The historical drama “The Scarlet Letter” is an adaptation of the 1850 classic novel of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne with a cast of several major stars. If you are interested in the subject and/or the actors, you should take advantage of this opportunity, which does not come often, to watch it on free television. Because the movie is currently not available to watch on local streaming providers, even for an additional fee, and the Blu-rays/DVDs have become very expensive.
“The Scarlet Letter” runs today, December 30, 2023, at 10 p.m. on sixx. A repeat will follow that same night at 2:05 am.
Expect 1990s superstar Demi Moore (“A Question of Honor,” “Ghost”) to star. Starring alongside them are the two Oscar winners Gary Oldman (“The Darkest Hour”, “The Dark Knight”) and Robert Duvall (“The Godfather 1+2”, “Apocalypse Now”). Edward Hardwicke (“Oliver Twist”), Robert Prosky (“Dead Man Walking”), Roy Dotrice (“Amadeus”) and Joan Plowright of “The Spiderwick Secrets” also appear in other key parts.
“The Scarlet Letter” on Sixx: that’s the story
1667 in the English colony of Massachusetts Bay: Hester Prynne (Moore) came to the ‘Promised Land’ to find a new home here. Anticipating the arrival of her dominant and much older husband Roger (Duvall), she has acquired a substantial estate. In the meantime, she tries to adapt to community life. However, this is not exactly easy. With her confident attitude and lenient nature, she causes much discomfort among the Puritan colonists.
Then Hester hears of the alleged death of her husband, who had recently arrived in America, in an attack by natives. The young woman ignores the legally required seven-year mourning period and soon begins a secret relationship with the sensitive Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale (Oldman). A little later she is pregnant.
Her condition comes to light through a jealous neighbor and a real witch hunt for Hester begins in the community. This reaches its climax when Roger, who has survived and taken on a new identity, appears in the colony. After initially being locked up, Hester is released through Arthur’s intervention after the birth of her daughter Pearl. However, she is forced to wear a large, red “A” (for adultery, in German: adulteress) on her clothes that is always visible…
Slaughtered by critics
When the film was released in theaters in the mid-1990s, it was mercilessly panned by the press and was also nominated for a total of seven categories at the annual ‘anti-Oscars’, the Golden Raspberry Awards. Nowadays, the work of ‘The Killing Fields’ director Roland Joffé is no longer criticized so harshly. This is evident, among other things, from our solid 3-star FILMSTARTS review by author Samuel Rothenpieler and the reviews from you, our readership.
Even Gary Oldman had positive things to say about the work, not only then, but in the years that followed. In 2011, for example, he was asked by the respected Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers for the American TV channel ABC. to make a small selection of his films that he is particularly proud of and that he would take with him to a desert island. In addition to the expected titles such as “Queen, King, Ace, Spy”, “JFK – Tatort Dallas” and “True Romance”, the British mime also mentioned “The Scarlet Letter”. Oldman explained this to the interviewer, who seemed surprised, with words that clearly came from deep conviction
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