The Eagle film

[chaplain118]

Is anyone going to see The Eagle? I mean, I'm not too excited about the way they're depicting the Picts, but it at least looks way better than Centurion.

[Quintus Licinius Cato]

I see we have returned to leather segmentata, After looking at the trailer i'm going to say no. Its the kind of film that will make me mad watching it. 300 was a laugh because it was a total fantasy but this film is trying to recreate the period and small things that could be made right at little additional cost annoy me.

Is this based on Rosemary Sutcliffs novel?

[RebelCub]

Seeing how they are portraying the Picts as freaking Native American-ish tribalists is so freaking enraging.

[drecie14]

It's not that good

[Blarni]

Even if the 'orrible leather armour wasn't enough of the turnoff, I'm stunned that yet another film has totally missed the opportunity of portraying the picts (aside from the 'seal people' the other tribes are just miscellaneous barbarians in dull clothing) - Hollywood is so damned blind when it comes to the Roman era (and others, especially the medieval era) they should do the costuming as historically as possible because the real thing is so much more colourful, dramatic and striking than the dull crap their wardrobe department thinks up. I mean, what more could they want than bad guys who fight fully/semi-naked and tattoo themselves head to foot? - and may have limed and spiked their hair, or braided it fully (there's rather minimal evidence to support either)

As for the seal people, erhmm, they're portrayal as Inuit-like is just weird, and disrepectful to Scottish people as it divorces them from their ancestors. I used to love Rosemary Sutcliffe books when I was little, and she often mentioned what her characters called 'the little dark people'. She portrayed them as bronze/stone -aged, Iberian/Basque people, I think in those days (I think she wrote in the 70s/80s) she would have taken them from folklore and the Victorian mania for an older Basque-like indigenous people - which oddly enough is now supported with dna evidence.

[rometotal]

the best Roman film is Spartacus Blood and Sand .

[kingman1337]

the best Roman film is Spartacus Blood and Sand .

Great show. 300 and Gladiator meet Caligula.

[RebelCub]

I've still not seen 300. This is proof that negative press works. I've heard so many people say so many bad things about the movie that now I've no inclination to watch it. Really unfair, I suppose ...

And you are a FEMALE who likes the era and yet you haven't seen it??

Anybody who bashes 300 because it isn't historically accurate is being silly imo. The movie is clearly not supposed to be historically accurate... I mean, it has a scene where a creature with a goat's head is playing a lyre. It's like complaining that a Roadrunner cartoon isn't an accurate portrayal of real life because a coyote couldn't survive falling off a cliff.

Victor Davis Hanson even enjoyed it. It's a fun and entertaining movie. I'm an uber "films should be historically accurate" nerd, but I love 300 because I know that historically accuracy really wasn't even attempted.

[General Brittanicus]

I've still not seen 300. This is proof that negative press works. I've heard so many people say so many bad things about the movie that now I've no inclination to watch it. Really unfair, I suppose ...

~ Dani ~

Although i much prefered the original 300 from the 70's (or whenever it was released), the new version still had some good moments such as some of the speeches (especially the one at the end). so i would reccomend that you should watch it at some point.

And you are a FEMALE who likes the era and yet you haven't seen it??

Anybody who bashes 300 because it isn't historically accurate is being silly imo. The movie is clearly not supposed to be historically accurate... I mean, it has a scene where a creature with a goat's head is playing a lyre. It's like complaining that a Roadrunner cartoon isn't an accurate portrayal of real life because a coyote couldn't survive falling off a cliff.

Victor Davis Hanson even enjoyed it. It's a fun and entertaining movie. I'm an uber "films should be historically accurate" nerd, but I love 300 because I know that historically accuracy really wasn't even attempted.

Anybody who bashes any film, because it isn't historically accurate is being silly imo. They are films designed to entertain the masses not us few who are interested in History, so they are never going to do something that we would like to see.

[naq]

Anybody who bashes any film, because it isn't historically accurate is being silly imo. They are films designed to entertain the masses not us few who are interested in History, so they are never going to do something that we would like to see.

There are historical films and entertaining films. Historical films should be accurate.

There are somethings I don't like about 300 such as they portrayed Persian as blacks and their king naked. They may make them look evil, but why change their race and costume?

[RebelCub]

the new version still had some good moments such as some of the speeches (especially the one at the end).

