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MOVIES / ON DVD / RESTORATION
Restoration

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Restoration (1995)

68%
50%
66%
N/A
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N/A
68 %
Reviews Counted: 31 Fresh: 21  Rotten:10 Average Rating: 6.3/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins

Synopsis: This lavishly-mounted costume drama focuses on one of England's most fascinating periods: the restoration of the monarchy after 11 years of Puritan rule, which led to an explosion of culture and learning. A young, womanizing doctor named Robert Merivel earns the admiration of Charles II... This lavishly-mounted costume drama focuses on one of England's most fascinating periods: the restoration of the monarchy after 11 years of Puritan rule, which led to an explosion of culture and learning. A young, womanizing doctor named Robert Merivel earns the admiration of Charles II after curing the King's sick dog. For his achievement, the King gives Merivel an estate. However, the doctor must also marry Celia Clemence, the monarch's mistress. Although Celia has been causing the King some headaches, he still wants to keep her close by. A sham marriage, he reasons, will make her less troublesome. Charles picks Merivel to be the groom because of the playboy doctor's seeming inability to fall in love with any one woman. However, Robert does indeed fall in love with Celia, which the King is none too pleased to discover. Stripped of his land, Merivel joins his friend, John, a doctor who's treating patients at a remote Quaker asylum. There, he helps a young Irish woman and the two become lovers. But he returns to the city to find himself caught up in two of the period's most famous events -- the outbreak of the bubonic plague and the Great Fire of London. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Robert Downey, Sam Neill, David Thewlis, Polly Walker, Meg Ryan

Director: Michael Hoffman

DVD Info

Release:

Aug 7, 2000

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1 Encoding
  • Keep Case

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/A

Engaging if uneven.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
02/21/08
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Ratings Image
4/5

Gorgeous, witty romp that

comment Comment
08/18/06
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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7/10

An interesting evocation of a decadent era marked by opulence, excess and abject poverty. But works equally well as a study of personal redemption amidst the turmoil.

comment Comment
09/27/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily
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3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/04/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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3/5

Ryan's hilariously out of place, but this is otherwise an entertaining yarn.

comment Comment
02/17/05
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)
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3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
01/26/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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4/5

Since the robust 17th-century picaresque tale is not enjoying any current vogue, the success of "Restoration" can be considered a very pleasant surprise.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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6/10

Despite its flaws, Restoration proves that Hollywood can at times treat history in satisfying manner.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/16/03
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Ratings Image
3.5/4

Robert Downey, Jr. can do no wrong by me, and his expressiveness and irreverence are what make this film work. Seen through his eyes, the changing currents of the times are navigable only with large doses of dark humor and compassion.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
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2/5

No review available.

comment Comment
12/06/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)
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N/A

Phantasmagorical film about a late bloomer who takes a long time to find and follow a path with heart.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/22/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
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N/A

The film is overcome by the rumbling workings of a creaky plot as the story grows more serious.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/15/02
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
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2/4

The movie takes on a somber, fitful atmosphere of straining epic proportions. But it strays into an episodic bog that leaves it gasping for dramatic life.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/18/02
Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle
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N/A

Lively, lavish and grandly acted pageant.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/12/01
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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N/A

Hoffman proves himself a master of complex scenery, crowd control and graceful direction. He succeeds in making a conspicuously lush and rich movie out of what was reportedly a less than kingly budget.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner
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3/4

Two movies for the price of one.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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3/5

One of the most exquisitely rendered period pieces I've ever seen, replete with fully-laden palaces and disgustingly realistic plague victims.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
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N/A

Even in period drag, this movie resembles warmed-over Forrest Gump.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper
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8/10

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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