Capitan Alatriste -The Movie

[Hammers]

Have you seen this spanish flick? It really ought to do it for all you swashbuckling fans. It is about a mercenary soldier and starts with the war in Flandres. It is starring Viggo Mortensen in a dubbed role. And as far as I can tell they've been very picky about the details.

[DeWolfe]

I've read the books up to The Sun Over Breda, that's as far as they have got with the English translations so far, and loved them. I hunted and searched, poked about and quested, until I found a copy of the movie and once I had I imediatley sat down to watch it...and hated it. The whole series is condensed into one movie, it's episodic and choppy and if you haven't read the books it'll be very confusing, even having read the books it was pretty dull. Very disapointing.

[Hammers]

After having seen the whole film I agree that it is a bit hard to follow. But scenery and fights look quite the business. I still like it a lot.

Intriguing that there are books. I am looking forward to those...

[Rhoderic]

While you say it's confusing to follow if you haven't read the books yet, it sounds like the kind of film best watched before reading the books, to be enjoyable. I really must see it, and read the books.

[fastolfrus]

I saw the trailer for the film about a year ago, and thought the trailer looked so good that I tracked down some of the books.
Still waiting to see the film.

[Hammers]

... it sounds like the kind of film best watched before reading the books, to be enjoyable. ...

It is definitely one of those. I think it is a win-win to conusme entertainment in htis order. You won't get pissed becuase the film deviates from the book, you get happy becuse the book is more lush. And then you paint the miniatures.

[Rhoderic]

Seen it now, and I must say I enjoyed it greatly. The whole flick felt very moody throughout, and the action scenes were lovely. Lots of great ideas for swashbuckling gaming in there.

Sure, the story was ever-so-slightly choppy, and there were a few "Who's that? Am I supposed to know him?" moments, but it wasn't excessive. I only wish they didn't have to dress everyone in such dark and drab colours. It makes me feel like I've painted my swashbucklers "wrong" (which I probably have, but I don't like being reminded of it).

[Hammers]

I only wish they didn't have to dress everyone in such dark and drab colours. It makes me feel like I've painted my swashbucklers "wrong" (which I probably have, but I don't like being reminded of it).

That's an aspect I really liked.

[Rhoderic]

I only wish they didn't have to dress everyone in such dark and drab colours. It makes me feel like I've painted my swashbucklers "wrong" (which I probably have, but I don't like being reminded of it).

That's an aspect I really liked.

It's nice enough for a movie, but it's just not very inspirational for a miniature painter: "Lessee, how do I paint this guy's shirt? I have a selection of black, dark brown or a kind of undefinable muddy colour. I already painted one guy in black and one in brown, so I guess I'll go muddy on this one"  

[fastolfrus]

As far as muddy shirts go, why not just go with the easy option and follow the advice from Jabberwocky ?
"How do you know he's the king ?"
"He's got less s**t on him"

Peasants, followers, extras, and generally unimportant types dress in various shades of mud. Leading characters may still have mud, but are more colourful underneath it.
To be fair, before the advent of modern dyes, clothing colours would be a bit more subdued, and some colours might be limited to rich people or travellers. (Vegetable based dyes would give locally dominant colours. If you live in an area where woad grows easily, blue clothing might be common for anyone who can't afford to use a different dye, some of which might have to be imported. Undyed woolen cloth varies in colour depending on the local sheep breeds, some are whiter than others, some have lots of brown wool etc)

[PeteMurray]

I've found the muddy colors problem to be a real issue when painting Gloire bands. If the only splashes of color are on tabards and cloaks (and hat feathers) then it can get a bit dull to paint. There's only so much brown, tan, and gray you can paint before you start wondering if it wouldn't be better to stick with WWI.

Which is why it's so much fun to paint ladies.

[Rhoderic]

During the process of painting a miniature, I don't find it that big a problem myself, but that's simply because I use more colours than I "should". I just don't see the appeal of swashbucklers in muddy colours, so I skip it.

But then, once I've finished painting a miniature and go back to look at it a while later, my initial thought is often "WHAT was I thinking"? For instance, there's this guy with the blue boots (blue!). Or this lowly peasant in a dyed green shirt that surely no man of his social standing would own. Movies like Alatriste are bad for me in this way, because they keep reminding me of how ridiculous my miniatures look.

[Hammers]

I like a splash of gay colours myself now and then, but I strive to use earth colours as much as possible. There is an art to it and I am no master but I find a lot can be done with contrasts.

[Captain Blood]

As far as muddy shirts go, why not just go with the easy option and follow the advice from Jabberwocky ?
"How do you know he's the king ?"
"He's got less s**t on him"

Was that in Jabberwocky?

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail they had:

'How do you know he's the King?'
''Cos he's not covered in sh*t like the rest of us...'

Plagiarism one way or the other - or a case of mistaken identity?  :wink:

[Rhoderic]

Well, Jabberwocky was made by Terry Gilliam and starred several of the Pythons, so it would hardly be plagiarism.