Yes indeed. The final speech is actually one of my fav moments in any recent film. I'm afraid the "rescuing a world from mysticism and tyranny" line went over 98% of the audiences heads, but I certainly understood it. Victor Davis Hanson even commented on it, which isn't surprising given the central thesis of most of his works, which is that those wars saved Western Civilization.

The speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFOl-QXpLc4

[Sans-Souci]

[...] but this film is trying to recreate the period and small things that could be made right at little additional cost annoy me.

The "Eagle" which appears in the trailer seems to be inspired by Napoleonic Eagles. Or, maybe, by the Asterix cartoons.

As far as I know, the real ones looked like these (the first coins):

http://www.acsearch.info/search.html...=41&l=&page=11

Or here, the aquilifer in the center:

[MKeogh]

I see we have returned to leather segmentata, After looking at the trailer i'm going to say no. Its the kind of film that will make me mad watching it. 300 was a laugh because it was a total fantasy but this film is trying to recreate the period and small things that could be made right at little additional cost annoy me.

Is this based on Rosemary Sutcliffs novel?

Yes, "The Eagle" is the film adaption of Rosemary Sutcliff's "The Eagle of the 9th." I've read a number of Sutcliff's novels and I think that one is truly her best. ("The Lantern Bearers" and "Outcast" are also very good.)

I'm definitely going to check out the movie, but there are signs that it's not going to be very good. Firstly, the fact it got kicked to a February release date. that's NEVER a good sign. January, February, and March are months in which the studios release films in which they have little faith for their box office success. I believe "The Eagle" was initially slated for a Christmastime release for the juicier box office and possiblilty of award noms, but someone must have had serious doubts about its chances for any success for it to get pushed back to February. With a February release, the studio is simply hoping that it will compete better against the other "dogs" it's being released against.

Secondly, it's always been my experience that watching the movie first and THEN reading the book it's based upon is always better than doing the opposite. If you haven't read the book then you don't go into the film with any preconceived notions as to the characters and plot. Further, you don't miss any of the stuff that a screenwriter excised in order to fit several hundred pages of novel into a two-hour film. Unfortunately as to my viewing the film, I've read "The Eagle of 9th" at minimum 3-4 times so I AM going to watch the movie with all sorts of preconceived notions and notice every change to the story. It's far better to read the book AFTER seeing the movie especially since the book is almost always better than the movie.

[Spartan198]

Stop getting your panties in knots over historical accuracy. Last I checked, Hollywood wasn't a center of higher learning. Movies aren't supposed to educate, they're not documentaries.

As far as The Eagle goes, I do want to see it, but right now it's my backup movie if The Chaperone doesn't come to the theater in my city.

[Trevarian]

I see we have returned to leather segmentata, After looking at the trailer i'm going to say no. Its the kind of film that will make me mad watching it. 300 was a laugh because it was a total fantasy but this film is trying to recreate the period and small things that could be made right at little additional cost annoy me.

Is this based on Rosemary Sutcliffs novel?

I'm just going to throw this out there, 300 may have been a laugh historically, but it was never meant to be "historical". It was an adaptation of a graphic novel, so basically you need to look at it from that standpoint. In terms of action, special effects, and style, the movie was good.

As for "The Eagle", any movie with Channing Tatum imho is going to flop. I can't stand him.

[chris10]

I'm just going to throw this out there, 300 may have been a laugh historically, but it was never meant to be "historical". It was an adaptation of a graphic novel, so basically you need to look at it from that standpoint. In terms of action, special effects, and style, the movie was good.

True...and they ever said it from the beginning that it was an adaption from a graphic novel and not a movie with any whatsoever historical entitlement.

[willyum32]

I see we have returned to leather segmentata, After looking at the trailer i'm going to say no. Its the kind of film that will make me mad watching it. 300 was a laugh because it was a total fantasy but this film is trying to recreate the period and small things that could be made right at little additional cost annoy me.

Is this based on Rosemary Sutcliffs novel?

no 300 was a fantasy, it was based off the freakin comic, genius

[FeralBlueBird]

no 300 was a fantasy, it was based off the freakin comic, genius

That's exactly what he said.

[Marcus Publius]

I don't have high expectations for this movie.You can't expect very historicaly accurate movie from Hollywood. But I will still watch it.Maybe it will be decent movie despite the things mentioned.

[Rex Basiliscus]

If only EB historians would be their advisors