Sir Percy vs. Col. Brandon

One of my hobbies is watching movies that have actors I know in them, especially ones that are based off of books. This 1978 version of Romeo and Juliet has Sir Percy Blakeney dueling Colonel Brandon. Hee hee. Anthony Andrews plays the bawdy Mercutio very well, and Alan Rickman is perfectly morose (and young!) as Tybalt. Which brings back to mind the Ultimate Question: Can Alan Rickman play a happy person? (Answer: 42!) And unlike other Shakespeare plays by this company, the main lady is actually beautiful.

Speaking of the Scarlet Pimpernel, I found a musical version of it (you can listen to bits of the songs at the link). It's a bit eclectic (it has a jazzy song and a Spanish-y song), but very catchy. I especially like "Into the Fire", "They Seek Him Here" (Percy's poem), "When I Look At You", "Marguerite", "Madame Guilloutine", and "The Creation of Man" (Sir Percy singing about British fashion—too much fun). I've seen four film versions of The Scarlet Pimpernel, and now I've listened to one musical, and they all make Sir Percy have the same accent. Hmm, I wonder why. But they also all give away who the SP is early on—someday I'll write a script that tells the story like the book does.