Author:
Simulacrum
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Date:
10/1/2010 7:07:55 AM
Subject:
RE: I saw Robin Hood
Also, you should not look to Ridley for historical accuracy. In every one of his historical movies, he does a lot of research and includes a lot of really neat things (the use of historical lances and the giant re-enactment of the Battle of Hettin in Kingdom of Heaven, an authentic ancient pagan world in Gladiator, the interesting use of military hammers in Robin Hood, etc.) he always does something really stupid. In Gladiator, it was the absurd idea that Marcus Aurelius wanted to end the empire and make Rome a republic under the leadership of the Senate. In Robin Hood, it was the ludicrous proposition that the Magna Carta was intended to give some kind of French Revolution parity to all classes. Also, he rushes through how King John's marshal was able to unite a very divided bunch of estates against a concerted French invasion.
Oh well. The important thing was that Russell fooled everyone into thinking he was a knight, even though he began the movie as a common archer. This reminds me of how the Balian of Ibelin character magically went from being a blacksmith to a knight/general/engineer and stood off Saladin at the siege of Jerusalem (but first he decided to make everyone knights -- no king needed). Balderdash.