Exactly what one would expect from pre-reading the title and cast, together with the year of its production. Travesty as 'real' history, of course, (e.g. the prospect of Cromwell advocating 'democracy', a word which remained anathema for all property-owning groups in England until well into the second half of the nineteenth century), (and, in some countries, well beyond, of course!). Richard Harris seems to be going for the Oscar in scowling and ranting, with the decibel level almost going off the scale as his makes his 'set-piece' 'speeches to history' and he stamps around like some Puritan Mister Angry. Alec Guiness, (unsurprisingly), holds one's attention much more as King Charles I, but unfortunately, there is not a lot he can do with the role beyond 'look' and 'sound' the part,(i.e. the constant battle with stuttering plus a mixed Scottish/English accent), in between reeling off the next school textbook-derived 'quotation' as one scene rapidly replaces another. (What would a film have been like with Guiness playing Charles JUST, say, during his trial, by contrast?) The battle scenes are 'OK' but nothing like as good as, (looking backwards), the one in Orson Welles' 'Chimes at Midnight', (apparently, as usual for post-Hollywood Welles, shot on a shoe-string yet looking like some mammoth battle epic), or, (compared with our own CGI era), for example 'Lord of the Rings'. The other production values are quite good, such as the representations of 'Westminster' and 'Westminster Hall', (while one is also struck at how CLEAN everything and every costume is!) Oh well, they meant well and this is a reasonably entertaining affair worth watching once for Guiness' performance, (and that of Robert Morley, reckoning feverishly how this 'work' will help with settling his wine merchant's bill!)