Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of Myths, Gods and Empires => Topic started by: Prof.Witchheimer on 04 March 2012, 05:57:25 PM
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Did watch "The Eagle" yesterday and I liked it. A nice sword-and-shield adventure movie with some great battle scenes.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/The_Eagle_Poster.jpg)
It has a very cool Testudo scene:
(http://outnow.ch/Media/Movies/Bilder/2011/Eagle/movie.fs/17.jpg)
a night siege:
(http://www.onlinemovieshut.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/the-eagle-movie.jpg)
also the final battle, the veterans of the Ninth Legion vs. Sealmen was a great inspiration for a gaming scenario
(http://www.filmequals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/the-eagle-movie-photo-07.jpg)
But...there will always be a but. This irokese look of the seal men was odd.
(http://img.poptower.com/pic-43879/the-eagle-movie.jpg)
Anyway, a nice inspiration for painting of my Romans. Check the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx4bnwvGmKM
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I thought the best bit was the beginning. Some great scenery. Channing Tatum too much like a US marine for a Roman. The Picts with Mohicans? Not really convinced. And as for the lost legion... ::)
But i agree Alex, overall worth seeing. A good spectacle :)
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I put it with "King Arthur" and "Tristan and Isolde" as fun movies, inspiring for wargaming, and historical disasters! Never let the history get in the way of telling a good story.
(That said, King Arthur makes me wince some times!)
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Channing Tatum too much like a US marine for a Roman.
actually his face looks Roman to me or at least like a stereotype of a Roman face. But his play was a bit too stiff.
(http://www.cmcaquatics.co.uk/images/cen_gar_sta_1.gif)
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Like the Captain said: The beginning was good, but the story really went bad. I was disapointed when I left the cinema.
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I concur with LeadAsbestos - my thoughts exactly. I enjoy these historical romps but give them about as much credence historically as the old Hollywood blockbusters like Cleopatra or Ben Hur. Spiffing on-screen fun and great for scenario ideas but very lacking regards authenticity.
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I watched the dvd the other week, well, I watched the fight scenes at start and finish and skipped most of the rest ;D Always have trouble not yelling at the screen when A film involves Hadrian's wall as I live so close to it, but if I couldn't be irrational about local-ish history it'd be difficult to be a gamer ;)
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I quite liked it too, definitely worth seeing.
Sometimes the historical inaccuracy is just too much though, it can really destroy a film for me because often it's really easy things they miss or just ignore. I hurts the authenticity and inevitably the whole experience.
Ridley Scotts "Robin Hood" for example was just too much, I was about to have an heart attack.
Worst. Movie. Ever.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/79/The_Simpsons-Jeff_Albertson.png/222px-The_Simpsons-Jeff_Albertson.png)
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Try 'Centurion' it's in a similar vein and marginally more believable. I enjoyed both movies, but then I don't look to any film for historical accuracy or believability in any case.
:)
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Try 'Centurion' it's in a similar vein and marginally more believable. I enjoyed both movies, but then I don't look to any film for historical accuracy or believability in any case.
Tried it already, enjoyed it as well :)
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I used to get upset about inaccuracy. Then I started to enjoy movies as entertainment. Ironically I think wargaming allowed me to relax my standards. My sons and I refer to these movies as "mythtorical". Frankly, modern cop movies (or almost all hollywood films) aren't accurate either.
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I would have enjoyed it more if it had simply stayed with the story as written in the Divine Rosemary's novel. Where the film strayed, it just got silly.
Allen
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I did watch this when it came out, they had a chance to do a very good historic film here but Hollywood being Hollywood had to go and mess around. I went with an open mind and in some parts I was pleasantly surprised. But in other parts I just close my eyes and said “O no!” The British people of Caledonia were not native North Americans?? They left the book on many occasions which was a shame too but then again the book did put about the myth that the 6th legion was lost in Caledonia :)
Regards
Stephen
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a nice article on the fate of the Ninth Legion:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12752497
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Havent seen it yet but loved the book as a kid, those Mowhawks make the mind boggle, the researchers must live in cloud cuckoo land. Best picts seen so far were those in the Costner Robin Hood ::) and then they were anachronistic :D
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The beggining is good but it went downhill afterwards. The seal people are ?...well........odd. :)
The actors were divided, Romans as Americans, the rest scottish etc
Quote;
"In a reversal of Hollywood films about the Roman Empire, Macdonald said the Romans are played by American actors and Rome's enemies by British actors. The Romans are played by Americans "to achieve a little contemporary symbolism", with Bell using his native Sunderland Mackem accent, and Scots Gaelic standing in for Pictish"
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Havent seen it yet but loved the book as a kid, those Mowhawks make the mind boggle, the researchers must live in cloud cuckoo land. Best picts seen so far were those in the Costner Robin Hood ::) and then they were anachronistic :D
The picts looking Mowhawks are a sacrifice to Hollywood and to the market stereothypes, I guess. I'm sure it's not the case of a failed research but of a conscious decision to take that way despite the historical accuracy.
btw, it reminds me of the shock I've had watching the Spielberg's "Hook" and seeing pirates playing Baseball :)
Anyway, better historical movies with some historical inaccuracy than any.
