50 Best Medieval Movies of All Time, Ranked
The Middle Ages are an important historical period that has inspired filmmakers from the earliest time. This millennial period of Western history was marked by numerous stores, battles, and people, some of which have made it on the big screen in the meantime. Here is a list of the 50 best medieval movies of all time, ranked. Note that we are going to include movies set during the period known in Europe as the Middle Ages, which coincides with non-European civilizations temporally, but not essentially.
50. The Vikings (1958)
Directed By: Richard Fleischer
Languages: English
Running Time: 116 minutes
The plot is set in the 9th century, a time when the Vikings frequently attacked the territory of present-day England. The story centers on a bastard son of Viking chief Ragnar Lodbrok, named Eric, who is denied his identity until adulthood and rivals Einar, the chief’s legitimate son and heir. The film shows Viking customs of the time and shows the attack on the fortress of York in 866, carried out by the Great Heathen Army, in which King Aelle of Northumbria dies. It is based on the Norse saga Ragnarssona þáttr.
49. Camelot (1967)
Directed By: Joshua Logan
Languages: English
Running Time: 180 minutes
King Arthur has married the beautiful Guinevere and established the perfect kingdom with his knights at the “Round Table” (the “Round Table”). When the French knight Lancelot joins the group, he falls in love with Guinevere. This is exploited by Arthur’s illegitimate son Mordred, who has insinuated himself into his father and the court, to spin an intrigue.
He makes a meeting between Lancelot and Guinevere look like adultery, whereupon Lancelot flees and Guinevere is sentenced to be burned at the stake. Lancelot manages to save Guinevere at the last minute and flees with her. Arthur eventually realizes Mordred’s diabolical plan and a fight ensues between Arthur’s knights and Mordred’s followers, and in the course of the battle, Arthur kills Mordred but is mortally wounded by him as well. Guinevere retires to a monastery.
48. The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971)
Directed By: Roman Polanski
Languages: English
Running Time: 140 minutes
Spurred on by the response of a prophecy of three witches that sees him crowned king and his ambitious wife, Macbeth brutally kills King Duncan of Scotland. To secure the throne he then assassinates his faithful companion and friend Banquo, to whom the witches had promised to become the father of a lineage of kings. The trail of violence continues and Lady Macbeth, perhaps gripped by her remorse, falls seriously ill and then dies. Even Macbeth, now a slave to the witches’ predictions, is finally killed by the rioters who restore the legitimate heir Malcolm to the throne.
47. Hamlet (1990)
Directed By: Franco Zeffirelli
Languages: 134 minutes
Running Time: X minutes
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, knows that his father was treacherously killed by his brother who usurped the throne and married his wife. Now Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, sits on the throne next to Claudius, the murderer of her husband, and the young prince ponders her revenge; to fulfill his plan he does not hesitate to sacrifice the love that the young Ophelia feels for him.
The prince makes himself think crazy and the young woman suffers from it until she dies. Meanwhile, the tragedy looms over the throne of the usurpers and is unleashed when wandering actors arrive at the palace: Hamlet makes them stage a drama that traces his family history. Revenge will be inexorable, like a storm, and will lead everyone (except his friend Horace) to the grave, including the avenger.
46. Macbeth (2015)
Directed By: Justin Kurzel
Languages: English
Running Time: 13 minutes
Macbeth is a renowned eleventh-century Scottish thane (military leader) who, after having a vision of three witches who prophesy that he will become king, conspires with his wife to kill the current king, Duncan, and take the throne for himself. same. From this moment on, the ambition to maintain power will lead Macbeth into a spiral of paranoia from which he will not be able to get out, declaring war against anyone he considers capable of usurping his throne.
45. Alexander Nevsky (1938)
Directed By: Sergei Eisenstein
Languages: Russian
Running Time: 111 minutes
The film retraces a key event in the history of Russia in the 13th century: Prince Alexander Nevsky’s opposition to the invasion of the Teutonic Knights and in particular the Battle of Lake Peipus which put an end to their eastern expansion.
