fredcdobbs5
Shoddy, clumsily written, hammily acted, sloppily directed with very poorly staged "action" scenes--and those are its good parts. This is an Italian mini-series, but it's much more reminiscent of the "sword-and- sandal" mini-epics that cheapjack Italian producers ground out like sausages in the 1960s, and not as entertaining as many of them. The acting is on the level of an overheated silent-era melodrama, and the script is so confusing and convoluted it's hard to follow who's doing what to who. This pitiful "spectacular" has few saving graces, and one of them is the exquisitely beautiful Karen Proia, who plays "Maria". Well, now that I think about it, she's the ONLY saving grace this film has. I gave it two stars, and that's just because watching her made viewing this claptrap a lot less painful. Otherwise, avoid this thing at all costs.
aqcheryl-1
From the moment the film begins, already there is a discrepancy. As this film takes place on the borders of Normandy and the middle East, and is also an international film, one would expect proper accents portrayed. This is not done as the majority of the cast sound American. Also, I find the acting to be rehearsed at best, the story line a little difficult to follow from the beginning. Who is who? Otherwise the film is very accurate in costume and scenery. If you want to see a movie to get a feel of what it was like in the past (albeit the lack of accents) then this movie is worth a rent. If you're looking for a movie as epic as Kingdom of Heaven, then look elsewhere.
Marcin Kukuczka
One year after the premiere of Ridley Scott's outstanding epic KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005) and after reading the magnificent novel by Zofia Kossak Szczucka, I felt curious to see this film by Dominique Othenin-Girard. I am not going to compare the two films because despite their actions are set in a similar historical period (infamous medieval crusades), they are entirely different. What I am trying to do in my comments is discuss the film from an objective point of view since I am neither a great fan of this movie nor its critic but an average viewer. The film indeed has very strong points as well as quite serious drawbacks, which make it no outstanding production. Let me present some of the aspects of the film more clearly since there have not been many people yet who wrote about it.MAIN PLOT: Aurocastro, Norman Duchy of Taranto, A.D.1079. After the Saracen attack on the town, master Alessio (Armin Mueller-Stahl), an honorable man, adopts a baby boy, names him Peter, and raises him similarly to Andrew, his son. When the boys become adults, the town faces some difficulties from the cruel master, Corrado. However, his cruelty has its end. When his brother, Baron William (Dieter Kirchlechner), comes to the Duchy with his son Richard (Johannes Brandrup), he decides to bring order and justice to his land. But not all people are satisfied with this policy. Plots against him are more and more frequent. The conspiracies reach its climax when Richard, Baron William's son, sets free Peter (Alessandro Gassman) who is punished for a rumored affair with Maria (Karin Proia), the woman of Bastiano (Rodolfo Corsato), the most trusted man in Corrado's army. Aurocastro is destroyed, Baron William killed and deadly wounded Alessio dies with his last wish left onto the hands of his sons - to do the bell to a new cathedral that he had promised to Baron William. After these hard experiences, the noble son of Baron William leaves for a crusade but...not alone. Two other men come with him: Andrew (Thure Riefenstein) and his step brother Peter (Alessandro Gassman), the sons of Alessio. They are no longer masters and peasants but equal people with one aim: the Holy Land and its protection from "infidels". At the moment they join the crusaders, the greatest but bitterest adventure of their lives begins. The entire rest of the movie deals with various horrific events, revealed secrets, fights, slaughters, conspiracies, but also love and honor that they experience in Palestine. No one could foresee that these young men who were leaving their country full of dreams will one day return full of nightmares...CAST: SPOILERS: Although the content is quite involving, this movie cannot boast very fine performances. Mostly, the cast do not play very memorably. Alessandro Gassman in the role of Peter shows nothing special. He sometimes only "speaks" and does not seem to feel the role. Thure Riefenstein also portrays his character (Andrew) with no particular power. Sometimes, I get an impression that he does not feel very comfortable in the role he is given. Johannes Brandrup is better as Richard. There are, indeed, some moments that he plays really well, but it is difficult to talk of his outstanding performance. Just quite good. A young Slovakian actress Barbora Bobulova does a fairly nice job as a Jewish girl, Rachel, in love with books and a woman Pietro and Andrew fell in love with. There are two actors who are not given much time on screen but do really nice jobs: Slobodan Ninkovic as the cruel crusaders' commander of Viking origin, Olaf Gunnarson and Flavio Insinna as a prophet-hermit Bartholomew who claims to have seen St Andrew and calls on defending Jerusalem. Yet, one performance is marvelous and that is of a man whom I have seen in many epics: Franco Nero. He is given a magnificent, mysterious role of Ibnazul, a wise, elderly knowledgeable Muslim who loves peace and his field of science, astrology. Nero does a great job portraying a character of balance and wisdom.OTHER ASPECTS: First, there are some great moments that are worth seeing. What struck me was Pietro and Rachel's visit at Ibnazul while he observes stars. The scene is filled with mystery with Muslim sounds in the background. Another moment highly worth considering is the crusaders' first steps in the Holy Land. Most of them kneel and kiss the wet sand on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. Strange that they started to slay innocent people so soon... I also loved the symbolic moment when Richard calls Muslims and Christians for peace in the name of the Cross. Yet, immediately when peace talks are possible, the siege of Jerusalem begins from the crusaders. How many times in history peace was so close but wicked people disturbed it? Besides, the film touches an important truth: the misery of killing. We see crusaders being falsely led to a Jewish town and slaying innocent Jews since they thought they would kill "infidels" (at that moment, Muslims). What you also get in this movie are the key aspects of reality promoted in the heyday of the Middle Ages: hermits' visions having impact on armies, prayer at the relic combined with purifying the minds of people, conspiracies among the "believers", honor, sacrifice, and finally, building cathedrals as giving thanks to God.THE CRUSADERS is a nice film but not all viewers will enjoy it. Because of very long battle scenes, much politics and particularly specific content, it is purely a film for epic fans. Yet, I have to admit that it is a very specific epic. Therefore, I will put it like this: if you just liked KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, I can's promise you that this film will make your day. But if you are a real fan of Ridley Scott's masterpiece, you will definitely enjoy this film, too. Worth seeing as an insight into crusades' reality 7/10
