Medievalists at the Movies: Assassin’s Creed
In between the exciting chases, hand-to-hand combat, and surprisingly well-acted dialogue, the overall film drags with too many flat moments of the lead actors staring into the camera or watching something happening from afar.
Get ready for medieval zombies on film!
Horror just got medieval! An Australian filmmaker is set to expand a short film about crusaders fighting zombies, hoping to create a web series. A fundraising campaign is now underway to give Black Crusade the chance to unleash its undead horde.
Movie Review: Pope Joan – Medieval Legend Comes to Life Onscreen
Released in 2009, also under its German title, ,Die Päpstin,, ,Pope Joan’ recounts the medieval legend of Johanna von Ingleheim, a woman who disguised herself as a man, lived as a monk, and eventually went on to become pope in the ninth century.
The World’s Worst Fantasy Film: In the Name of the King
What do you get when you mix Burt Reynolds, Jason Statham, Ray Liotta and Ron Perlman in a movie together? You get a horrible movie. Those worlds are never meant to collide, and never in a fantasy movie.
Friendship, Betrayal, War: “Soldier of God” Movie Review
A Templar and a Muslim; their strange friendship is the premise of this week’s movie based in the 12th century immediately after the disastrous Battle of Hattin.
A Viking Mess – Northmen: A Viking Saga Movie Review
This week’s medieval movie is Northmen: A Viking Saga.
Sir Gawain Gets an 80s Reboot: The Sword of the Valiant Movie Review
This week, we have the retelling of the epic Arthurian romance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in this 1984 fantasy reboot.
A Forgettable Fantasy Film: The Four Warriors
Another weekend, another medieval movie! This week, I review “The Four Warriors”.
Lacklustre “Last Knights” – Movie Review
My review of this disappointing venture featuring Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman.
So Bad, it’s Good: Movie Review – The Magic Sword
So bad, it’s good. If you’re looking for a medieval movie to watch and a laugh, The Magic Sword might be for you!
Disney’s Medievalized Ecologies in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty
As I explore how Disney medievalized nature, I also explore how Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, in a small but significant way, participated in mid-twentieth-century discourses on the environment.
Macbeth: Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard star in dark, gritty interpretation of Macbeth
Macbeth opened in October in London to critical acclaim. The movie is being released today in Canada and the US.
Sewing the Scene: The Uses of Embroidery in Medieval Film
This paper explores how embroidery has been used in films to establish, and often destroy, feminine space and autonomy. However, the most recent addition to the medieval film canon represents a distinct change in this trend.
The Top 10 Viking Movies
YouTuber Listy McGee has created his list of the Top 10 Viking Movies
Terry Gilliam’s deleted animations from Monty Python and The Holy Grail
To celebrate the 40th anniversary theatrical re-release of ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ and the release of the 40th anniversary Blu-Ray DVD Monty Python has put together this video of Terry Gilliam’s lost animations from the film.
Said in jest: Who’s laughing at the Middle Ages (and when)?
The essay begins with a negative image of a medieval scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is used to point out that the scene is a knowing parody rather than founded on a genuine belief in an unmitigatedly dark age
Secret Gestures and Silent Revelations: The Disclosure of Secrets in Selected Arthurian Illuminated Manuscripts and Arthurian Films
This paper explores visual language and iconic systems central to the representation of the Arthurian cycle in thirteenth and fifteenth century Gothic illuminated manuscripts and in two Arthurian films; its focus is the theme of courtly love and crucial revelations of the secret or hidden.
Movie Review: Dangerous Beauty
Late 16th century Venice, where a woman can be a nun, a wife or a courtesan. For Veronica Franco, the free spirited girl scorned by because of her lack of wealth, the choice is an obvious one…
Movie Review: Tristan and Isolde
As far as medieval movies go, Tristan and Isolde definitely isn’t the worst I’ve seen. I was looking for a movie to watch after work, and I thought, hey, James Franco, Sophia Moyles, Henry Cavill, and Rufus Sewell, all directed by Ridley Scott?! – this can’t be that bad. Well, it was pretty bad, but it wasn’t the worst 2 hours of my life. So what went wrong?
PREDATOR: Dark Ages
Watch medieval warriors take on the ultimate hunter in the galaxy in PREDATOR: Dark Ages!
Movie Review: Knights of Badassdom
When the people behind Knights of Badassdom wanted us to promote the film, I asked if they wanted us to review it. They said no. After watching it, I can understand why.
Macbeth trailer released – first look at Michael Fassbender’s upcoming film
This adaption of Shakespeare’s tragedy stars Michael Fassbender, with Marion Cotillard portraying his wife, Lady Macbeth.
Medieval Movie Review: Outcast
The emphasis of ‘Outcast’ was on stunts, not facts, language, costumes, weapons, geography, chronological timelines, or other elements inherent in a historical fiction plot.
Shadow of the Sword (The Headsman)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gives us a sympathetic Headsman in Reformation Austria, in the ‘Shadow of the Sword (The Headsman)’.
Knights’ Tales: Looking at Representations of the Knight on Film
The present paper will focus on different portrayals of the knight in English-speaking films. What medieval features are kept? To what extent is accuracy important? How do these films contribute to our own modern day view of the knight and the Middle Ages?