Reviews

El Caballero de Olmedo by Lope de Vega

Only show reviews with written explanations

sofiasierra's review

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1.0

i guess it wasn't my cup of tea, since i didn't enjoy it at all

briosh's review

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.0

luciasantos's review

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adventurous medium-paced

3.75

msand3's review

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5.0

This tragedy is about as Spanish as you can get: passion, jealousy, honor, revenge, justice, bullfighting, and bloodshed. In many ways it reminds me of both ancient drama and classic Hollywood cinema: a tight plot without unnecessary tangents or subplots, a small number of key characters, no superfluous dialogue or scenes, and a tidy conclusion in which justice is served. It’s easy to see why this was super-entertaining at the time because, quite simply, it remains super-entertaining. As much as I love the language and convoluted plots of Elizabethan theatre, quite a bit of it just doesn’t hold up, even with “modern updating.” There’s really no need for any of that with The Knight from Olmedo. Just perform it as it was written and you will have an audience gripped for all three acts.

Oh, and SPOILER ALERT!: there’s even gunplay! You know that classic “sword fight” scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark? Yeah, well Lope de Vega totally staged it in this play 360 years earlier!