44. King Arthur (2004)
Directed By: Antoine Fuqua
Languages: English
Running Time: 126 minutes / 142 minutes
The film tells a fictional story based on archaeological data that the legend of King Arthur would have originated in a real person, a Roman commander named Arthur. In the film, which mixes historical evidence with elements of Arthurian legend, Arthur and his Knights (from tribes conquered by the Roman Empire) face off against the Saxons, who invade Britain as the decaying empire is retreating, leaving the inhabitants of the island at the mercy of invaders.
King Arthur focuses on political disputes, the fall of the Roman Empire, the advance of the Saxon barbarians, the religious conflicts between Christians and pagans, and Arthur’s desperate attempt to keep Britain together, which culminates in rampant barbarism, after all, everything was resolved. on the sword, with blood and death.
43. The 13th Warrior (1999)
Directed By: John McTiernan
Languages: English
Running Time: 103 minutes
It is an adventure film that tells the story of Ahmad ibn Fadlan, an Arab alfaqui expelled from his land after an affair with the wife of an important man of the caliphate. As punishment, he is sent as the caliph’s ambassador to the northern peoples, presumably vikings Along the way, he joins a group of Norsemen on their way to defend a village from a tribe of beast-men known as the Wendols.
Ibn Fadlan’s inclusion in the group is because a sorceress determines that 13 warriors must come to rescue the people, and that the 13th warrior must be a foreigner. Led by Bulywyf, the company heads north to fight the town’s fearsome attackers, who take advantage of the dark of night for their raids.
42. First Knight (1995)
Directed By: Jerry Zucker
Languages: English
Running Time: 134 minutes
Lancelot rescues a young girl, Lady Guinevere, from an ambush. He falls in love with her, not knowing that she is destined to marry King Arthur, King of Camelot. Unable to resist this love, Lancelot tries to get away from her, but when the Knight Meleagant kidnaps her, he goes to her rescue.
41. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Directed By: Luc Besson
Languages: English
Running Time: 158 minutes
France is at war with England when Joan of Arc reports to the French court. She is a young girl who believes she has a divine message for the Dauphin. Jeanne is so impressed that he gives her command of the French army. Jeanne leads the army to victory in Orleans and later in other places, whereupon the Dauphin is crowned king of France at Reims.
This triumphant intoxication is followed by disappointment when Jeanne tries in vain to take Paris with too few troops. She is then imprisoned by the Burgundians, who hand her over to the English. She is then charged in an ecclesiastical court headed by Cauchon for heresy. During the trial, she is visited in prison by the “Conscience”. At first, she resists her accusers, but after a series of stratagems, she is eventually found guilty and burned as a witch.
40. The Green Knight (2021)
Directed By: David Lowery
Languages: English
Running Time: 130 minutes
Sir Gawain, a newly appointed knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, sets out on a journey to test his courage and confront the Green Knight.
39. Robin Hood (2018)
Directed By: Otto Bathurst
Languages: English
Running Time: 114 minutes
Robin of Loxley returns to his hometown after the Crusades and finds that the Sheriff of Nottingham has confiscated his lands and castle. Furthermore, Marion believed the rumors of Robin’s death and married another. The young noble decides to reclaim his beloved and his property and fight for the rights of the cruel sheriff’s subordinates. Robin starts training with Little John.
38. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Directed By: Guy Ritchie
Languages: English
Running Time: 126 minutes
The story introduces a young Arthur who runs the alleys of Londinium with his gang, unaware of his royal lineage until he pulls the sword Excalibur out of the stone and, with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some tough decisions. Joining the Resistance and after meeting a mysterious young woman named La Maga, he will have to learn to master the sword, face his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern, who stole his crown and murdered his parents and become king.
