Middle Ages in film
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Medieval films imagine and portray the Middle Ages through the visual, audio and thematic forms of cinema.
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Background
The 20th century is not the first to create images of life during medieval times. The Middle Ages ended over five centuries ago and each century has imagined, portrayed and depicted the Middle Ages through painting, architecture, poetry, music and novel. In the 20th century, film has defined Medieval history perhaps more so than any other medium. While the conclusions of academic research and findings of archeology have advanced knowledge of the Middle Ages, nothing has had more widespread influence on more people than the images created by film. Just as most peoples perceptions of the American Wild West were drawn from cinema, versus source material or academic research, so too most peoples perceptions of the Middle Ages were influenced by the powerful narratives and images of film.
If film was the most influential medium, Hollywood was the most influential image maker. Hollywood films reached a global audience through big budget productions, and equally big distribution and advertising channels. Hollywood adapted works of the Romanticism movement to the screen, seamlessly forging a bridge between Romanticized historical novels, operas, paintings, and music of the 19th century onto film in the 20th. The ideals of the Romantics were fully realized on the screen in such influential works as Ivanhoe (1952) and El Cid (1961) which belong to the same late Romantic culture in their music, imagery and themes.
Strong cinematic images of the Middle Ages can be found in European films. Influential European films included Fritz Lang's two-film series Die Nibelungen: Siegfrieds Tod and Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache (1924), Sergei Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957), while in France there were many versions of the story of Joan of Arc.
The first Medieval film was also one of the earliest films ever made, Jeanne d'Arc released in 1899. The first Robin Hood film dates to 1907 and was called Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
Late Antiquity/Early Middle Ages (5th to 11th centuries)
- King Arthur, a 2004 movie set in the last years of the Roman occupation. It tells the story of King Arthur, but it depicts him as a Roman warrior instead of a medieval king.
- The Mists of Avalon, 2001 TV movie based on the novel The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley recounting the King Arthur legend from the perspective of the female characters).
- Tristan + Isolde (2006), set about a century (around the 6th century AD) after the departure of the Romans from Britain (or Britannia), it tells the story of a war between the Irish and the people of Britain (Saxons, Celts, etc.), but especially of the love between Tristan and the Irish princess Isolde (based on the medieval legends of Tristan and Iseult).
- The Last Legion (2007) connecting (in heavy fictionalized fashion) the deposition of the last western emperor Romulus Augustus by Odoacer with the myth of Uther Pendragon and Battle of Mons Badonicus.
Middle Ages (1000-1453)
West Europe
- El Cid (1961) (Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, an 11th century Spanish warrior known as El Cid)
- Kingdom of Heaven, set during the Crusades in the 12th century.
- Braveheart (William Wallace, a 13th century Scottish knight who fought for Scotland's independence).
- Henry V (1989), William Shakespeare's play adapted on screen by Kenneth Branagh
- The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, set in France in the beginnings of the 15th century. The movie is about Joan of Arc, the legendary female warrior during the 100 Years' War.
- Joan of Arc (1948)
- Joan of Arc (1999)
- The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) based on trial records of Joan of Arc
- Saint Joan (1957) based on a play about the life of Joan of Arc by George Bernard Shaw
- The Lion in Winter, 1968 movie about three ambitious princes who want the throne around 1183 AD
- The Lion in Winter 2003 tv movie, Henry II is in power as his wife Eleanor's plots with her sons
- Arn – The Knight Templar (2007) set in the 11th century, based on the story of Jan Guillous, Swedish writer and journalist.
- Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End (2008) A sequel to Arn - The Knights Templar.
- The Name of the Rose
East Europe
- An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God (2003) set place in ninth-century Europe, about Slavic tribes.
- Alexander Nevsky (1938), about Prince Alexander Nevsky, a 13th century Russian leader, and Battle of Ice.
- Alexander. Battle of Neva (2008), film based on Alexander's Battle of the Neva
- Boj na Kosovu (1989), set in 14th century, about a battle between Medieval Serbia and Ottoman Empire.
- Mongol (the rise to power of Genghis Khan)
- Prince Vladimir (2006) set in 9th century, based on the story of Prince Vladimir
Select films
At over 900 films listed by Harty in 1999, it is beyond the scope of this article to create a complete list. Listed here are some of the best and most significant films in both quality and historical accuracy as determined by a consensus poll of medieval students and teachers.<ref>The Best Medieval Films, from Mediev-l List and Paul Halsall</ref>
Date | Era | Title | IMDB | Country | Reviews | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1928 | 1431 | The Passion of Joan of Arc | [1] | France | [2] | Joan of Arc. The film was so powerful that it was initially banned in Britain. |
1938 | 13th c. | The Adventures of Robin Hood | [3] | USA | [4] | Prince John and the Norman Lords begin oppressing the Saxon masses in King Richard's absence, a Saxon lord fights back as the outlaw leader of a rebel guerrilla army. |
1938 | 13th c. | Alexander Nevsky | [5] | USSR | [6] | Russians defend against invading German Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades of the 13th century. |
1957 | 13th / 14th c. | The Seventh Seal | [7] | Sweden | [8] | About a knight returning from a crusade who plays a chess game with Death during the Black Plague. |
1960 | 13th c. | The Virgin Spring | [9] | Sweden | [10] | Story of Christian medieval Swedish family whose daughter is raped by vagabonds. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. |
1961 | 11th c. | El Cid | [11] | USA | [12] | Epic film of the legendary Spanish hero. |
1964 | 12th c. | Becket | [13] | UK | [14] | Based on Jean Anouilh's play about Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas à Becket and King Henry II of England. |
1965 | 11th c. | The War Lord | [15] | USA | [16] | Based on Leslie Stevens' The Lovers. Charlton Heston is a knight invoking the "right" to sleep with another man's bride on their wedding night. |
1966 | 16th c. | A Man for All Seasons | [17] | UK | [18] | The story of St. Thomas More. |
1966 | 15th c. | Andrei Rublev | [19] | USSR | [20] | Life of Andrei Rublev the great 15th century Russian icon painter (Andrey Tarkovsky). |
1968 | 12th c. | The Lion in Winter | [21] | UK | [22] | King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne. His sons and wife Eleanor of Aquitaine variously plot. Based ten years after the events of the Revolt of 1173-1174. |
1976 | 7th c. | Mohammad, Messenger of God | [23] | UK/Syria | [24] | Also known as The Message. Tagline: The Story of Islam. |
1982 | 16th c. | The Return of Martin Guerre | [25] | France | [26] | Fictional story, based on actual trial records about an impostor in 16th century Southern France. |
1986 | 14th c. | The Name of the Rose | [27] | France/Italy/Germany | [28] | Based on the novel by Umberto Eco. |
1988 | 14th c. | The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey | [29] | New Zealand | [30] | Seeking relief from the Black Death, guided by a boy's vision, people dig a tunnel from 14th century England to 20th century New Zealand. |
See also
- Middle Ages in history
- Decamerotico
- List of films based on Arthurian legend
- List of films and television series featuring Robin Hood
- Joan of Arc in film
- King Lear in film
- Macbeth in film