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Author Topic: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX  (Read 11268 times)

Offline Tonhel

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 570
Re: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX
« Reply #60 on: August 27, 2019, 08:51:33 PM »
Very enjoyable to watch! I am going to watch episode 5 in a couple of minutes. ;-)

Question: The uniformity of the french army i.e in episode 4. Is it artistic freedom or did the royal french army had such uniformity at that time?

Offline Mad Guru

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Re: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX
« Reply #61 on: August 28, 2019, 07:17:38 AM »
Thanks Tonhel, and very glad to hear you're enjoying Season Two!  RE: your good question, the truth is there really wasn't a full-time Royal French Army yet in the early 14th Century, but in Ep 4, the numbers involved in the fight against the few Templars and Lazarus Knights could be covered by the King's own Royal Household troops, who would have had a somewhat uniform appearance.  When you get to Ep 6, there is a larger number or troops on the Royal side.  At that point I must admit King Philip's army has more "uniformity" in appearance than I believe it would have c.1307-1314.
"We shall see what wisdom lies beneath my madness!"

Offline Captain Harlock

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Re: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX
« Reply #62 on: August 29, 2019, 06:42:20 PM »
Hey Mad Guru, as a man in the showbiz trade, do you think that there would be an interest for a period drama with an eastern roman theme? I mean from the point of view of a production studio.

Offline Mad Guru

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Re: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX
« Reply #63 on: August 30, 2019, 05:25:10 AM »
Hey Captain Harlock!

The short answer is: no.

I will also give you my long answer, which though fraught with peril, will at least be less negative...

From my perspective here in the Los Angeles-based American film & TV industry, there is no particular interest in a movie or TV project with a Byzantine setting, be it ancient or medieval.  BUT nor is there any particular feeling against such a project, other than the fact that it's an obscure historical period unknown to most of the potential audience.  This counts as a strike against such a project but not an absolute veto.

I know of one big-budget movie project with an Eastern Roman setting that a Hollywood studio spent money on, but it never got beyond the screenplay phase.  There is an order of magnitude difference between the money spent on screenwriters and screenplays and the money spent on turning a handful of those screenplays into actual movies.  Same as other businesses, movie studios and TV networks take far more risk at the "R&D" phase than when it comes time to pay for manufacturing and then marketing finished products.  So even though a big studio spent real money to buy that Eastern Roman themed screenplay, in the end they could not convince themselves it was worth it to spend vastly more money turning it into an actual movie.

As a working screenwriter and TV show creator who's always been obsessed with history, I've sold several historical movies and TV shows that never made it into production.  A few years ago my partner and I sold a historical Dracula TV series to the History Channel (set at the tail end of Eastern Rome).  We were paid to write the pilot and do some development of how the series would proceed, but unfortunately that project never went into production.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2019, 09:40:30 AM by Mad Guru »

Offline Atheling

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Re: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX
« Reply #64 on: August 30, 2019, 07:06:21 AM »
A few years ago my partner and I sold a historical Dracula TV series to the History Channel (set at the tail end of "Eastern Rome") and were paid to write the pilot and do some development of how the series would proceed, but unfortunately that project never went into production.

Damn! If the story was told with any degree of accuracy about Vlad III Dracula then it would be much more bloody then any Dracula movie I've seen!!

Very interesting too in many ways as his whole life was pretty much a struggle in one way or another.

Kind Regards

Offline Captain Harlock

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 709
Re: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX
« Reply #65 on: August 30, 2019, 03:55:58 PM »
Hey Captain Harlock!

The short answer is: no.

I will also give you my long answer, which though fraught with peril, will at least be less negative...

From my perspective here in the Los Angeles-based American film & TV industry, there is no particular interest in a movie or TV project with a Byzantine setting, be it ancient or medieval.  BUT nor is there any particular feeling against such a project, other than the fact that it's an obscure historical period unknown to most of the potential audience.  This counts as a strike against such a project but not an absolute veto.