37. The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Directed By: Wolfgang Reitherman
Languages: English
Running Time: 74 minutes
Whoever managed to pull out a magic sword embedded in a stone would be crowned King of England. The clever boy Arthur, unaware of the legend, works as a groom in a castle and dreams of becoming a knight. However, the wizard Merlin, who lives in the forest, knows the future and knows that Arthur will be king.
Thus, he moves to a castle tower together with his faithful assistant, the owl Archimedes, and assigns himself the mission of giving the young man a school education. Very confused, Merlin starts talking about things and people that don’t exist yet. His best lessons are when he turns Arthur into different animals, like a squirrel or a fish.
During these classes in the forest, they end up catching the attention of a witch, Madame Min. Seeking to impress Arthur and humiliate Merlin, she challenges him to a magic duel. Merlin wins and Madame Mim falls ill. Arthur becomes his half-brother Ken’s squire, but Merlin is angered and travels to Bermuda in the 20th century. In the jousting tournament in which Arthur was a squire, he withdraws the Sword from the Stone, becoming king, making Merlin return to his apprentice.
36. Quest for Camelot (1998)
Directed By: Frederik Du Chau
Languages: English
Running Time: 86 minutes
A girl named Kayley, who wants to be a Knight of the Round Table of Camelot, like her deceased father Sir Lionel, goes in search of Excalibur, King Arthur’s magical sword, which is lost in the Forbidden Forest after the failed attempt of the King Arthur. evil Ruber, a former knight and traitor, to steal it.
Pursued by Ruber and his monstrous entourage, Kayley must traverse inhospitable lands and face many dangers to recover Excalibur and return it to Arthur, because if the sword falls into Ruber’s hands, the villain will take control of Camelot. On her way, Kayley will meet some curious characters, who will accompany her on her adventure: a young and lonely blind man named Garrett, Ayden, the loyal falcon of the wizard Merlin, and the clumsy Devon and Cornwall dragons.
35. Valhalla Rising (2009)
Directed By: Nicolas Winding Refn
Languages: English
Running Time: 92 minutes
Around the year 1000, in Scotland, in the context of disputes between Christians and pagans, chiefs of Viking and Scottish clans made their slave prisoners fight in jousting with their bare hands. The main character, a one-eyed slave named One-Eye breaks free from his master Bard, killing him and then escaping with a slave named Are.
Both flee and join a troop of Christian Vikings who seek to leave on a crusade for Jerusalem. But the fog drifts their boat in the wrong direction, towards an unknown land. Tensions grow between Christians and pagan freedmen, as their situation in this unknown land worsens when they fall prey to natives.
34. Ironclad (2011)
Directed By: Jonathan English
Languages: English
Running Time: 121 minutes
After signing the Magna Carta under duress, King John Lackland decides not to stick to what was drawn up together with the English barons, with whom he waged the first war of the barons. Flanked by a contingent of Danish mercenaries commanded by Tiberius, he then begins to conquer all the fortresses in southern England to ensure absolute domination.
Meanwhile, the Templar knight Thomas the Marshal, the rebel baron William of Albany, and a handful of soldiers, reach the fortress of Rochester, designed and built to withstand a siege even with a small garrison, which is the nerve center of Southern England, through which it is possible to determine its dominion.
33. Tristan + Isolde (2006)
Directed By: Kevin Reynolds
Languages: English
Running Time: 125 minutes
After the withdrawal of the troops of the Roman Empire, the English lords are under the threat of the king of Ireland, Donnchadh. Lord Marc’h of Cornouaille wants to oppose him by unifying the English tribes and finally bringing stability to the kingdom. Tristan grew up alongside the lord, his family having been massacred by the Irish.
The young man is now the best fighter in Cornwall. After a battle, Tristan is badly injured. He is rescued and cared for discreetly by a young woman. This is the beautiful Yseult, who is none other than the daughter of the Irish king Donnchadh. Despite this, the two young people will fall in love.
32. Black Death (2010)
Directed By: Christopher Smith
Languages: English, Latin
Running Time: 101 minutes
An epidemic of bubonic plague ravaged the country, decimating the population. Osmund, a young monk, receives the mission to accompany a group of knights led by the fearsome Ulric, in order to investigate strange phenomena occurring in a small remote village. It would seem that in this place the dead come back to life.
