Search - Errol Flynn - Portrait of a Swashbuckler on DVD

Errol Flynn - what a man! They don't make them like that an

Sandra Finkelstein | Melbourne, FL | 08/23/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am a huge fan of Errol Flynn. I am very familiar with most of his movies and I've read countless books on this amazing man. Sadly, he was never given the credit he truely deserved for his talent as an actor and for what he brought to the movie industry. Instead, he has usually been shown in a bad light with his shortcomings magnified and been the brunt of jokes like "In like Flynn". The stories written about Errol Flynn being a Nazi and a homosexual are pure rubbish and untrue! I had heard about this film "Errol Flynn, Portrait of a Swashbuckler" and I had heard nice things about it. I was pleased it was available on DVD. First let me say that I was very pleased with the content of this film; the way his films and life was covered - mixed in with interviews from people who knew him best. Being very well read on the subject of Errol Flynn, I found that this film was accurate to his true person and very interesting - especially the interviews which were extra special and heartwarming. Interviews of Mickey Rooney, Robert Douglas, David Niven, his ex-wife, Nora and two daughters Rory and Deidre. They speak of the true Errol Flynn - one who was talented, intelligent, adventurous, fun-loving, charming, romantic, a gentleman and a wonderful father. Yes, he was a human being with vices and short-comings. But rarely known to the public he also had health issues which weakened him in the prime of his life. Perhaps he may have believe his life would not be long and lived his life to the fullest. Something most people would probably do. The reason I did not give this film a rating of 5 stars is due to the poor quality of film footage that was used. It certainly was not taken from Digitalized remastered films which are now becoming available and for which we are spoiled by. Inspite of the poor quality of the film footage, I would not hesitate to buy this film - it was very nicely done. Another item I would highly recommend is the book "The Life and Career of Errol Flynn" by Thomas McNulty. That too, does justice to this wonderful man and talented actor."

Errol Flynn Portrait of a swashbuckler

Garry Stewart | 01/14/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"As a longtime member of the International Errol Flynn Society, I am always looking for fresh ,or new information on our first ,genuine Aussie superstar . I had previously had a VHS copy of the above programne, and I thought a DVD would provide me with a better quality product . Sadly this is not the case . The information within the programne is of interest, and their are some clips that were new to me at the time , but the film content is mostly , bad quality trailers, with the overuse of " Santa Fe Trail " trailer in particular, covering the gaps . It would appear that the producer had very little money at his disposal, and had to accept cheap, bad quality material, including " Santa Fe Trail " which , co incidentaly happens to be out of copyrite to put it all together . Sadly, the quality of the DVD is no better than the VHS, but the good bits are the extended interviews with John Huston, Vincent Sherman , an Beverly Aadland . The best doco , sofar , on Mr Flynn, is in the first Errol Flynn Signature Collection DVD package, " The Adventures of Errol Flynn ", directed by David Heely ."