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Don't know what to think about this movie. I read the book as a kid, enthused by all things Roman even back then. However, in the early 90's it looked already a bit dated, and I liked other novels on the same topic better. Therefore I didn't expect too much from its adaptation to the big screen. Still I was disappointed.
Put aside all historical accuracy, which adds greatly to my enjoyment of movies if they get it right, but doesn't either distract if not, the story was just lacklustre. Can't decide if it was due to the script (which had some ridiculous dialogues and quite a few flaws), the production values (come on, embossed shields, muscle cuirasses and bracers are very old-school) or just the one-dimensional character drawing (both by script and acting). These shortcomings made it quite tedious, and I normally don't check the time while watching a film, but here I did. And I haven't yet mentioned the hammer-style actualisation with "Quest for Fire"-Taliban being rightfully chastised by heroic soldiers, just let down by their decadent home country…
However, I still wanted to like this movie, for it had Romans in it - and, what's more, a centurion as a leading character! From what I've gathered, Centurion might be a tad better. But I can't bring myself to endure the massive splatter it seems to contain.
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Macdonald said the Romans are played by American actors and Rome's enemies by British actors. The Romans are played by Americans "to achieve a little contemporary symbolism", with Bell using his native Sunderland Mackem accent, and Scots Gaelic standing in for Pictish"
And with the leading Pictish baddie portrayed by that fine young actor Tahar Rahim (see 'A Prophet' if you haven't yet done so. Best prison movie ever... Well, darkest anyway... )
So, let me see, that's a French Algerian actor portraying a Pict as a kind of proto-Native American speaking modern Scots-Gaelic...
I think Ken MacDonald got a bit over-confused with his symbolism here...
In the brilliant 'Apocalypto', Mel Gibson used exclusively Native American actors to portray Native Americans, speaking a lost Meso-American language... Say what you like about Mel Gibson, that to me, is an approach which has real artistic integrity.
Whereas a French Algerian actor portraying a Pict as a Native American speaking modern Scots-Gaelic, does not :)
Right, I'm off to find 'Centurion'...
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Right, I'm off to find 'Centurion'...
You may regret that lol
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I only grudgingly agreed to watch Centurion because Olga Kurylenko (Ukrainian/Russian/Belarusian/French playing... God knows what) was in it.
Unfortunately she wasn't enough to keep me watching it past the twenty minute mark or so. I just don't think this kind of film is my cup of tea. :)
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Well, this girl has delivered very bad acting but she was in a difficult position, Picts=Mohawks were a stupid idea but that crying pictish amazonish "Electra" killer wasn't much better :)
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Right, I'm off to find 'Centurion'...
You may regret that lol
lol
Don't pay for it Richard, I'll lend it to you. Its certainly not worth the £3.00 I paid for it. lol
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Why did Mark Strong { a normally good actor } speak with an American accent. ??? THE CID.
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Presumably because he was a Roman, and all the Romans had American accents?
It's the same barmy film logic that meant in the utterly dire, Alexander, all the Macedonians - including poor old Val Kilmer - had to speak with Irish accents, because Colin Farrell as Alexander spoke with an Irish accent (presumably because he can't do accents apart from American), so all the other Macedonians had to be Irish as well...
Irish, I ask you! lol
(Please don't get me wrong, I love Ireland and I love the Irish, but there is just something slightly comical about making the greatest ancient conquering army of the entire known world, speak in Dublin City accents... ;))
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I think it sort of made sense. Greeks and Romans traditionally often have British accents in Hollywood films (which is just as daft when you think about it). But the Greeks considered the Macedonians to be uncouth barbarians on the edge of civilisation but not wholly of it, so if we stick with film tradition what better voice to give them than the voice of the British Isles' own fringe tribe of hard-drinking uncouth barbarians?
Er, I think that came out as an insult to the Irish. Wasn't meant as one. :)
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no idea what are you all speaking about, guys, I've watched all three movies, Centurion, Alexander and The Eagle and actually all actors have spoken a perfect German, absolutely accent free.
:D
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no idea what are you all speaking about, guys, I've watched all three movies, Centurion, Alexander and The Eagle and actually all actors have spoken a perfect German, absolutely accent free.
:D
lol
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This film is very good, it is a what if type of film. But they dress right look right and fight right. Have a look and if you can get the DVD then do I think you will like it a great deal.
It came out before the film The Eagle, its British made (I think) and it’s called Centurion it did not get all the publicity as the Hollywood backed The Eagle. Which is a great shame as it’s a Great film IMHO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiQCofKrYAI
nice bit of infor on the IX here too
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legio_IX_Hispana
regards
Stephen
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Saw both of the films & liked them. Of course I was not looking for an historical documentary but just a fun movie.
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In the The Eagle's "making of" somebody said they decided to have the Romans speak with an American accent as teh Roman Empire basically held a similar cultural sway over the (then known) world as the US do over our modern world. Actually I found that logic not too bad. They didn't promote the idea that that is good or bad, just stating a fact to find some lines of inner logic. Worked for me.
Still, the movie is not going to be one of my favourites. I didn't like the Seal people nor did the acting look too convincing to me.