MovieChat Forums > Robin Hood (2010) Discussion > Any 'authentic' mediaeval movies?

Any 'authentic' mediaeval movies?

posted 13 years ago by devansarty-1
45 replies | jump to latest

There's been a fair amount of to-ing and fro-ing on this board about the 'accuracy' and 'authenticity' of this film and others like it, particularly Scott's other mediaeval 'epic' 'Kingdom of Heaven'.

Personally I'm not too fussed by the 'accuracy' question. Compressing timelines combining characters into composites etc. they're basically storytelling and narrative decisions which all writers make (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse). But can anyone name any movies based in the medieval world that (at least as far as we understand it) demonstrate a genuinely mediaeval 'mindset' in their characters?

Additionally can anyone name any movies where the period is evoked with a degree of 'authenticity' (however that's interpreted) that goes beyond the standard hollywood art director's handbook when it comes to sets, costumes etc?

It's decades since I've seen it (and I may therefore be way off in my recollection) but the only mediaeval film I can come up with is Valerian Borowczyk's 'Blanche' (1972) http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0066841/

Possibly the best all round evocation of a particular period I've seen is Kevin Brownlow's 'Winstanley' (1976) http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0073911/ so if anyone's familiar with that film it may give you some idea where I'm coming from.

Taking painting to the pictures ...
www.thepicturepalace.co.uk

[–] syntinen 13 years ago

A film with a genuinely medieval mindset is one of the rarest things in cinema, possbly because there is so little in the medieval mindset that a modern audience can relate to. Even medieval historians can find much in the medieval mind fairly hard to swallow - attitudes to women, religion, class - so you can hardly expect many screenwriters or directors to dare to serve it up in a popular entertainment film.

One film that made a brave stab at it is the very under-rated The War Lord (1965), with Charlton Heston. I reviewed it here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059896/reviews-32.

It's strictly 16th-century rather than medieval, but The Return of Martin Guerre (1982) is brilliant. Both the physical environment and the social/emotional life of 16th-century Pyrenean peasantry are beautifully reconstructed; it's gripping, too, with Gerard Depardieu and Nathalie Baye acting their socks off.

[–] devansarty-1 13 years ago

Thanks for that. I haven't seen 'The Warlord' since it came out, I remember thinking it looked good but I wasn't convinced by the 'pagan' aspect of the storyline (although that may have inflated itself in my memory to play a larger part than it actually did).

I agree with you on 'Martin Guerre', excellent film. Any thoughts on 'The Hour of the Pig' (1993) http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0107146/ ?

Taking painting to the pictures ...
www.thepicturepalace.co.uk

[–] syntinen 13 years ago

That's the sad thing about The Warlord: it was based on a theory about pagan survivals that was exploded very shortly afterwards. (And had a dire lead actress.) It's still a brave effort at reconstructing medieval attitudes.

I remember being wowed by The Hour of the Pig when it came out, but haven't seen it since, so can't say if I'd still be so impressed by it.

[–] MidniteRambler 13 years ago

Hour of the Pig, aka The Advocate, is a terrific film, with a great cast. How authentic it is I don't know. Pity it's not yet out on Region 2 dvd.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I also enjoyed "The War Lord."

[–] astimoli 13 years ago

Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

[–] The_Real_Celsus 13 years ago

Lol @ last pot...sadly it is very true, even the swinging the cat and hitting the water with it was something from teh darkages...

But my choices for based in history "The Advocate" and "Robin Hood" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102797/ (the one with Uma).

[–] archer1949 13 years ago

But my choices for based in history "The Advocate" and "Robin Hood" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102797/ (the one with Uma).

I agree with the above two.

Jesus is my Best friend, but he still won't loan me money.

[–] jstang411 13 years ago

I can't particularly speak as to authenticity, but Name of the Rose with Sean Connery is a great movie.

[–] syntinen 13 years ago

That's another kettle of fish altogether! The Lion in Winter (the 1968 one, not the 2003 remake) is a great movie, and has some highly pertinent points to make about Angevin family life; but you still wouldn't recommend it in either of the respects that devansarty specifically asked for.

