There's a lot of good movies to be had nowadays, but few really give you a ton of historical accuracy or faithful recreations of the time or text they address, and that's fine! Sometimes though, you end up with some real bastardizations like Beowulf (Christopher Lambert/Angelina Jolie versions both count) or Troy. I've got five here that might peak some member's interest and you may not have heard of.
Henry V (1989)
Notable Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Ian Holm, Emma Thompson, Judi Dench, Christian Bale
Historical Source: The Shakespearean play based on Henry V of England's invasion of France that was most notable for the famous Battle of Agincourt.
Reason to Watch: Branagh is the king of making Shakespeare films. Henry V is not one of the better known plays, but it is certainly one of the best stories. Featuring an incredibly graphic and violent battle scene at Agincourt that really brings everything to a climactic finish this is one of the best medieval era films to this day. The performances from Branagh and Holm are especially good and don't miss Bale as a child in the English army (seriously).
The Name of the Rose (1986)
Notable Stars: Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Ron Perlman
Historical Source: Connery plays a Franciscan monk, an order noted for it's use of logic and science to answer questions. In this case, Connery is solving a murder.
Reason to Watch: It's a murder mystery and one of the finer ones out there. It covers topics from the power of the church in the middle ages to the dangerous practices of the Inquisition. Slater is in one of his first ever major roles and performs well, but really, with Ron Perlman playing a hunchback do you need another reason to watch?
Rob Roy (1995)
Notable Stars: Liam Neeson, Tim Roth, Jon Hurt, Brian Cox, Jessica Lange
Historical Source: The Scots getting screwed by the English, it's a tale as old as the British Isles!
Reason to Watch: Roth and Neeson square off at the conclusion in an epic sword fight, worth the entire rest of the movie, which is great in itself. Also, Liam Neeson is one of the best actors out there and this film proves why. Extremely well acted all the way through and details (accuracy unclear) the life of a real Robin Hood.
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Notable Stars: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson
Historical Source: The Crusades, but portrayed in a way that places the blame on no one... except the Templars who deserve it.
Reason to Watch: Well, Neeson is in this one too, but even without him the movie really does a fantastic job of fleshing out both sides of the Crusades conflict. It isn't the best acted movie by Bloom, but the supporting cast is extremely good, especially Saladin portrayed by Ghassan Massoud. All in all it isn't the epic war movie the advertisements played it up to be, it is much more about the terrible price paid in the fight for faith during the Crusades. Surprising coming from Ridley Scott.
Excalibur (1981)
Notable Stars: Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne
Historical Source: Arthurian Legends naturally. Oh, and possibly medieval porn.
Reason to Watch: Hilarity. No, really, it's one of the most ridiculous adaptations of the Arthurian tales ever. It features a fully armored knight having sex with a woman (the defiance of physics is mind blowing) and some truly ludicrous performances by average-at-best actors. That's right, Neeson and Stewart might make and appearance, but they are hardly given any quality screen time, even with Neeson playing Gawain. Byrne's turn as Uther Pendragon isn't bad, but the rest of the movie is. It might be worth seeing almost purely for amusement at how poorly conceived it was, but then again maybe not.
Henry V (1989)
Notable Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Ian Holm, Emma Thompson, Judi Dench, Christian Bale
Historical Source: The Shakespearean play based on Henry V of England's invasion of France that was most notable for the famous Battle of Agincourt.
Reason to Watch: Branagh is the king of making Shakespeare films. Henry V is not one of the better known plays, but it is certainly one of the best stories. Featuring an incredibly graphic and violent battle scene at Agincourt that really brings everything to a climactic finish this is one of the best medieval era films to this day. The performances from Branagh and Holm are especially good and don't miss Bale as a child in the English army (seriously).
The Name of the Rose (1986)
Notable Stars: Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Ron Perlman
Historical Source: Connery plays a Franciscan monk, an order noted for it's use of logic and science to answer questions. In this case, Connery is solving a murder.
Reason to Watch: It's a murder mystery and one of the finer ones out there. It covers topics from the power of the church in the middle ages to the dangerous practices of the Inquisition. Slater is in one of his first ever major roles and performs well, but really, with Ron Perlman playing a hunchback do you need another reason to watch?
Rob Roy (1995)
Notable Stars: Liam Neeson, Tim Roth, Jon Hurt, Brian Cox, Jessica Lange
Historical Source: The Scots getting screwed by the English, it's a tale as old as the British Isles!
Reason to Watch: Roth and Neeson square off at the conclusion in an epic sword fight, worth the entire rest of the movie, which is great in itself. Also, Liam Neeson is one of the best actors out there and this film proves why. Extremely well acted all the way through and details (accuracy unclear) the life of a real Robin Hood.
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Notable Stars: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson
Historical Source: The Crusades, but portrayed in a way that places the blame on no one... except the Templars who deserve it.
Reason to Watch: Well, Neeson is in this one too, but even without him the movie really does a fantastic job of fleshing out both sides of the Crusades conflict. It isn't the best acted movie by Bloom, but the supporting cast is extremely good, especially Saladin portrayed by Ghassan Massoud. All in all it isn't the epic war movie the advertisements played it up to be, it is much more about the terrible price paid in the fight for faith during the Crusades. Surprising coming from Ridley Scott.
Excalibur (1981)
Notable Stars: Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne
Historical Source: Arthurian Legends naturally. Oh, and possibly medieval porn.
Reason to Watch: Hilarity. No, really, it's one of the most ridiculous adaptations of the Arthurian tales ever. It features a fully armored knight having sex with a woman (the defiance of physics is mind blowing) and some truly ludicrous performances by average-at-best actors. That's right, Neeson and Stewart might make and appearance, but they are hardly given any quality screen time, even with Neeson playing Gawain. Byrne's turn as Uther Pendragon isn't bad, but the rest of the movie is. It might be worth seeing almost purely for amusement at how poorly conceived it was, but then again maybe not.