Realizing that this is the work of a necromancer with a special connection to the village, the knights and the monk set out to find him and soon end up finding him in the person of Langiva, a mysterious young and beautiful woman. But the trip will quickly turn into horror when Osmund must make a tough choice between his faith and Averill, the woman he loves, after making a pact with Langiva.
31. Robin Hood (2010)
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Languages: English
Running Time: 140 minutes
We are in the thirteenth century. King Richard the Lionheart dies in a battle in France, which makes the warrior Robin Longstride and his companions Little John, Will Scarlet, and Allan A’Dayle decide to return to England. They happen to cross paths with Sir Robert Loxley, who was killed by Godfrey in an ambush. Robin promises Robert to return his sword to his father, Sir Walter.
Arriving in his home country, Robin meets Robert’s beautiful widow, Lady Marian, a strong and independent character that he immediately falls for. But Robin cannot rest on his laurels for long, for Godfrey is in England for a reason: he plans to overthrow the weak King John for the French to take over England.
30. Outlaw/King (2018)
Directed By: David Mackenzie
Languages: Englsh
Running Time: 121 minutes
Robert the Bruce is more warrior than statesman. Fiercely loyal to his men and country, he is equally fierce when fighting his opponents. He and his comrades resist attempts by England to govern them. Robert is crowned King of Scotland, unleashing England’s wrath. After a surprise attack, the proud king is forced into exile and declared an outlaw by the English king. Using his strategic and martial skills, Robert tries to win back his people and his nation.
29. Ivanhoe (1952)
Directed By: Richard Thorpe
Languages: English
Running Time: 107 minutes
The epic and romantic quest of a young knight, faithful to his king, to reconquer his honor, his rank, the heart of his beauty, and free his country from the oppression exerted on the people by a traitorous prince.
28. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Directed By: Kevin Reynolds
Languages: English
Running Time: 143 minutes
After returning from a Crusade, Robin of Locksley, a young knight, discovers that his father, Lord of Locksley, has been killed by the followers of the Sheriff of Nottingham, who in turn is a supporter of Prince John, who will do everything to ensure that Richard Heart of Leo does not return to power. Robin is targeted by the usurpers and flees, but always accompanied by Azeem, a Moor who owes him his life.
They end up in Sherwood Forest, where they are attacked by peasants who, in order to survive, attack the sheriff’s minions. Soon Robin and Azeem join the pack and plan to bring Ricardo back to power. In the midst of their struggle, Robin is helped by Mariam, a beautiful maiden with whom he falls in love and they marry.
27. Pathfinder (1987)
Directed By: Nils Gaup
Languages: Northern Sami
Running Time: 86 minutes
Aigin, a young Lapp, helplessly witnesses the slaughter of his family by a group of marauders, the Tsjudies. While the men are throwing the corpses into a frozen lake, he is discovered and escapes to a village not far from his igloo, chased by the men, being wounded by one of them. The villagers accuse him of bringing the disaster to their country and prepare to leave, while Aigin is treated by the beautiful Paiblin, who falls in love with him.
The next day much of the village leaves, but Aigin remains in the place with some men of the village, who want to help him in his war against the marauders. At night the soothsayer Raste tries to dissuade him from the enterprise, not being listened to by Aigin, who is then forced to witness the defeat of his friends, murdered by the Tsjudies.
26. A Knight’s Tale (2001)
Directed By: Brian Helgeland
Languages: English
Running Time: 132 minutes
Born a peasant, William Thatcher begins a quest to change his star, win the heart of an extremely fair maiden and rock his medieval world. With the help of friends, he faces the ultimate test of medieval bravery, the Tournament of Spears, and tries to find out if he has the courage to become a legend.
