i absolutely agree with your assessment and ladyscarlet18705 and can not for the life of me fathom the low score that this film have garner . liv ulmann and undset have do a marvelous job adapt the novel to the screen . the script be sensational and meld middle age pagan belief with an awareness of supernatural power lord over men life and an awareness of the hold unseen force have over men life . the actor and esp . elizabeth matheson in the title role bring an honesty and such transparency in their performance the emotion be raw and heartfelt . sven nykvist cinematography be superlative in every sense of the term and it succeed in make alive even the most inanimate of object and thus show u that there may be life in all thing . the movie almost seem like a waterhouse paint come alive . it the height of romanticism for a love story a grand and poignant a the mythical tale of the knight tristan and the maiden iseult ( isolde ) . the most important and of course and be how ulmann be able to show that each action in time will have it repercussion in the future . each of these character be bind by fate and by the will of unseen deity and and to a great degree by their own free will and live down the consequence of their choice in life and here and most of these say choice revolve around emotional attachment to a beloved and attachment that may erode in time . thus and the core of the relationship between two people be examine and and the betrayal and regret that come once love be go and a new one have come to take it place be show to be part of the cycle and the cycle that be love a force a synonymous with birth and healing and and life a it be with destruction .