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St Peter saw the list of benefits for the Scots and said:
"Lord, don't you think these Scots are getting a bit much?"
And God replied: "No, you should see the neighbours I'm going
to give them!"
Now don't scream - there's Scots AND English blood in this
fellow, but it is fair to say that as neighbours, the English
were a bit of a pain. And, when it came to dishing a bit of
pain back to the southerners, the Highlanders were not backwards
about coming forwards.
They would raid the cattle herds of the Anglophile Scottish
nobility and be as large a nuisance as they could to the "tourists".
One of the greatest Scots outlaws was Rob Roy MacGregor,
whose legend arose from his long-running battle with the Duke
of Montrose. Bankrupted after being unable to repay a debt
to the Duke, Rob Roy eventually led a band of some 500 men
and, despite being once captured by his enemy, lived well
into his eighties and died at home in 1734.
The 1995 version of Rob Roy starring Liam Neeson,
Jessica Lange, Tim Roth and John Hurt is an exciting romp
through some very colourful times and it pulls no punches
when it comes to the nastier side of life.
There's murder, theft, rape and treachery aplenty as a wonderfully
debauched Tim Roth plays the hired sword out to part Rob Roy
(Neeson) from life.
Paying the killer's fee is a nasty Montrose (Hurt) and trying
to keep out of his clutches (in more ways than one) is MacGregor's
wife (Lange) who performs well despite a slightly suspect
accent.
The costumes are excellent and the cinematography breathes
life into some spectacular scenes and landscapes.
There's not too much subtlety in the script, you know who
to hate and who to like, but then the movie doesn't try to
involve itself with weighty matters. Rob Roy is an
action yarn, about a man of action, and it does its job well.
Conclusion: Movie: 80% DVD Extras:
40%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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