Good Historical Movies (period and otherwise)

**SwebozGaztiz** · 04-06-2008, 20:19

hey the dacii movie looks really really nice!well there it is a good bbc production about hannibal barca, i havent seen it completely but it doesnt looks like your regular hollywood movie, you should try to look for it, there are plenty of videos of that movie in you tube!gladiator is really good!but besides that i think that the old 300, ben hur or spartacus are good choices from what i have read although i havent seen those movies

other suggestion would be kingdom of heaven i really like it i know its not that accurate but its a good movie still!oh also i have read about a polish movie its old and its about a famous medieval battle im sure that is also a good movie, i just need to look for the name...

**cmacq** · 04-06-2008, 21:11

Originally Posted by Dhampir

I'm not knowledgeable about the time period to make judgment. But it is a good movie.

Crichton took a bet that he could make Beowulf interesting. The result is his novel "Eaters of the Dead". He makes Grendel into a barbarian horde and Grendel's mother a voodooish lady and cuts out Beowulf growing old and dieing in a fight with the dragon out of foolish pride, having him die as a result of his fight with Grendel's mother. The lessons in Beowulf--kinship, kingship--are lost, yes; but the kernel of the story is fairly untouched.

The narrator in Beowulf refers to the people as heathens because he's a Saxon Christian in Britain writing about fictional events in the past in pagan Denmark, even though the character of the narrator is an eyewitness to the events--so Crichton makes the narrator an Arab dispelling the disconnect between witness and account.

Interesting...

I never read the book and when I first saw the movie, a few years ago, noted the very superficial similarity to Beowulf. As an Arab was involved I naturally assumed the setting of movie was much later and was about the suppression of the Bear-shirter cult. I also mused that with some changes in costume and custom, it would make a good story about the resurgence of the native Scandzers against the Indo-European occupation at the start of the Late Bronze Age.

Dhampir,

speaking of Beowulf, have you read about the recent alterative view that the Grendel fight took place in Kent, England?

**Watchman** · 04-06-2008, 21:19

Well, Vikings on the Russian rivers already means a little later point than Beowulf. Wasn't that Muslim traveler based off that one historical guy, whatwashisname, Ibn Khaldun or something, who traveled there and wrote of his experiences ?

**Disciple of Tacitus** · 04-06-2008, 21:52

I believe it can be reliably said that the 13th Warrior is loosely based on Beowulf. It is NOT set in the EB time frame - not even close. As far as being historically accurate, I would say that it is a good tale, told well.

I am interested to hear that the narrator/main character (Antonio Banderas) is based on Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah Ibn Batutah (the full name of the traveling Arab scholar). AFAIK, ibn Batutah work is similar to other great traveling scholars/historians. I'm looking forward to getting his book and delving in, but it is a bit pricey for a good copy.

I have not seen "Alexander Nevsky" but am suprised to see that it has not been mentioned yet. It is based on a historical character/incident set in MTW 2 time frame. The battles are supposed to be excellent. i do know that the sound track is phenomenal. keep in mind it was made as propaganda in the Soviet Union.

**Disciple of Tacitus** · 04-06-2008, 21:56

Originally Posted by cmacq

speaking of Beowulf, have you read about the recent alterative view that the Grendel fight took place in Kent, England?

I thought I knew a bit about Beowulf, but realized that I do not know where - specifically - Beowulf was set, other then along the Eastern shores of England in one of the "Danish Kingdoms"

**cmacq** · 04-06-2008, 22:06

Yes,

you just reminded me of, 'The Messenger.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP84...eature=related

And...

there is this other very good one here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB4D...eature=related

painfilled yes, disfunctional indeed, but still very good, although it would have been better said in French.

**Tiberius Nero** · 04-06-2008, 22:21

Originally Posted by Justinian II

It occurred to me that one of them would be that rumored Romanian film SOMEONE mentioned here about one of the Dacian Kings... does anyone know what it is called?

If you mean "Dacii", it's basically a propaganda film, very loosely based on history; it is interesting per se, for what it is and tries to achieve, but not as a history film. Frankly I don't think I know of any decent historical films; you could try the series "I Claudius" (based on the novel of the same name), which is historical only in the sense that it presents as fact every piece of malicious gossip you can find in Tacitus, Suetonius, Dio Cassius etc about the lives of the first emperors, a bit like a review of our sources with everything found in them represented as true.

**Dhampir** · 04-06-2008, 22:43

Originally Posted by cmacq

Dhampir,

speaking of Beowulf, have you read about the recent alterative view that the Grendel fight took place in Kent, England?

IIRC, the fight took place inside the mead hall, Heorot. So I suppose it could take place anywhere where mead halls might have been.

Then the fight with Grendel's mother took place at the bottom of a murky lake and I don't know England well enough to know if there are murky lakes in Kent.

**cmacq** · 04-06-2008, 22:52

The theory poses Heorot, as a refurbished late roman villa, on an island near the mouth of the Themes estuary. And has a nearby tidal swamp once named after Grendel. Apparently, the island, at some point was named after the hall-house. Not stated therein, but possibly suggested that Grendel, as stated in the poem, was not entirely a mythic figure.

**Smeel** · 04-06-2008, 22:57

Beowulf takes place in denmark and the fight with the dragon in sweden I think. But it was a long time ago i actually read it.

**Dhampir** · 04-06-2008, 23:02

Originally Posted by Smeel

Beowulf takes place in denmark and the fight with the dragon in sweden I think. But it was a long time ago i actually read it.

As translated. But there is flexibility in translation.

But the author was in England so it's not unreasonable to seek the areas that were his inspiration.

**cmacq** · 04-06-2008, 23:06

Originally Posted by Smeel

Beowulf takes place in denmark and the fight with the dragon in sweden I think. But it was a long time ago i actually read it.

Indeed, this is the traditional view. Yet, this Faversham theory seems to have merit.

**Gaivs** · 04-07-2008, 15:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MveyHX7fmfA

**Ibn-Khaldun** · 04-07-2008, 16:57

i like kingdom of heaven and gladiator and even braveheart ...
if i watch them just like a story they are good ..
historically they are not that good ..

also .. have anyone noticed that those movies have awesome music??

will watch them all over again just because of the music

**Theodotos I** · 04-07-2008, 19:05

Ben-Hur is excellent and so is the original version of Spartacus(the one with KirkDouglas). I've seen Ben-Hur about six times since I was a little boy and enjoy it more every time. Wish they had naval battles like that in RTW!!!

**Ibrahim** · 04-07-2008, 22:58

Originally Posted by Theodotos I

Ben-Hur is excellent and so is the original version of Spartacus(the one with KirkDouglas). I've seen Ben-Hur about six times since I was a little boy and enjoy it more every time. Wish they had naval battles like that in RTW!!!

speaking of ben-hur, Kirk douglas just died last week.