25. Highlander (1986)
Directed By: Russell Mulcahy
Languages: English
Running Time: 111 minutes
Connor MacLeod was born in Scotland in 1518 as an immortal. During a battle with an enemy clan, he is fatally stabbed by the Kurgan. However, MacLeod did not die, and the terrified clan members banished him. While hiking in the mountains, he encountered Ramirez, who was also immortal. Ramirez passed on to Connor his knowledge of the ongoing battle between the immortals.
24. Mongol: The Rise Of Genghis Khan (2007)
Directed By: Sergei Bodrov
Languages: Mongolian, Mandarin
Running Time: 125 minutes
The film (semi-historical) tells the incredible destiny of Genghis Khan. From his real name Temujin, this leader of the Mongols was one of the greatest conquerors in history. Between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century, he managed to unite the Turkic and Mongol tribes and created an empire vastly superior in size to that of Alexander the Great.
23. El Cid (1961)
Directed By: Anthony Mann
Languages: English
Running Time: 184 minutes
In the 11th century, Spain and Portugal are almost completely in the hands of the Moors. El Cid wants to marry the beautiful Jimena. Because he wants to establish peace between Christians and Muslims, he releases some imprisoned emirs. King Ferdinand, however, considers that gesture an act of treason.
22. The King (2019)
Directed By: David Michôd
Languages: English
Running Time: 140 minutes
The film is said to be inspired by elements of William Shakespeare’s plays Henry IV and Henry V and will center on a young, disgraced prince who has yet to learn what it means to be a king, and who is accompanied on his way by his faithful friend Falstaff.
21. Willow (1988)
Directed By: Ron Howard
Languages: English
Running Time: 126 minutes
Willow Ufgood is a dwarf and apprentice magician who has the help of Madmartigan, an expert swordsman, in a war against sorcerers and monsters. Together they must defeat all these beings to save a baby (later a princess) from the hands of a terrible queen, Bavmorda. Bavmorda uses dark magic to control the kingdom and fears the child, as a prophecy says he will be the reason for her defeat.
20. Excalibur (1981)
Directed By: John Boorman
Languages: English
Running Time: 141 minutes
King Uther Pendragon receives the magical sword Excalibur from the wizard Merlin. Just before he dies, Uther plunges the sword into a rock. The man who manages to pull out the sword will become King of England. Years later, Arthur, Uther’s bastard child, takes the sword from the rock and becomes king. Led by Merlin, Arthur gathers the Knights of the Round Table and marries Guinevere. But Arthur’s evil half-sister Morgana has evil plans.
19. Northern Crusades (1972)
Directed By: Marijonas Giedrys
Languages: Lithuanian
Running Time: 145 minutes
This historical drama is dedicated to the memory of the Prussian people destroyed by the Teutonic Order. The action takes place in the 13th century. The plot is based on the tragic fate of the leader of the Prussian-Natangs Herkus Mantas, or Heinrich Monte, who led the national liberation uprising of the Prussian tribes against the Teutonic Order. Taken hostage as a child by crusader enslavers, brought up in the Catholic faith, deserving of a knight’s cloak, and taking the German name of Heinrich Monte, he sacrifices everything for the independence of his people.
18. Warrior’s End (2009)
Directed By: Bjorn Anderson
Languages: English
Running Time: 105 minutes
While touring of the northwestern border, the prince of Midea and his companions discover invading armies from neighboring Kilea. Unable to summon reinforcements in time, the young prince must make a stand to protect his people.
17. The Last Duel (2021)
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Languages: English
Running Time: 153 minutes
The historical duel on which the film is based took place on December 29, 1386. Marguerite de Carrouges, nee de Thibouville and wife of the knight Jean de Carrouges, claims to have been raped by her husband’s best friend Jacques Le Gris. While Le Gris protests his innocence, de Carrouges challenges him to a duel as part of a judgment of God. These three people and the storylines are also historically attested by files and records. It will be the last legal duel of this kind in French history.