[–] greybabydaddy-1 13 years ago

i thought Messenger: The Joan Of Arc Story was pretty good. it was well acted and looked great.

There is NO such thing as magic and love is dead.

[–] syntinen 13 years ago

But it bore no relation to the real Middle Ages - certainly not to the real Joan of Arc - which is what this thread is about.

[–] jstang411 13 years ago

Messenger: The Joan Of Arc Story

I haven't seen. Will have to check out. A Man for All Seasons is a gripping movie as well.

[–] willjohn 13 years ago

"A Man for All Seasons" was set in the 16th Century in the time of the Reformation. The middle ages were from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries. By the time of Henry VIII's reign Columbus had sailed to the Americas and books were becoming easy to obtain.

You weren't thinking of "Becket", were you?

[–] Seolas 13 years ago

Black Death has quite a gritty, brutal, and authentic medieval feel to it.

[–] syntinen 13 years ago

I'm afraid that "gritty and brutal" in no way equals "authentically medieval". Black Death may be fun for people who like that kind of thing, but there's nothing remotely authentic about it.

[–] Mixalidis 13 years ago

I think you should try La Passion Beatrice (1987). Read some of the reviews on imdb to get a better insight of the movie.

[–] syntinen 13 years ago

All I got from the reviews is that it is apparently extremely and gratuitously nasty. I didn't read anything suggesting that it was authentically medieval. What do you feel is its claim to authenticity?

[–] Alleuze 13 years ago

A Walk with Love and Death, John Huston
The Seventh Seal, Ingmar Bergman
Andreï Rublev, Andrey Tarkovskiy
Alexandre Nevsky, Sergei M Eisenstein
El Cid, Anthony Mann
Henry V, Kenneth Brannagh

[–] GrowTesk 13 years ago

....a great film that I can't praise enough.

Also, as for more current films of medieval authenticity, I was really impressed with The Name of the Rose (1986), with Sean Connery and Christian Slater. It's an extremely atmospheric mystery/thriller.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091605/

[–] adrian_wonder_mg 12 years ago

The Reckoning with Willem Dafoe and Paul Bettany, also The Name of the Rose

[–] The_Real_Celsus 11 years ago

As I stated earlier "Robin Hood" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102797 (the one with Uma)."
This one has details about the longbow, using the word "corn" as it was, dyes, etc. I am not sure about the factualness of the story, but it sure seemed like a nice version with a good bit of research for the setting. And as has been said, much of the "real" Robin is debated about.

[–] devansarty-1 11 years ago

I've a great fondness for the Patrick Bergin, Uma Thurman version and it was obviously put together with care and a degree at least of thought about the costume and settings making sense but it's no more or less 'factual'* than any other version. For instance, there were no friars in England at the time of King John (much less ones prepared to take part in pseudo pagan ceremonies) and the idea of the 'Welsh' longbow as a newly arrived super weapon is more of a nod to 18th & 19th century ideas rather than reflecting current thinking.

*In spite of having Sir James Holt http://www.amazon.co.uk/Robin-Hood-J-C-Holt/dp/0500289352/ref=sr_1_1?i e=UTF8&qid=1380912862&sr=8-1&keywords=holt+robin+hoodas an adviser.

Taking painting to the pictures ...
www.thepicturepalace.co.uk

[–] The_Real_Celsus 11 years ago

Yeah, but Friar tuck is part of the altered legend over time along with the whole King thing. But the fact that they tried so hard with customs, costumes, etc, and the Welsh Longbow was actually far earlier than Robin Hood, but it was in use around the time of the first Robin Hood Stories.

[–] pol-edra 11 years ago

Following your recommandantions, fellow posters, I just finished watching this version of Robin Hood. There was a lot I thoroughly enjoyed. The costumes, mostly, though not entirely historical, at least have the merit of looking for inspiration roughly in the 12th century instead of taking bits and pieces of costumes from several different periods (and mostly 15th century, like the Russel Crowe RH). Marian's wedding dress, particularly, was clearly meant to look somewhat like a 12th century bliaut, but with a little twist that made it more stunning and more movie-like. Robin's costumes were consistent with this idea as well.
I would have enjoyed the movie even more if I hadn't hated the two villains' acting: one for his over-the-top facial expressions, the other for his insufferable accent. Whoever thought it might be a good idea for "sir Miles Folcanet" to sound like this???

