It’s the score, I think, Goldsmith’s fabulous ‘waltz of death’ that really saves the film. The boy really is the big problem isn’t he, his scenes set my teeth on edge, but Olivier makes up for him.

I have no problems with the daftness of the premise. I *like* a daft premise and few can put one over like Levin (IIRC, the film is quite faithful to the novel), but I’d snap up an anamorphic DVD in a heartbeat. The upcoming HD release is almost enough to turn me to Blu-ray.