16. Richard III (1955)
Directed By: Laurence Olivier
Languages: English
Running Time: 161 minutes
A play culminating in the defeat of the demonic King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in the last act, Richard III is the dramatization of real events which ended in 1485, with a change of dynasty, the Plantagenets (Lancaster and York) giving way to the Tudor monarchy following the Wars of the Roses.
15. Henry V (1989)
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh
Languages: English, French
Running Time: 137 minutes
Henry V of England was a brilliant warrior and strategist. From a very young age, he had the opportunity to demonstrate his military skills. Real power was consolidated after the death of his father, and the main objective of Henry V was to recover French territories that corresponded to England by virtue of succession rights arising from the marriage between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England (12th century).
With this objective, Henry V assembles an extraordinary council of the nobility. During the session, two French emissaries arrive in the room, seriously offending the English king. These facts, together with his own conviction that the French possessions belong to him, trigger the war with England. Before embarking for France, he discovers a terrible betrayal.
14. Macbeth (1948)
Directed By: Orson Welles
Languages: English
Running Time: 107 minutes
Macbeth, faithful general of the King of Scotland and Lord of Glamis, and Banquo, his lieutenant, meet at the end of a battle three witches who prophesy their future: Macbeth will be lord of Cawdor and soon King; Banquo will never be King, but he will be King’s father. Once the meeting is concluded, the King’s emissaries honor Macbeth with the lordship of Cawdor, as the previous lord has fallen under the accusation of treason.
Seeing the fulfillment of the first prophecy and eager for the second, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plan the death of Duncan, the King of Scotland. Once the crime is completed, Macbeth begins his own reign of terror consumed by guilt and suspicion for Banquo, who was soon murdered, and for his dynasty, which survived and fled. The tyrant will later be defeated by Macduff’s forces, who have come to reclaim the throne for Malcolm, the son of Duncan.
13. Hamlet (1948)
Directed By: Laurence Olivier
Languages: English
Running Time: 155 minutes
Hamlet’s father, King of Denmark, has been secretly assassinated by his brother Claudius, who has assumed the throne and married the widow, Queen Gertrude. The murdered king’s son, Prince Hamlet, is visited by the ghost of his father, who has appeared to him and told him the truth of his death. Hamlet, crying out for revenge, finds a band of wandering actors and hires them to perform a play at the royal court, showing a king being murdered by his brother, under identical circumstances as Claudius had murdered Hamlet’s father thus hoping to confirm Claudio’s guilt by seeing his reaction.
12. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Directed By: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley
Languages: English
Running Time: 102 minutes
1191. Leaving for the Crusades, King Richard the Lionheart is taken prisoner by Leopold V of Austria who demands a ransom. Rather than pay, Prince John, the king’s brother, installs himself on the throne of England, helped by his right arm, the infamous Charles de Gisbourne. Robin of Locksley, a young Saxon lord, and archer of great value, refuses to recognize the Norman usurper and organizes resistance in Sherwood Forest to save his king.
11. Marketa Lazarová (1967)
Directed By: František Vláčil
Languages: Czech, German
Running Time: 165 minutes
The film takes place in medieval Czech Republic, torn apart by feudal strife, in an era when Christianity has not yet completely supplanted pagan customs. Marketa (Margareta) Lazarova, an innocent girl destined for monastic life, is kidnapped by a family of local Zemans who traded in a robbery. She falls in love with one of the kidnappers, Mikolash Kozlik, but soon an army sent by the king arrives to fight the robbers.
10. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Directed By: Ridley Scott
Languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, Latin
Running Time: 144 minutes / 194 minutes
The action takes place in the 12th century and is about the young blacksmith Balian who is forced to flee his homeland, France, after a murder. Together with his long-gone father and his relatives, he travels out of the country and eventually ends up as a crusader in Jerusalem where he is put in charge of protecting the city’s Christian regime against Muslim invaders.