"Occasionally I'm callous and strange."

[–] furienna 10 years ago

The Seventh Seal, Ingmar Bergman

There is nothing authentic Medieval about this overrated piece of garbage. It is only 1950s existensialism in a setting, that looks vaguely like the Middle Ages.

Intelligence and purity.

[–] bryan_lomax 11 years ago

I'm currently producing a feature-length documentary on what we hope to be an authentic portrayal of the real Robin Hood story. The film will be presented by historian and archeologist Mark Olly. To keep updated on the film's production, please check out the official Facebook page, where we will release production stills and info. We really hope we can do this story justice by paying attention to the period detail.

https://www.facebook.com/therealrobynhoode

[–] devansarty-1 11 years ago

Best of luck with the documentary. And call me cynical if you like, but which of the plethora of 'real' Robin Hood candidates, 'real' Robin Hood stories, 'real' settings and 'genuine' time periods are you going to be covering?

Taking painting to the pictures ...
www.thepicturepalace.co.uk

[–] pol-edra 11 years ago

I hope all of them, or at least the most prominent ones. I prefer documentaries that summarize where a certain field of research is at, at a certain moment, rather than documentaries which are solely devoted to the defense of one theory.

"Occasionally I'm callous and strange."

[–] devansarty-1 11 years ago

Me too. Sadly however the 'real Robin Hood' industry attracts more than its fair of indefensible theories and theorists that don't like to be challenged on the way they cherry pick 'facts' to support their own pet candidates. And few of them seem to acknowledge that what they're dealing with is basically a popular literary genre that (probably) has its roots in an earlier oral tradition. Pretty much everything about the Robin Hood 'legend' is mutable and subject to the whim of whoever is or was (re)telling it.

Taking painting to the pictures ...
www.thepicturepalace.co.uk

[–] pol-edra 11 years ago

Lol. I'm not very well educated in Robin Hood lore, but I'm an Arthurianist, so pretty much everything you just said applies to my field of studies as well! just change "real RH" for "real KA" and it works too.

"Occasionally I'm callous and strange."

[–] Bluedusk 11 years ago

The Name of the Rose, Flesh+Blood, Andrey Rublev.

[–] devansarty-1 11 years ago

Thought I'd pitch in and revisit this thread.

'Andrei Rublev' is one of my favourite films, I know next to nothing of Russian history and even as an artist my knowledge of Rublev and his work is sketchy at best but the movie is a masterpiece, it's the anti 'Agony and the Ecstasy'. And just to plug my current exhibition both of those films are featured in it, try the link under my signature to see the work or use this http://www.thepicturepalace.co.uk/history-painting.html and download the free pdf exhibition guide.

'Name of the Rose' and 'Flesh and Blood' are both fun movies with medieval settings but not really what I was looking for in the OP. Frankly, Besson's 'The Messenger' is dreadful (his first film 'La Dernier Bataille' seemed more medieval in tone to me, and that was sci-fi!), although I was reasonably impressed that they bothered to get the heraldry somewhere near right.

Has anyone seen 'The Anchoress' (1993) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106271/reference and if so, any opinions yea or nay?

Taking painting to the pictures ...
www.thepicturepalace.co.uk

[–] pol-edra 11 years ago

It's "Le dernier combat". Apart from that, sorry I can't help you with your questions.

"Occasionally I'm callous and strange."

[–] devansarty-1 11 years ago

It's "Le dernier combat".

Doh! that'll teach me to look it up rather than just translate the English title back into French.

Taking painting to the pictures ...
www.thepicturepalace.co.uk

[–] pol-edra 11 years ago

^^ well you can take comfort in the fact that it was a good translation. Well done!

"Occasionally I'm callous and strange."