Medieval Movies

Cafe Society
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Okay, so some friends and I are trying to get back into our themed movie nights. This week, we’re trying “Knight Night,” an evening full of movies with guys in armor kicking the crap out of one another. The problem I’m having is, well, most of the movies I can think of are low budget crapathons, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I want to have a non-Crappy Movie Night for once, so I want to stick away from those. So, what are some good suggestions? Right now, we’re thinking Willow as a good one (more fantasy than knight, but Mad Mardigan does kick some serious ass, if my childhood memories serve me well). Other movies I can think of are:

Excalibur: See, this is the problem I’m having. Great knight movie, but not one that a group of people tend to find entertaining while drinking beer and eating pizza.

Just Visiting: Okay, I only use that term because I can’t remember the actual French tittle. I’d like the French version myself, and the schlocky “wacky nights stuck in the future” could go over well with said beer and pizza. But I’m really wanting to avoid this.

Dragonslayer: Again, a bit more fantasy, but good nonetheless. I haven’t seen it, but what how would Ladyhawk compare?

Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail: Great for the mood, but honestly…I’ve seen it way too many times (hey, stop hitting me!).

Dragon Heart: It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one. Could be fun, but I haven’t been in much of a rush to see it again, if you know what I mean.
If anyone suggests Black Night, I will find you, and I will hurt you…

That’s the only really big name one’s I can remember, anyone else got some ideas?

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Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness

You don’t need to see the first two to appreciate the third one.

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There’s an old BW (or maybe color, but old) medieval movie called either The Warlords or The Warriors which is excellent if you like battle scenes and swordfights. The siege of a castle in France by the English, or maybe an English castle in France–you know, the Black Prince stuff.

The best medieval movie ever is The Lion in Winter but it’s not a fight film.

The next best movie is Robin and Marion which does have fighting in it, and Sean Connery.

Finally, and I may mess up the name, there’s a fantasy sword swashbuckler movie called The Sword and the Sorceror (or possible Sorceress) that has some fun moments–every cliche from every sword and sorcery movie ever, actually. It came out around '82 or '83, and it had the feel of trying to establish itself as a series–following the adventures of the hero/adventurer, but nothing ever came of it.

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What about Braveheart?

Ladyhawke, from what I recall, doesn’t have too many knights fighting each other or anything like that. It’s a good movie, but I don’t think it’s really a men-beer-pizza-type movie.

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Oh, First Knight is okay if you can stomach Richard Gear as Lancelot, or ignore him to concentrate on Sean Connery’s King Arthur.

And the same goes for Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. A movie which improves with alcohol. And has Sean Connery at the end of the movie. Why don’t you just turn it into a Sean Connery medieval night! I’d come.

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Yeah, Evil Dead III is a good medieval flick, but definitely one that requires a certain taste for films that not everyone shares (to their detriment, of course.)

Excalibur is the greatest ever in that genre, but it’s 3 hours long and the latter half plays like a Shakepearean tragedy, which as you point out may not play well in a beer/pizza gathering.

Honestly, I found Just Visiting very amusing. I mean, it’s a gimmick premise, so you just have to expect a gimmicky film. I saw the American version with Christina Applegate, it had a few good gags and is the sort of goofy movie that might actually be perfectly suited for such a gathering.

Dragonslayer is a good pick too, I think you’re on the right track.

Recommendation: don’t even mention to your friends the mere possibility of watching Monty Python. At least a few of them will almost insist on watching that one, and the rest of you who’ve seen it millions of times already will object, and you’ll have a war on your hands. Of course, that might fit the theme, each side could choose it’s champions and they could joust under the eyes of God to determine the winner, for no knight whose heart is false shall prevail in the test of battle! :wink:

BTW, what’s wrong with Black Knight, am I the only one who finds pretty much everything Martin Lawrence does amusing?

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There’s always Camelot, but there’s so many close-ups of the actors you hardly see any medieval scenery!

Along the same theme … The Mists of Avalon? I haven’t seen the movie (only read the book) so I don’t know if it’s any good or not.

I’m not sure if you can call Restoration medieval or not, but it does have the Plague. And it’s a good movie. Robert Downey Jr. plays a doctor. Also Meg Ryan in a non-perky role.

Rob Roy might also qualify. Also, Shrek. :wink:

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The 1952 classic "Ivanhoe" has always been one of the best! The storming of the castle scene rivals anything that LOTR has done, in my opinion. I finally understood why everybody wanted to marry Liz Taylor after seeing this movie.

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There’s always A Knight’s Tale no fight but lots of jousting.

BTW the original title of Just Visiting is Les Visiteurs (Messire, un sarrasin !).

Also Flesh & Blood a Paul Vanderhoeven (sp.?) movie set in late Middle-Ages early Renaissance.