While there, he witnesses the rivalry surrounding the king and the brutal conduct of some of the king’s trustees. These actions increase hostility towards the kingdom, especially from the Muslim locals in the area. The king is also seriously ill and some are waiting for his imminent death so that they can steer the kingdom in a more warlike direction.
Balian and the other defenders are soon put to the test as a large number of Saracens, led by the mighty Saladin, approach the city. As a young baron, Balian must lead the defense. The city is subjected to a massive siege and after an intense blow, the city wall breaks down. Saladin decides to give Balian and the rest of the survivors the choice of fighting to the death or being freely rented back to Europe.
9. The Name of the Rose (1986)
Directed By: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Languages: English
Running Time: 131 minutes
In the year 1327, in a Benedictine abbey in northern Italy, monks are found dead in suspicious circumstances. This abbey must bring together Franciscans and representatives of the pope – at that time, the popes of Avignon – for a confrontation on neutral ground. One of the most important Franciscans is Guillaume de Baskerville, accompanied by the young novice Adso de Melk entrusted by his father to the clergy. Both lead the investigation into the mysterious deaths.
8. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
Directed By: Joel Coen
Languages: English
Running Time: 105 minutes
The action takes place in Scotland in the 11th century. Macbeth, then chief of the armies, wins the war which ravages the country. After three witches predict that he will become king, Macbeth and his wife hatch a devious plan to seize the throne. This quest will lead them to madness. This film is a transposition of the play into an old black and white 1940s/1950s film, with Macbeth and his aging wife bringing a new dimension to the work.
7. The Lion in Winter (1968)
Directed By: Anthony Harvey
Languages: English
Running Time: 134 minutes
The film evokes the intrigues led around the problem of the succession of Henry II of England. It takes place around the time of Christmas 1183; the court is located at the Château de Chinon where Henry II resides with his mistress Adèle de France (alias Alix), who is however engaged to one of the king’s sons, Richard.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of Henry II and mother of their three sons, under house arrest for several years in Salisbury for having conspired against her husband, was temporarily freed by the latter so that they could study together which of their three sons would be the ideal successor. The sons are also present: Prince Richard, Duke Geoffroy II of Brittany and Prince John.
The King of France Philippe (Auguste) is also invited. He is the half-brother of Alix, both children of Louis VII the Younger, who had been Aliénor’s first husband (their union had produced two daughters but no son). The decision proves to be difficult given the dissensions within the family.
Henry refuses that his possessions (the kingdom of England, and, in France, the strongholds of Plantagenêts and the duchy of Aquitaine) are divided after his death; he wants a single heir and has a preference for John. Aliénor, who feels a mixture of love and hatred for her husband, gives preference to Richard. Geoffroy, who does not have the favors of either of his parents, plots on his side.
The alliances of circumstances follow one another; when Henry discovers that even Jean is plotting against him, he decides to repudiate Aliénor to marry Alix in order to conceive a new heir. He has his sons imprisoned and prepares to leave for Rome where the pope resides, who alone could authorize a new marriage. But, a little later, he frees his sons and abandons his remarriage plan. Aliénor regains his exile, and the succession remains unresolved.
6. Becket (1964)
Directed By: Peter Glenville
Languages: English
Running Time: 148 minutes
Henry II, Norman King of England, has problems with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, the king installs a Saxon, his faithful chancellor, friend and old drinking pal, Thomas Becket, in place of a faithful churchman. However, to Heinrich’s displeasure, Becket has his own opinions and opinions, which he vouches for. Becket falls out with the king, ultimately leading to his assassination in Canterbury Cathedral.
5. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Directed By: Carl Theodor Dreyer
Languages: French (intertitles)
Running Time: 110 minutes
In the beginning, the film shows the files of the trial against Johanna as they have been handed down in the archive, and with this reference to an allegedly accurate portrayal of the events, it claims its own historical authenticity. The film then begins abruptly with the beginning of the court hearing. Johanna claims that she received her mission from the Archangel Michael, who appeared to her.
