Yay History!

[magog_83]

Just saw this and almost cried with joy. I was just saying to vensre yesterday, WHERE ARE ALL THE HISTORICAL FILMS? And it's like someone was listening!

Historical epics coming to a cinema near you!

This observation was occasioned by me trying to watch a film called The Black Death, starring Boromir, Jack-from-Pillars-Of-The-Earth, the-vicar's-daughter-from-Cranford, and Balinor the Dragonlord, but apparently it was not the gritty-yet-informative historical drama I thought it would be, examining the Black Death in its socio-economic context. Mum and I started to get a little nervous when Boromir killed some innocent woman for witchcraft with his bare hands and left her on the side of the road. In the interests of research, I googled it and discovered it was a horribly graphic horror film with gruesome deaths everywhere. I guess this is what happens when the video shop is all out of Toy Story 3 :(

Anyway, I'm definitely going to see some of these from the list! (although Nicholas Cage as a Knight Templar sounds rather hilarious). I want to see Agora as well, with Rachel Weisz - has anyone seen that one and is it good? The trailer looked great. It's a shame this list stops at medieval times though, why don't people make exciting Renaissance era films? Or films set in a sixteenth century Welsh town so I could be consultant. Maybe they could cast Colin Morgan. Just a thought.

Comments

[sighnomore.livejournal.com]

Films set in a sixteenth century Welsh town involving CRIME! Then you could hire me as your co-consultant and we could cast the entire Merlin crew :D

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha, I am liking this idea already. Colin Morgan can be the young sergeant-at-mace in Carmarthen, tasked with keeping the peace, and occasionally locking horns with Katie playing the sister of the local Squire who likes to be involved in town affairs (even though she's a woman and therefore can't do it officially). Suddenly, there is an outbreak of MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES in the area, and Colin doesn't know what to do! Fortunately, Richard Wilson (playing an elder of the town, Howell ap Richard) has contacts in the West Country and he sends for an old friend (Anthony ap Head), but gets his son Bradley instead (er... Bradley wasn't a contemporary name so he'll need something old - maybe James ap Bradley?) - who claims to be an expert on crime but immediately annoys Colin and Katie.

We need a good role for Angel though... Something a bit more exciting than she gets in Merlin. Maybe she could be a mysterious stranger that everyone suspects (but turns out to be a red herring and helps them solve the crime).

I think between us, we could consult them to a pretty exciting drama!

[sighnomore.livejournal.com]

Yes! Like this Miss Marple episode I watched the other day where that woman started to kill off everyone is the village because she was once pregnant after her brother raped her and ....I'm not making any sense, am I? :| The plot was brilliant though!

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

I think I know the one you mean! Something about 'chimneys' in the title?? See, this is why we need you doing the Crime Consultation aspect. I'll just be there tweaking props and looking scandalised whenever we need to take historical liberties :D

[sighnomore.livejournal.com]

No I think it was called... ... *wracks brain* "Murder is easy".

Sounds like a plan! :D

[frogspace.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link. Something to look forward to. :D

I just saw the trailer for The Eagle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx4bnwvGmKM) and it is epic! I can't wait to see this movie. Based on the summary alone it sounds like a slash fic and the trailer sells it really well: "In 140 AD, two men – master and slave – venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism..."

(here via friendsfriends)

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

Wow, that really is a slash fic! Do you think they meant it to be the epic tale of a Roman and his forbidden love for his slave?!? :D It looks very exciting though, and I love Jamie Bell (although he will always be little Billy Elliot to me).

I hadn't heard of half of those historical films, it's a shame they don't seem to get as good advertising as the rom coms and modern action films. I am already planning my historical film watching schedule :)

[frogspace.livejournal.com]

Do you think they meant it to be the epic tale of a Roman and his forbidden love for his slave?!?

I have no idea, but I've a feeling this could be another surprise at the box office where the "experts" once again can't explain, why a movie made for men could possibly appeal to so many women (see Gladiator and the bafflement of the press).

I hadn't heard of half of those historical films, it's a shame they don't seem to get as good advertising as the rom coms and modern action films.

Yes, that's a real shame. I still haven't forgiven them that they didn't give last year's Outlander (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ToRERO5bm0) a proper theatrical release and then marketed it to the wrong target audience. *facepalm* This might be a Beowulf-like movie about a space soldier and Vikings fighting a monster dragon, but it's also one of the most intriguing subtextual threesome relationship in an action movie I've seen in quite a while. Meaning the clan chief's daughter (a no-nonsense woman who can use her sword) is mostly interested in the space man, the rival Viking warrior is interested in the woman and has strong slash vibes with the space man, and the space man seems to like them both. I loved the first half of the movie with all the UST between the three and then they hunt the alien monster that came with the space man and have to find a way to kill it with 8th century Viking weapons! I traveled to two different cities to see this during a Fantasy Film Festival and that was the only time it was shown here in cinema. *sigh*

Also, anything involving the dynamic between these three characters is missing from the trailer and the woman is completely (!) missing from the trailer, although she is one of the three main characters. o_O However, it never stops being funny to hear John Hurt (clan chief) say Why don't you tell me about your dragon. Bwahhaha!

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

Gladiator! I was so devastated when Cicero died :(

I haven't heard of Outlander?! It sounds amazing! I feel like I've missed out on a lot at the cinema this past couple of years, although where I've been living there is only one cinema and it's all mainstream so anything remotely unusual rarely shows up. I'm wondering now if I can have a search for it at our local video shop...

Oh my god, I would laugh too if I heard John Hurt saying that :D Everytime he does a voiceover for an advert on the telly, I find myself trying to fit his lines into Slash Dragon Context!

[alba17.livejournal.com]

I saw a preview of The Eagle and it looked like it might be good. Rome - the Movie! I so hope this is happening, because I loved the show. It was kind of painful to read about what the creator was planning for future seasons that were never to be, because they sounded awesome. I haven't heard anything about Agora. I'd love to see Renaissance era films - good question, why aren't there more of those? Or any at all, for that matter.

Oh, just saw the comment about The Eagle and slash above. Yeah, I saw the preview on Afterelton, which was highlighting the homoerotic subtext. So, naturally I had to watch the preview and it did look like it had that potential.

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

There is a shocking lack of Renaissance films. It's not as if it's a boring period, it's one of the most exciting periods in history! They could do the trial of Gallileo, or the Medicis (just imagine a drama on the Medicis!!!) or the Borgias. Hell, I can't believe there isn't a decent modern film on Martin Luther. There was a new series on the BBC last year called 'Luther' and I was SO EXCITED until I realised it was a modern detective drama and not a tale of reformation and sixteenth century shenanigans :(

Also, you're making me miss Rome now. That was a great show, I wish there were more dramas like that (I sound like one of those determined historians insisting HISTORY IS THE BEST, REALLY). I am definitely watching The Eagle :D

[siptah57.livejournal.com]

Great to hear about the Rome movie, the series was brilliant. I always wanted to see a series made of my favorite fictional Renaissance anti-hero, Francis Crawford of Lymond. I astounds me that no one has tried. :-(

[magog-83.livejournal.com]

I have never heard of those books before! Although I used to read Dorothy Dunnett (along with Jean Plaidy). I just googled them and I think I'm going to have to find them in my local library. They sound EXACTLY my sort of thing!

I would love a film/series made of Christopher Sansom's Shardlake novels, I don't know if you're familiar with them but they follow a lawyer in 1540s London and the crimes/mysteries he is sometimes called on to investigate. They're so well researched that I feel like I'm actually there :D