Tristan & Isolde

"Fighting countries can still love..."

2006 2h 5m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🥫

31%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 875🥫31%Rotten Tomatoes●49Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 55,563

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An affair between the second in line to Britain's throne and the princess of the feuding Irish spells doom for the young lovers.

“Fighting countries can still love...”

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Cast

James Franco
Tristan
Sophia Myles
Isolde
Rufus Sewell
Marke
David O'Hara
Donnchadh
Mark Strong
Wictred
Henry Cavill
Melot
Bronagh Gallagher
Bragnae
Ronan Vibert
Bodkin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kevin Reynolds
Writers: Dean Georgaris
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 90% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Kevin Reynolds, shot by Artur Reinhart. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Anne Dudley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Boyle shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

James Franco and Sophia Myles and Rufus Sewell carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kevin Reynolds directs. Artur Reinhart behind the camera. Anne Dudley scores. Peter Boyle cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 90% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 20 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Directed by Kevin Reynolds, shot by Artur Reinhart. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Anne Dudley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Peter Boyle shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8James Franco and Sophia Myles and Rufus Sewell carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Fighting countries can still love...".
10IMDB entry: tt0375154 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 11 themes, including "in love with enemy", "hostility", "castle", "lovers".
12Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Artur Reinhart
Original score: Anne Dudley
Editing: Peter Boyle
Production design: Mark Geraghty
Costume design: Maurizio Millenotti
Makeup / hair: Stefano Ceccarelli
VFX supervisor: Marius Mohnssen
Sound: Samir Fočo
Stunt coordinator: Nick Powell
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $31,000,000
Box office: $28,000,000
Return: 90% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Tristan & Isolde (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 31% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 49/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 55,563 votes
MPAA: PG-13

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Kevin Reynolds

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2025-05-22
★ 9/10
One of the Best Medieval/British Isle flicks Remember the three such movies of 1995: "Braveheart," "Rob Roy" and "First Knight"? "Tristan + Isolde" is better than all of them or, at least, on par. It shares plot elements of "First Knight" with the king's trusted protégé playing around with his young wife, but "Tristan + Isolde" is just overall superior. James Franco plays the brooding Tristan, who has good reason to be sullen, except when he escapes into Isolde's arms in secret. Sophia Myles works well as the Irish princess, Isolde, who's given as a gift to the king of the Brits, Marke (Rufus Sewell). Also on hand is Marke's nephew, Melot (Henry Cavill), who's passed up by the king for Tristan; David O'Hara as the wicked Irish king, Donnchadh; and the ignoble Wictred (Mark Strong). These are all strong, memorable characters. Although there are some contrived plot elements, the story (based on the medieval romantic legend) is coherent and pretty compelling. Meanwhile the locations (Ireland) and cinematography are breathtaking. The score's good too. Yet this isn't just a film that's beautiful in appearance & sound, it's beautiful period, despite the brutal violence, bloodshed and betrayal. The general ambiance is similar to, say, "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) and lacks the crude elements of "Rob Roy." Some complain that James Franco is too selfishly sullen as Tristan, but that's a big part of the story. Should he have played Tristan as elated that the one & only woman he's ever loved has become the king's wife, a gift from Ireland? The whole adulterous tangled web could have probably been avoided if either Tristan or Isolde simply told the truth about their relationship BEFORE Isolde married the king, but it's not always easy to do this, especially when you're so young and dumb. By "dumb" I don't mean stupid, but rather naive and lacking the life-skills that only come with age & experience. There's also a lot of good stuff to glean from the tragedy: Everyone wants someone to believe in them; never trust a proven scoundrel; humble confession, remorse & repentance; the natural desire for freedom and "true love," etc. Despite its early 2006 release date, it was shot over two years earlier in September-October, 2003. It runs 2 hours, 5 minutes, and was shot in west-central Ireland at Connemara, County Galway. Exterior shots were done in the Czech Republic at Pruhonice Park and Castle, Krivoklat and Prague. GRADE: A

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