely bonkers "Mystics in Bali", which features a creature known as a leyak. I could explain what that is, but you really should see it for yourself.

[@johnathonhaney8291]

What I loved about Under The Shadow is how the djinn was incidental. The real monster was the societal repression of 1980s Iran.

[@fisheyenomiko]

@@johnathonhaney8291 Yeah. And, ya know... the war. Heck, part of the reason Shideh has to shoulder this alone is that her husband is off fighting in the war.

[@bensneb360]

I’ll give Michael J Murphy this, he does know the meaning of the word “quite” lol

[@euansmith3699]

Nor "quit" 😄👍

[@only257]

Good review 😊

[@pathatfield2543]

RE: my favorite mythological films:I enjoyed Sword of the Valiant,about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,and starring Miles O’Keefe and Sean Connery.I’m not sure if you reviewed it,but I’m guessing you already have.

[@gray25xt]

Robin please tell me where I can get one of those Jason argo skeleton shirt you are wearing. Great review as always.

[@tomjohnson4922]

I think I'd much rather watch the Wagner opera... as to mythological movies, well not sure they'd fit here as I like all of them. For instance: Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, Excalibur

[@rychadelko]

I don't know why, but this review ended up being one of my favorites... And it's not even Gothic horror.

[@garrick3727]

I'm not sure if these versions of Tristram and Isolde are any worse than the many other attempts at the same story. I don't know why everyone seems to fail at making a decent version of a very basic classic story. Even the big budget Ridley Scott version was a bit naff. It's just some people in period costume. They can do King Arthur, they can do Macbeth, they can do Romeo and Juliet, they can do Game of Thrones even - but the tale of some pasty-breath knight and his Irish tart is apparently too much of a challenge.

[@colleencrouch4346]

Excalibur deserves a review. So does Clash of the Titans. Not sure if they qualify for either of your formats.

[@reignfire85]

Favorite mythological films? Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Jason & the Argonauts, and of course Clash of the Titans (the original with Harry Hamlin).

[@minefield1000]

The only thing I know of the story of Tristan and Isolde is that Richard Wagner wrote one of his operas about it and arrrr... arrr... ... No, that´s it.

[@JeffreyDeCristofaro]

Most dramatic utterance of "Shut up!" I've ever heard.

[@tskmaster3837]

"The work of an ambitious amateur is sometimes better than the work of an experienced amateur." The guy failed to make the same movie three times. To remake it once is a tragedy but to remake it twice is most careless.

[@aggeloskatsampiris8241]

Another dark corners video!!! Fuck yeah!!

[@euansmith3699]

Favourite mythological film? Warriors?

[@matthewh.9544]

Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings would def be worth a deep dive.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

The bad guy is Mullet?! Also: anyone remember when Ridley Scott was going to do a science fiction retelling of Tristan and Isolde back in 1980.. and decided to do *Blade Runner* instead? 6:08 so the only real change from 1986 to 1999 was: the director switched the hair color of the main characters.

[@kevingriffin8854]

Omg I saw this with an gf a million years ago in the movie theatre, probably AMC 30. she swore it was action/adventure and it was a crap movie in my opinion. James Franco.

[@ERJones-fd6oh]

Of all the Arthurian legends he chose this one to make for some reason, three whole times?

[@lordfateweaver1851]

Favourite thing is the Jason and the Argonauts skeleton t shirt :)

[@workingstiffdiogenes2195]

Anything from Ray Harryhausen.

[@watchwaddle]

I love you shirt. Is that one for sale too?

[@Malum09]

Has there ever been a good film version of Tristan and Isolde?

[@dbsommers1]

When is a 3 for 1 only a 1 for 1? When this happens.

[@TheBeird]

If at first you don't succeed . . . screw it!

[@michaelfarineau6]

Excellent as always 😊

[@kaiokendo]

I felt so italian seeing this movie

[@BigSlimyBlob]

I didn't even know there were films about "Tristan et Iseult", but then again it makes sense, that story has endured for many centuries. Looks terrible, though. Makes me feel better about that viewing of "Attila flagello di Dio" I mentioned a couple days ago. At least Attila had hilarious songs.

[@BigSlimyBlob]

@user-pq4fc1mc7q Well... it's an old story, and went a number of different ways in different cultures, some of which might not include him. I haven't read Tristan et Iseult since I was in school, but I don't even remember that character being in the book at all. To the best of my knowledge he's usually an Arthurian character, and tends to be omitted from those stories too as he's a much lesser known character.

[@BigSlimyBlob]

@user-pq4fc1mc7q For sure, it's a giant mess and every author has particular motivations for their choices to include, remove or change elements from previous iterations and influences. It's possible I am less familiar with the Le Morte D'Arthur branch of stories because it's an anglophone branch. The stories I read were probably inspired from the French stories which Le Morte D'Arthur was itself inspired from. With stories that old, there are always going to be huge cultural differences.

[@BigSlimyBlob]

@user-pq4fc1mc7q I think, for most of history, authors were simply telling stories. Stories about colorful, flawed characters. Morality was not a big focus. Nowadays writers tend to have a formulaic approach to their stories. Good guys and bad guys. "Good guys bad guys and explosions, as far as the eye can see." I do have a bit of a weakness for the stories with ambiguous morality myself. Less predictable and, often, more realistic.

[@danthsmith]

Heroic determination and ambition

[@habeashumor9814]

What a great Wagner opera though

[@robertjonsson797]

"You've been to Cornwall before" well you won the internet for today with that comment!

[@DarkCornersReviews]

Where do I collect my prize?

[@mistermcgoering7904]

"Not really" Ha!

[@rusty9934]

😊

[@AmityvilleFan]

I never knew the story of T&I, but darn, it sounds convoluted and tedious!

[@davidconnellan6875]

It's pretty straightforward. Knight protects princess betrothed to another. A witch/nurse gives the princess a love potion so she will fall in love with the king when she meets him. The knight and the princess take the potion ofcourse fall inlove and the knight breaks his honour to the king and rides off with the princess they are hunted down by the king... ends in tragedy

[@ViaFerrataCH]

I'm glad you watch these movies so I don't have to

[@DarkCornersReviews]

These were a slog.

[@MonTube2006]

Cornwall : THE place to be.

[@MonTube2006]

(Cornwall, Ontario)

[@Donathon-qx8kq]

In the original story wasn't Tristan ah neutered and because a monk..... just asking

[@markditoro8836]

That was Peter Abelard (of Abelard & Heloise). Just saying.

[@Donathon-qx8kq]

@@markditoro8836 you're absolutely right 👍.... thanks so much... Peace

[@KirkWilliamsIsBroken]

Hell Yeah! Another MJM film!

[@DarkCornersReviews]

We bought a boxset so there will likely be more.

[@KirkWilliamsIsBroken]

@@DarkCornersReviews Nice!

[@BabestationShow]

what a fun review of a fun movie series 💖