By No Means A Great Movie

Rating: 6/10 (10 January 2009)

Seeing this in the theater over ten years ago I remember thinking that I missed an important subplot. My belief was that I'd overlooked something that justified the adultery, the Count's actions, Carragio's pursuit, etc. I believed that knowing what had evaded me would have created dramatic tension as well as making me see the main characters in a better light than I'd witnessed in my "uninformed" viewing.
Watching the DVD over a decade later, I have exonerated myself. The scenery is breathtaking, the acting first class and the dialog witty. But despite TEP's length, what you see is what you get; i.e., there are no important details or consideration behind the curtain. The Count is, at face, a cold, arrogant and selfish SOB. But beneath the surface he is really a cold, arrogant and selfish SOB. Pardon the sarcasm.
Trim TEP down to about 110 minutes and you've a good film. Padded to its book length and its too much for one sitting.