I know of one big-budget movie project with an Eastern Roman setting that a Hollywood studio spent money on, but it never got beyond the screenplay phase.  There is an order of magnitude difference between the money spent on screenwriters and screenplays and the money spent on turning a handful of those screenplays into actual movies.  Same as other businesses, movie studios and TV networks take far more risk at the "R&D" phase than when it comes time to pay for manufacturing and then marketing finished products.  So even though a big studio spent real money to buy that Eastern Roman themed screenplay, in the end they could not convince themselves it was worth it to spend vastly more money turning it into an actual movie.

As a working screenwriter and TV show creator who's always been obsessed with history, I've sold several historical movies and TV shows that never made it into production.  A few years ago my partner and I sold a historical Dracula TV series to the History Channel (set at the tail end of Eastern Rome).  We were paid to write the pilot and do some development of how the series would proceed, but unfortunately that project never went into production.

Thanks for the answer!
I was afraid of that. I understand the reasoning, but I also think that its most unfortunate.
There are so many tales to be told. I mean we are talking about the grecoroman world surviving 1000 years more than the fall of the western part. Constantinople  is the original Gondor, the original Melnibone. Endless political schemming, love stories, murders, battles. Its has everything.
And lets not forget. VIKINGS!!!! Vikings and greco-romans how insanelly cool is that? I mean just imagine a series that will introduce the western audience to the insanity of the Roman court via the pov of a young Varangian. Battles from Italy to Mesopotamia against completely different foes and cultures.
Granted Im Greek and I can get over excited over this  lol, but I really do believe that ERE is a scenario treasure chest waiting to be opened.
There was a russian movie called Viking. Its about Vladimir the Great. Granted it is plagued by the usual problems of these Putin Extravaganzas as I call those russian hollywoodesque movies, but I liked the costumes and most of the cinematography. Most importantly at a point the imperial dromons arrive! Tears of joy  :'( lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYsfi5_kpY

Offline Grumpy Gnome

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Re: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX
« Reply #66 on: July 19, 2020, 03:58:42 PM »
It has taken quite some time for the season to make it to German Netflix. I had high hopes for it because I did not hate season 1, despite the various issues with it, it has Mark Hamill and Mad Guru gave me hope that some of those problematic issues had been addressed.

My wife and I are only a few episodes in but so far whilst Mark Hamill is a joy to watch the problematic issues continue. I am much more familiar with Templar history and their Rule than my wife, so she misses many issues... but we are both costumers from our re-enacting and larping days so some things just have us sadly shaking our heads.

I grasp that it is not a documentary but I do not understand why there are so many deviations from such well documented historical references that are available for Templar appearance and culture. My wife commented during the show that to her it looked like the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon had been recruiting a lot of Vikings and Roharrim.  Whilst I liked visual story telling of Mark Hamill’s character Brother Talus having a Vitus, I am unsure of a historical precedent for that. I would be curious for a source on that and on an initiate training position in general. It has been two decades since I did any serious research on the Templars.

We keep hoping the show will improve but I am not as optimistic as my wife.

As for Constantinople and the ERE... I completely agree with you Mad Guru. A virtually untapped source of so much potential. That said, I am not sure how production friendly Istanbul is these days unless you want to film the Fall of Constantinople from the Ottoman perspective.

I would also love to see a series address the Knights of Malta during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. Malta has been very accommodating of tv productions in the past and should be keen for revenue given the current international medical situation.
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Offline Grumpy Gnome

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    • The Grumpy Gnome
Re: KNIGHTFALL Season 2 now available on NETFLIX
« Reply #67 on: August 03, 2021, 10:30:39 AM »
Well, we finally got through all of Season 2. It is telling that it took us this long to get through it.

As I wrote on my blog…

“We also finally finished season 2 of Knightfall. Such a disappointment.

I mean it was cool to see Mark Hamill play a Templar more like how I pictured an old Luke Skywalker than what he played in the recent movies but there were so many unnecessary historical inaccuracies that it actually made me angry watching it. There is such good documentation available and the recorded history is interesting enough there is no need to “spice it up” in my opinion. With the costuming and set design, clearly much love, effort and money went into it but it runs so contrary to historical evidence that it is painful for me to watch.”

Season 2 was better than Season 1. The acting, writing and directing was overall better. However, the final few episodes of Season 2 started getting choppy, trying to do do much with too little time… a bit Game of Thrones like. The conclusion felt unresolved.

Is there going to be a third season.