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While I agree about Sean Connery (he was the best thing about both films), I’d have to say that neither First Knight nor Costner’s Robin Hood are “medieval” films at all.

First Knight is perhaps the worst retelling of Arthurian legend on film (it compresses the whole story down to – what – a year? If that?), and has more modern elements than medieval ones. Richard Gere was a terrible choice, and even Sean Connery, who would seem a shoe-in for the role of Arthur, didn’t do all that well… mostly because his part was so poorly written. The whole movie is just dull. I’d give it a miss.

Robin Hood is at least somewhat more fun, but only in the way A Knight’s Tale was fun. It’s in no way a good medieval film… Christian Slater’s muttered “Fuck me, he cleared it!” is a priceless moment, but straight out of the 20th century.

Since nobody else has added it to the list, I nominate Ken Branagh’s Henry V. A good story, well-acted, and a great fight scene at the end. It pretty much fills the need for “guys in armor kicking the crap out of one another,” without being a “low-budget crapathon.” Of course, only watch it if you like Shakespeare (I happen to LOVE Shakespeare).

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Thanks for the suggestions gang, keep em coming. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t think of Army of Darkness. for some reason, it just doesn’t register as a “Medieval” movie, even though it was originally slated as Medieval Dead. The Evil Dead Trilogy is my favorite, so trying to get my friends to sit through any of them again is like pulling teeth. But I’ll watch it again on my own (if I can just decide which of the four copies I have to watch…)

Oh, and RexDart:

PLEASE tell me you’re joking. I can’t stomoch Martin Lawrence. I admit, I liked Nothing to Lose and Bad Boys, but in both of those, he had good actors to play off of. As the main focus though, he’s more annoying than Carrot Top.

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With all due respect, both First knight and RobinHood are within the same spirit as the movies mentioned in the OP, i.e. movies set in medieval times, regardless of whether a medieval atmosphere is kept. Excaliber, for example is far from medievally accurate–as my SCA friends used to say, pressed aluminum armor was hardly the rage in 5th century England. In fact, plate mail wasn’t accurate for a King Arthur movie. And if the language in The Holy Grail reflects a medieval mentality, I’ll eat my hat.

In the case of this OP, I read medieval as synomous with sword and sorcery, not with historical accuracy.

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Wait a minute, you can’t stand Martin Lawrence, but you thought Will Smith was good? Will Smith is an ok, non-threatening entity, and that’s allright but he really doesn’t have much character other than just being disarmingly friendly in everything. I like that sometimes, but I wouldn’t necessarily call that “good acting”. I guess I just like characters to be outspoken and over-the-top, though it’s hit-or-miss because I find some of those annoying and like others. Annoying: Pauly Shore and Chris Tucker…god, if they made a buddy flick together…<shudder>

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Eisenstein’s “Alexander Nevsky” (best viewed while imbibing Alexander Brewski)

John Huston’s “A Walk with Love and Death” which I liked for its nasty realism, but was panned at the time so thoroughly that it almost stopped Anjelica Huston’s career before it started.

“Warlord” mentioned above was actually about Normans VS Vikings, with Charleton Heston enforcing the “right of the first night” I don’t know if he sired any offspring, but this topic sure spawned a lot of Straight Dope threads. Hijacked hymens and threads aside, Richard Boone steals the entire movie.

“El Cid,” again with Heston weilding a two-handed sword, and Sofia Loren weilding her high cheekbones.

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My favorite midieval sword movies:

Princess Bride (AWWW cute), and;
Knight’s Tale (music and jousting! In a mideval society only about one guy in 200 lived to be 50, so it was a society run by and for teenagers), and;
The Vikings with Kirk Douglas/Tony Curtis/Ernest Borgnine - although that might be pre-midieval…
What about Eaters of the Dead? Not a bad retelling of Beowulf.

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I agree completely. I don’t particularly like Excalibur, either… though it’s far better than the horrid First Knight.

Yeah… I’m just a stickler. No offense intended. :smiley:

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The Mists of Avalon is pretty good – it gives an interesting perspective on the entire Pagan/Christian conflict, and, while there isn’t a lot of fighting, it really does keep you fairly involved.

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Yeah, it was The Warriors I was really thinking of–Errol Flynn as the Black Prince, I was just confusing the names. I haven’t seen The Warlord for a long time, but it also sound familiar.

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Henry V.
Gladiator.
Seven Samurai.
Crouching Tiger et al.

not much fighting in Mists of Avalon, by the way.

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The Seventh Seal – Not exactly a beer drinkin’ movie …
Navigator – Medieval peasants escape into modern day Austrailia
Knight Riders – The Arthur story re-enacted by modern-day ren-fest-style biker nomads