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Braveheart (1995)
Very Well Made But Historically Inaccurate Film...
Nominated for ten Academy Awards and winner of 'Oscars' for Makeup, Sound Effects Editing, Cinematography (John Toll), Best Director and Picture, few can argue that this movie was not well made. This film managed to propel Sir William Wallace, the infamous 13th-century Scottish hero through nearly seven centuries via the magic of a Hollywood script that took great liberties with historical fact.
While many praised this movie's epic film making accomplishment, just as many historians decried it's lack of historical accuracy. The film's script, by American screenwriter Randall Wallace (no relation), of William's life, love, and death owes much to Blind Harry, a 15th century minstrel who put his rhymes into writing *150* years after Wallace's execution. Wallace historians and biographers continually dispute part or all of Blind Harry's narrative, but his account of the patriot's life DOES provide the most entertaining version of the tale.
Blind Harry also used a heavy hand when sprinkling his tale with bitter sweet passion. His mention of a young maiden named Marion Braidfute of Lamington, who Wallace allegedly courted and wed, provided the inspiration for Murron (Catherine McCormack), Wallace's secret wife in this movie. However, no factual evidence of the marriage survives to corroborate Blind Harry's, and now Hollywood's, tale. On the other hand, Wallace DID murder Sir William Heselrig, English sheriff of Lanmark. Wallace put him to the sword and cut him into pieces in May 1297.
One of the film's most intriguing twists is pure Hollywood invention. A calendar puts the LIE to the tale of Wallace's affair with Princess Isabella (Sophie Marceau), wife of Prince Edward II, and the fathering of her child. Isabella and Edward II married in 1307, two years AFTER Wallace's execution. Her son Edward III, was born in the years that followed. Incidentally,Wallace was executed by hanging, drawing and quartering, not by being disemboweled at the gallows as the film suggests. The script was also very unkind to Edward I (Patrick McGoohan) specifically, and to the Normans in general, who no historian will dispute, regardless of tactics, unified a then very culturally diverse England and molded it into the great nation it still is to this day.
MANY other inaccuracies appear in this film as well, too many to name here, the most glaring of which had Wallace attired in the more familiar Highlander costumes when he was, in fact, a Lowlander. So what we have here is a film that is almost as much a fantasy as it is an epic. But admittedly, it is the good-guy, bad-guy scenario that is the proved Hollywood formula for success.
The true power of this medium is that it has the ability to EDUCATE as well as to entertain, and it's truly shameful that so many viewers think this movie is an accurate representation of historical fact. It is NOT! See it for the character portrayals, costumes and well orchestrated battle scenes. But remember, the story itself is as much a self-serving, Hollywood-formula fantasy, as it is somehow well done.
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)
One of the Best Westerns Ever Made...
'Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il' was at its release in 1966 a very unconventional Western epic that follows the travails of three gunfighters looking for $200,000 in stolen Confederate gold.
Also known as 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', it was Italian-born (Rome, 3 January 1929) Sergio Leone's third so-called spaghetti Western after 'Per un pugno di dollari', aka 'For a Fistful of Dollars' (1964) and 'Per qualche dollaro in più', aka 'For a Few Dollars More' (1965).
It is generally considered one of the best films of its kind ever made, a masterpiece, one that almost inexplicably continues to get better with each viewing. In a way, it's a morality play, weighing the consequences of good and evil, but it does so in its realistic portrayal that sometimes, crime DOES pay, at least in the short term, and sometimes good DOES go unrewarded.
This film ushered in a new concept of a previously all too oft told Western story, probably tolling the death knell for the traditional American-made, Good guy/ Bad guy, White hat/ Black hat Western that was so prevalent before it.
The three main characters of the film are as powerful as Leone's brilliant vision of the Civil War era America, he used as their backdrop. Lee Van Cleef ('The Bad') is evil in the flesh. Beedy-eyed and totally ruthless, he believes it only takes one thing to be successful: whatever is necessary.
Clint Eastwood ('The Good') is the now legendary 'Man With No Name', but 'good' only in a Western concept of non-traditional good. He has a sometimes detectable and occasionally observable sense of honor that motivates his behavior and conduct from time to time.
Eli Wallach ('The Ugly') is Tuco, and he's easily the most colorful character in the film. Impulsive and full of barely suppressible rage, Tuco gyrates wildly throughout the movie, stealing, lying, pretending to be a best friend in one scene, trying to kill in another. Tuco truly represents 'the ugly' side of human behavior.
At two hours and forty-one minutes, the movie was lengthy for its day, but there's neither a single scene that seems unnecessary, nor does the film seem lengthy while viewing it. The film unfolds with a charismatic style and grace, slowly revealing more and more about each character and the film's story. The pace of the film expertly captures the flavor of the time, giving the viewer a rare peek into a page of American history come alive on film.
Director Sergio Leone (who contributed to another epic of note: 'Ben-Hur' as an uncredited second unit director in 1959) manages to build a lot of sometimes unsettling tension in the film, thus preventing the longer than usual movie from ever getting uncomfortable or predictable. Every typical Western cliché possibly imaginable is either given a unique twist or utterly destroyed by Leone's masterful storytelling. Of special honorable mention is Ennio Morricone's original music score, which is about as masterful and complementary as it gets, culminating in the climatic gunfight in the cemetery at the end of the film. The music is so rich and powerful it easily stands on its own merits, and is one of the biggest selling original movie soundtracks to date. It is impossible to imagine the film without it.
