21 thoughts on “WCW: Lucrezia Borgia

  1. I don’t think there’s anything left to be said. Story — all over the place; costumes — ditto. Just goes to show there are/were a lot of beautiful actresses out there.

  2. There’s a wonderful Donizetti opera—Lucrezia Borgia—in which she seduces and then poisons a young courtier who turns out to be her son. Terrible story, great music.

  3. Favourite Lucrezia on screen: Holliday Granger costumed by Gabriella Pescucci. Nuf said.

  4. I have vague memories of the 1981 Borgias. Was pretty good both casting and costume wise as I recall.
    The real Lucrezia never poisoned anybody or had an incestuous affair with father or brother. She was on the evidence devoted to them and allowed herself to be married off repeatedly for Borgias advantage without protest, though she does seem to have taken exception to her second husband’s murder. She certainly did have lovers but the Roman Infant probably wasn’t hers. She was a great success as Duchess of Ferrera and her husband seems to have genuinely grieved her death though neither had been what you’d call faithful.

    1. Aren’t alternative facts and fake news the best? And this post might also be Kendra’s greatest achievement in stills curating. (I had no idea so many sultry European actresses had portrayed the Venetian Renaissance Barbie.) I’ve only seen “The Borgias,” and loved it for the fabulous dresses and hairstyles and sets, and Jeremy Irons sashaying about, mourning all the sins he has to commit for Mother Church.

    1. The few pictures believed to be of Lucrezia suggest flowing hair was a trademark of hers. Falling out of the bodices of her dresses not so much.

  5. The only thing I can remember about the 1981 series is Adolfo Celi’s incomprehensible accent. Oh, and Anne Louise Lambert played Miranda in ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’.

  6. “What’s on their head?” seems like a major theme here. Majorly hilarious! Is this a theme of its own? It should be.

  7. Even for the time, the eyebrows in Bride of Vengeance feels particularly crazy to me! They look like they’re about to take off from her face. Ah well, I’m sure our descendants will look at the eyebrow fashions of the last decade or two and laugh themselves silly

  8. Movies always focus on Lucrezia’s supposed love life but there was more to her than sex and poison. She was the only one of Alexander’s children whose power and influenced survived his death. And she died honored and respected and much regretted.

  9. Gah! I remember the fights in the comments section over the head-necklace/nautically-themed frontlet band in that last one. So much cringe…

  10. I love Isolda Dychauck’s versión of Lucrezia, her evolution from a spoilt little girl to someone who is able to rule, ambitious, in charge of her sexuality, a good counselor… But also a good and compassionate woman. She’s not the most accurately dressed (Grainger is) but her evolution in the show is logic and interesting, I can’t help but live this Lucrezia. By the way, I read that from all the Borgia movies and shows, “Borgia: Faith & Fear” has the best cardinal outfits, especially those winter furry hats! And this series also has Mark Ryder as Cesare, not only does he a great job here, but also he’s the sexiest version of Cesare, Ryder in “Borgia” is the definition of period drama hotness!

    1. As I discussed ad nauseum in my review of ‘Borgia: Faith & Fear’ — yes, but that show did a really crappy job by making it so huge & clunky, plus the original portrait is allegorical of “spring” showing her mostly naked so it’s not even contemporary fashion. So it’s wrong on multiple levels.

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