The goal is the liberation of France. She refuses to interpret the apparition as a mirage of the devil and to sign a corresponding confession. She responds to being shown the torture tools by saying that she would retract any confessions later. Since she faints, she is spared the torture. She is brought to the stake for the first time and finally signs the confession (or the judge guides her hand with her silent approval).
So she is pardoned to life imprisonment, which obviously displeases the English captain. But before she is imprisoned, she regrets the confession and calls the judges to take it back. Therefore, Johanna is burned at the stake after all. English soldiers put down a popular uprising after an old man shouted that a saint was being burned.
4. The Princess Bride (1987)
Directed By: Rob Reiner
Languages: English
Running Time: 98 minutes
In the book’s story, an aristocratic young woman named Buttercup meets a Florin County peasant named Westley who always grants her requests with the phrase “as you wish”. The two fall in love but Westley decides to leave in search of fortune so he can marry her. Shortly thereafter, Buttercup learns that the boat Westley was traveling on had been attacked by the bloodthirsty Pirate Roberts.
As the villain is known for leaving no survivors, Buttercup thinks Westley is dead and falls ill in despair. Five years later, Buttercup reluctantly agrees to marry Prince Humperdinck, heir to Florin’s throne. Before her wedding, she is kidnapped by a trio of malefactors made up of a Sicilian kingpin named Vizzini, a giant named Fezzik, and a Spanish master swordsman named Inigo Montoya.
The intention of the kidnapping is to make the inhabitants of Florin believe that their Guilder neighbors were the masters and with that cause a war between the two kingdoms. But the bandits’ plans are derailed when a skilled black-clad masked warrior appears.
3. The Seventh Seal (1957)
Directed By: Ingmar Bergman
Languages: Swedish, Latin
Running Time: 96 minutes
In the 14th century, a knight and his squire, after ten years spent on the Crusades, returned to Sweden where an epidemic of the Black Death was raging. On a deserted beach, the knight meets Death and offers him a game of chess in order to delay the deadline, the time to find answers to his metaphysical problems: does God exist? Does life have a meaning? Is the plague epidemic the one spoken of in the Apocalypse?
While the squire professes the idea of nothingness, the knight refuses to believe it. Along the way, they bond with a young family of strollers who walk in the heart of the tormented country. In contact with them, the knight rediscovers the carefree happiness of pure souls and the simple pleasures of life, which he says he has forgotten since his departure on the crusade.
The knight is then checkmated by Death; his reprieve is over. The knight asks Death to reveal “his secret”, which replies that he has none. With his squire and a few meeting companions, he returned to the castle he had left ten years earlier. Death then knocks on the door and leads them into a fantastic danse macabre, where only the walkers are spared.
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Directed By: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
Languages: English
Running Time: 92 minutes
Most of the story is told in isolated episodes, connected only by the Grail quest theme and animations by Terry Gilliam. The credits of the film announce from the start the color of what is to follow: the names of the actors and the technical team scroll along at the same time as a false advertisement for Sweden, which becomes more and more untimely until that a message announces that those responsible for the credits have been fired; the credits then end in a flamboyant Latin American style.
1. Braveheart (1995)
Directed By: Mel Gibson
Languages: English
Running Time: 178 minutes
By 1280, Edward I of England, known as “Longshanks”, had occupied large parts of Scotland, and his harsh rule led to the death of William Wallace’s father and brother. Wallace is raised by his uncle abroad and returns many years later to his homeland. Well back he begins a relationship with his childhood friend Murron, and they secretly marry to avoid jus primae noctis as King Edward has proclaimed, as a means of getting rid of a Scottish desire for independence.
But after Wallace attacks a group of English soldiers who are trying to rape his wife, the sheriff cuts Murron’s throat without Wallace being able to do anything. Wallace takes a fierce revenge and slaughters the entire English garrison. After that, Wallace gained more and more followers and it brewed up to a violent revolt against King Edward and the English supremacy. Wallace is leading the uprising. And with his great courage and noble heart he fights for freedom together with his Scottish hordes of peasants.