'Unforgiven' may well have been the sequel to 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', the story of what eventually happened to the 'Man With No Name', and won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, and the nomination for Best Actor for Eastwood in 1992 (the film also was nominated in six other categories and won in three of those). Eastwood dedicated this movie to Sergio Leone who died 30 April 1989 in Rome, and who had believed in him early in his career.
Call it 'Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il' or call it 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', but after seeing it you'll call this movie absolutely brilliant at MANY levels, including the one mentioned above by Kitchener.
It is a classic like no other, and is easily one of the best Westerns and films of its kind ever made.
Tristan + Isolde (2006)
GOOD Story and a GOOD Film... A Very Accurate Depiction of 5th Century AD Britain...
While watching this film, you will be transported back in time to the Dark Ages in early Britain immediately following the collapse of the Roman Empire in 410 AD when Ireland, protected by the sea and never occupied by the Romans, is under the rule of a strong and wise King Donnchadh... King Donnchadh (David O'hara) and his beautiful daughter Isolde (Sophia Myles) are obviously descendants of the Vikings, who settled many coastal areas of Ireland and founded many towns including the city now known as Dublin...
Prior to the Roman invasion and occupation in 43 AD, Iron Age Britain already had cultural and economic links with Continental Europe, but the Romans introduced new developments in agriculture, urbanisation, industry and architecture, leaving a legacy that is visible in this film, and still apparent to this day...
At this time in history, the 5th century AD, Britain is little more than a collage of feudal warring tribes: Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Picts and Celts, all hostile to each other... We meet Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell), wisest of the English rulers, who seeks to unite England and repel the Irish... He adopts the young Tristan (James Franco) and raises him as his son... Tristan leads Marke's troops in setting a successful trap for King Donnchadh's overconfident raiders, but then is poisoned and falls into a coma resembling death...
As was the custom of the time to honour fallen Chieftans, Tristan's body is put on a boat and pushed out to sea, and a few days later, it washes ashore in Ireland and is found by the beautiful Isolde, daughter of Donnchadh... But Tristan is alive! ...
The movie then develops and continues along the lines of the relationship between Tristan and Isolde with the wars of early Britain, and early Britain's struggles to consolidate it's diverse and warring feudal tribes into one strong nation, as it's backdrop ...
But I'll not include any spoilers here...
It is a GOOD story and a GOOD film with many accurate depictions of life in early Britain at this time in history... The movie is a must see for all descendants of this early and great civilization, and for all students and hobbyists of Medieval history...
The movie was directed by Kevin Reynolds (The Count of Monte Cristo [2002], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Waterworld), and produced by Englishman Ridley Scott (Kingdom of Heaven, Gladiator, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Blade Runner, Alien) Englishman Tony Scott, and Lebanonese Elie Samaha...
Go see it... Tell your friends to go see it... Excellent...
Robin Hood (1991)
Robin Hood (1991): Very historically accurate and well done English film
Yet another version of the classic epic, but done from such a different perspective and with enough accuracy and authenticity that you'll think you are seeing this story for the very first time...
The story line is pretty much the same, of course, as those numerous versions before it, but is told from a more realistic and authentic English point of view... This version focuses on the Norman - Saxon struggle at that time in history and that is the pervasive influence throughout this superb motion picture....
Most of the characters are quite different from those you've come to expect from the afore-telling of this story, in particular Uma Thurman's very special Maid Marian and Patrick Bergen's unique and coup d'etat performance in the title role...
The cinematography is outstanding, giving the story a somewhat darker but more realistic tone and feel, and the direction is about as flawless as I have seen in this type historically-based film...
Unfortunately, this film was conceived and distributed around the same time as the AWFUL Kevin Costner version and consequently was swept aside by that highly marketed but substantially inferior 'Hollywood' version released in the same year and about the same time... It is really a tragedy too, because this is possibly the most authentic and well-made version of the Robin Hood story made to date... One can only imagine what a masterpiece this film would had been if the circumstances surrounding its release had been different...
It was said in the print media that when the English producers of this film learned Hollywood was producing a similar movie on the same subject, they pared their losses, and opted for this final product that even with a lower budget than originally planned, is a MUCH better and more accurate re-telling of the classic Sir Robert Hode, 4th Earl of Huntington (a real person) legend...
Well written and adapted for the screen, expertly cast, and superbly directed by English director John Irvin, this relatively low budget production has never received the accolades it deserves...
Look for some stellar performances by Uma Thurman as Maid Marian, Patrick Bergin as Robin Hood, Jürgen Prochnow as Sir Miles Folcanet, Owen Teale as Will Scarlett and an unforgettable performance by Dutch actor Jeroen Krabbe as Baron Roger Daguerre...Also worthy of mention was a brief but commanding performance by Edward Fox as Prince John, and memorable performances by David Morrissey as Little John and Carolyn Backhouse as Nicole, Roger's Mistress...
If you have seen the "Hollywood formula", American version of this story with Kevin Costner, but not this one, or if you have seen neither, do yourself a tremendous favor and see this film....
This movie will transport you back to another time and place, to see an accurate glimpse of medieval history come alive on film... Not to be missed by students of Medieval history or those curious about their European ancestry and origins...
A film that is a rare hidden treasure and is very worthwhile seeking out and seeing... Outstanding...