Medieval Movies
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Excalibur (it's mythological, and a bit fantasy, but the armour and fighting is quality, and it's a great film despite some dodgy acting). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pylGJO6I30M
Jabberwocky - a Terry Gillam comedy, but with some really good medieval atmosphere and funny representations of cool medieval phenomenon like the Flagellant movement. And a castle guard pisses on Micheal palin's head, which is nice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5EGQ0zGwEU&feature=related
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey - another half-fantasy thing, with the men from a dark age Cumbrian village tunneling into the earth to escape the plague and turning up in... eighties New zealand. The depiction of the Cumbrian village, and the fear of the Black Death, is great.
Rob Roy - A bit like Braveheart, only in some ways much better, though not much more historically accurate. Good atmosphere, excellent period dialogue, best sword fight in film history. The villain is amazing - a bisexual English ponce, rapist, and all-round creepy deviant sociopath who is nevertheless a walking death-machine. Funny too.
Here's a non-spoilery sword fight from it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJVaysvaA18&feature=related
I suppose films like Polanski's version of Macbeth should be in there as well. And "The Devils" (warning - constant nudity and masturbating Nuns, but it's a serious and brilliant film).
There are probably a lot more modern films than these, but I stopped watching films about ten years ago, unless they're something special.
Jabberwocky - a Terry Gillam comedy, but with some really good medieval atmosphere and funny representations of cool medieval phenomenon like the Flagellant movement. And a castle guard pisses on Micheal palin's head, which is nice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5EGQ0zGwEU&feature=related
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey - another half-fantasy thing, with the men from a dark age Cumbrian village tunneling into the earth to escape the plague and turning up in... eighties New zealand. The depiction of the Cumbrian village, and the fear of the Black Death, is great.
Rob Roy - A bit like Braveheart, only in some ways much better, though not much more historically accurate. Good atmosphere, excellent period dialogue, best sword fight in film history. The villain is amazing - a bisexual English ponce, rapist, and all-round creepy deviant sociopath who is nevertheless a walking death-machine. Funny too.
Here's a non-spoilery sword fight from it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJVaysvaA18&feature=related
I suppose films like Polanski's version of Macbeth should be in there as well. And "The Devils" (warning - constant nudity and masturbating Nuns, but it's a serious and brilliant film).
There are probably a lot more modern films than these, but I stopped watching films about ten years ago, unless they're something special.
What about 'Name of the Rose'? I thought that was quite good.
I would definitely agree with Excalibur (1981), my favorite retelling of the Arthurian legends.
There's also Lancelot du Lac (1974), which is a much more intellectual, minimalist film. I personally loved it for its strikingly original take on Camelot (comparing Camelot to a Versailles-like existence while people suffer all around them). I would guess that it's a movie mainly for film buffs, but I could be wrong. It is available on Netflix.
Of course you can't go wrong with Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Jabberwocky. Jabberwocky was very different from The Holy Grail, but I did enjoy it, and it's worth it for the opening scene alone.
I'm not sure why Rob Roy qualifies as a medieval film, and it's comparisons to Braveheart stem from the fact they came out in the same year and both deal with Scotland. It is actually much more accurate, but that's because Braveheart is pure fantasy (on par with Excalibur in terms of accuracy), and Rob Roy takes place roughly 415 years after Braveheart. Definitely recommended though; better written, better acted, and yes, more accurate than Braveheart.
With Joan d'Arc, are you referring to The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) or the tv movie Joan of Arc (1999)? If you haven't seen the The Messenger, I would recommend it. It's brutal, rough, and doesn't paints Joan in a less-than-flattering light, but that's why I love it. If you haven't seen the tv movie, don't bother. It's hammy, melodramatic, and poorly made.
Two I haven't seen mentioned are Alexander Nevsky (193
and Krzyzacy (The Teutonic Knights) (1960). Both are available on Netflix.
Alexander Nevsky (193 is a really well shot, chilling telling of the Teutonic invasion of Novgorod. It's very well made, holds up fairly well, although it's very much so Soviet propaganda. If you don't mind older films, see this movie.
Krzyzacy is a movie I was very impressed by. It's a Polish film from the 1960's, and discusses the events leading up to the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410. It has a nice battle scene at the end, and leading up to it is a very detailed, interesting discussion of the events. It has a nice epic feel, and I quite enjoyed it.
There's also Lancelot du Lac (1974), which is a much more intellectual, minimalist film. I personally loved it for its strikingly original take on Camelot (comparing Camelot to a Versailles-like existence while people suffer all around them). I would guess that it's a movie mainly for film buffs, but I could be wrong. It is available on Netflix.
