Ancient warfare movies

[cmacq]

I liked KoH too, It was underrated. It portrayed Muslims and Christians quite fairly. Even though it was filmed from a Christian point of view they showed the brutality of them, Which is not done enough I find, Christendom has been notoriously brutal to its enemies. Though to be honest it was far from historical accuracy... However pure historical accuracy does not make a good movie. Excellent writing, and it had well done action scenes. I liked the music too.

Several Significant 'Points of Order'

...portrayed Muslims and Christians quite fairly.
First Point of Order: I don't really see why fairness would be an important issue here, unless it were to highlight ones personal preference and ideological leanings? One may have noticed that the film portrayed no monolithic theocracy, rather deep factionalism where members of the same warring party were more likely to fight each other than the enemy. I believe the film would have demonstrated this even more if Mr. Ripley had saw fit to correctly portray Yūsuf Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn ibn Ayyūb as a Kurd, instead of an Arab. Thus, during an argument with his Arab captains whom insisted employment of their strategy, the Kurd says in anger about the locals inability to remove the various European kingdoms, ‘What did you [Arabs] do before I came!!! ... I mean, before god, sent me?

Of course, said director is more than infamous for inserting his personal views into his movies. With that said, game-changing subtleties be damned, as Ripley still makes entertaining films. Personally, I did not perceive that this film depicted the two warring parties either fairly or unfairly. In simpler words, it portrayed each in turn pious individuals on both sides, adrift in a sea of brutality, opportunism, and desperation. Although I will concede, it has long been said that the understand of each, falls well within the realms of comprehension and ablity to recall.

...filmed from a Christian point of view.
Second Point of Order: If one followed the story line, 'Kingdom of Heaven' was filmed from a Frankish blacksmith's (Balian of Ibelin) and bastard son of an Italian/Frankish Baron point of view, who's religious faith had just been shook to it's core.

...Christendom has been notoriously brutal to its enemies.
Third Point of Order: Due to the subject and setting, I'm not sure where this careless judgment came from, or why it was offered? Despite our current surroundings, one may not have noticed, but war is inherently a brutal sport, so please desist, and do not belabor by attempts at justification.




CmacQ