Of course you can't go wrong with Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Jabberwocky. Jabberwocky was very different from The Holy Grail, but I did enjoy it, and it's worth it for the opening scene alone.
I'm not sure why Rob Roy qualifies as a medieval film, and it's comparisons to Braveheart stem from the fact they came out in the same year and both deal with Scotland. It is actually much more accurate, but that's because Braveheart is pure fantasy (on par with Excalibur in terms of accuracy), and Rob Roy takes place roughly 415 years after Braveheart. Definitely recommended though; better written, better acted, and yes, more accurate than Braveheart.
With Joan d'Arc, are you referring to The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) or the tv movie Joan of Arc (1999)? If you haven't seen the The Messenger, I would recommend it. It's brutal, rough, and doesn't paints Joan in a less-than-flattering light, but that's why I love it. If you haven't seen the tv movie, don't bother. It's hammy, melodramatic, and poorly made.
Two I haven't seen mentioned are Alexander Nevsky (193
and Krzyzacy (The Teutonic Knights) (1960). Both are available on Netflix.Alexander Nevsky (193
is a really well shot, chilling telling of the Teutonic invasion of Novgorod. It's very well made, holds up fairly well, although it's very much so Soviet propaganda. If you don't mind older films, see this movie.Krzyzacy is a movie I was very impressed by. It's a Polish film from the 1960's, and discusses the events leading up to the Battle of Tannenberg in 1410. It has a nice battle scene at the end, and leading up to it is a very detailed, interesting discussion of the events. It has a nice epic feel, and I quite enjoyed it.
Vulkan said:Evil Dead, while amazing, isn't exactly Medieval.
You're probably thinking of the equally awesome sequel, Army of Darkness, where Bruce gets sucked through the time portal to some desert inhabited by medieval people.
Right, quite right. I always seem to get those two confused, for one reason or another.
Robin Hood : Men In Tights
Or there's various takes on Hamlet, Macbeth and the like. Probably with Kenneth Brannagh at some point.
Or there's various takes on Hamlet, Macbeth and the like. Probably with Kenneth Brannagh at some point.
I forgot some ones, actually...
Yes, Polanski's Macbeth (1971), which was a really great adaptation of Shakespeare, but also a really well made film about the Middle Ages. Good acting, good filmmaking, good violence.
Also, Kenneth Branagh's Henry V (1989), probably my favorite medieval film. It's faithful to Shakespeare, but also gets into the grittiness of medieval warfare. It's not glorified or romanticized medieval armies, but rather dirty and gritty masses of soldier moving through the countryside. The Battle of Agincourt was really well done, not on a large scale, but good on brutality and sluggishness.
There's Andrey Rublyov (1966). Alright, I admit I haven't seen this one yet, but everything else I've seen from this director (Andrei Tarkovsky) was nothing short of brilliant. So you may want to look into this one.
And strangely no one's mentioned Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Ridley Scott's epic about the Crusades. I would recommend this film if you're looking for something akin to Joan d'Arc or Braveheart. For this one some storytelling decisions make is just short of great (in my opinion), but it has many redeeming features, such as good cinematography, soundtrack, and action scenes.
Yes, Polanski's Macbeth (1971), which was a really great adaptation of Shakespeare, but also a really well made film about the Middle Ages. Good acting, good filmmaking, good violence.
Also, Kenneth Branagh's Henry V (1989), probably my favorite medieval film. It's faithful to Shakespeare, but also gets into the grittiness of medieval warfare. It's not glorified or romanticized medieval armies, but rather dirty and gritty masses of soldier moving through the countryside. The Battle of Agincourt was really well done, not on a large scale, but good on brutality and sluggishness.
There's Andrey Rublyov (1966). Alright, I admit I haven't seen this one yet, but everything else I've seen from this director (Andrei Tarkovsky) was nothing short of brilliant. So you may want to look into this one.
And strangely no one's mentioned Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Ridley Scott's epic about the Crusades. I would recommend this film if you're looking for something akin to Joan d'Arc or Braveheart. For this one some storytelling decisions make is just short of great (in my opinion), but it has many redeeming features, such as good cinematography, soundtrack, and action scenes.
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Okay, I have seen Excalibur and Rob Roy now, I really liked Excalibur, it was... special but really good but Rob Roy was not really my taste but still a good movie, thanks again for suggesting these.
Weren: I have seen both the Arn movies and I really liked them, the same with kingdom of heaven. Ill try to find knights tale. thanks
Weren: I have seen both the Arn movies and I really liked them, the same with kingdom of heaven. Ill try to find knights tale. thanks
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