AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

bkoganbing Playing the title role of The War Lord is Charlton Heston in a tale set in medieval Normandy in the 11th century. It's a fine epic story even though Heston's character while noble for his time is also a bit thick.Heston is an honored and respected knight who has been given charge of a coastal area to defend it from the invading Frisians. He's got a company of men at arms including brother Guy Stockwell and family retainer Richard Boone. After one Frisian raid, the little Frisian prince played by Johnny Jenson is left behind and caught and naturally his dad Henry Wilcoxon wants him back. The natives themselves are a problem. The local priest Maurice Evans has been trying to win them away from their Druid religion. But it's a tough battle. Evans plays an interesting part and in keeping with missionary tradition. Though the function of a missionary is to win native people away from whatever beliefs they hold at the same time missionaries have saved native populations from the more depraved aspects of Christian civilization. Evans in his century is a whole lot like a David Livingstone.Guy Stockwell is the Mordred of the story. He's insanely jealous of the favor his brother is looked upon. He also is guilty of some of the clearest thinking in the film. That clear thinking is concerned with Rosemary Forsyth, a beautiful peasant girl that gets Heston's hormones charged. He reaches back to the Druid religion of the lord having first crack at a bride on her wedding night. But then refuses to give her up. They both fall in love, but the peasant kid she's married to James Farentino is also son of the village hean Niall McGinniss.It all involves the Druids teaming up with the Frisians the people who had been their sworn enemies with Heston having both Farentino's bride and the Frisian prince held at his tower. A good 40% of the film deals with the siege of that tower.The War Lord is a grand medieval pageant with Charlton Heston at his most heroic even though the man is absolutely dense to the consequences of what he's done. He's also a bit ahead of his times, but sadly alone there and it's never good to be too far ahead.Jerome Moross wrote a beautiful score for The War Lord that really captures the mood of those medieval times. Franklin Schaffner got a good ensemble performance from his cast. Pay particular attention to Guy Stockwell and to Richard Boone as well.

niutta-enrico A very detailed battle scene, a devastating ion, both depicted in a believable way. Amongst these, however, a repetitive confrontation among brothers, stereotyped characters and moral tenets (more pertaining to 1965 than to Middle Ages, I fear) which fatally influence the ending.Actors are outstanding: real stars. Charlton Heston fills the screen and makes all his scenes memorable. Rosemary Forsyth is such a beauty that it is not hard to believe that men could have fought for her. I wonder if you noticed: in movies from those years, girls are often incredibly attractive.

sol ***SPOILERS*** Almost laughable 11th century costume epic with Chuck Heston sporting a Prince valiant hairdo as blood & guts Norman Knight Chrysogan who's put in charge by the Duke of the a Druid village on the Normandy coast. Chrysogan's job among other things, like collecting taxes, is to protect the village from the hated Frisian.Besides fighting off the Frisians Chrysogan is also looking for some action in town since in being in combat in the crusades for the last 20 years he needs a woman's touch to relive all the pent up sexual frustration, in not being with a woman, he's since developed. Spotting the beautiful peasant girl Brouwyn, Rosemary Forsyth, feeding the pigs outside town he has his second in command Bors,Richard Boone, check her out for him and see if she's married or not. As it turns out Brouwyn is already taken or to be married to her boyfriend Marc, James Farentino. But because he's now the big man in town Chrysogan uses this archaic law about the right to spend the last night with a virgin before her wedding day he has things turn his way. As for Marc in seeing that his sweetheart and future wife is to be taken for the night by the lustful Chrysogan he loses it and eventually s with together his pop Odins, Niall MacGinnis, the village elder the hated Frisians.The film really starts to move when Chaysogan's jealous kid brother Darco, Guy Stockwell, starts to make waves in him shaking up with Bronwyn and spending more time with her then in defending the land or village that the grateful Duke has given him. This soon leads to a violent confrontation between the two brothers where Darco who had just come to the rescue with his calvary, in preventing the Frisians from overrunning the castle that his brother is commanding, getting the short end of the stick or dagger in his gut by a very reluctant, in trying to avoid killing him, Chrysogan.Besides all the corny and ridicules sub-plots in the movie it's the action scenes that saves the " The Warlord" from being the bomb of a movie that it at first looked like it was headed for. Chuck, Heston that is, is at his best as the fearless Warlord Chaysogan together with his top kick or #1 man Richard Boone as Bors as they turn the tide against the invading Frisians in the films exciting final battle scenes. ***SPOILERS***The heart-broken Marc who turned traitor when his love Bronwyn willingly dumped him for Chrysogan still seeks revenge against him only to have himself get run through, by a large tree branch, by Bores who by then was about the only on left, besides Chrysogan,of those defending the castle from the invading Frisians. The Frisians by then were so beaten up that they were glad to get back on their ships and sail back home,to Norway, to lick their wounds and forget they ever tangled with Chrysogan. As for Chrysogan with him looking like he's about to kick off, from the wounds he suffered by Marc nailing him, he's now a king or knight without kingdom in that by the time the movie is finally over just about all his subjects are dead & buried or just checked out,together with the Frisians, for good.

Spikeopath The War Lord stars Charlton Heston, Richard Boone, Rosemary Forsyth, Guy Stockwell, Maurice Evans, Niall MacGinnis, Henry Wilcoxon and James Farentino, amongst others. It's directed by future Oscar winning Director Franklin J. Schaffner (Best Director for Patton), and the screenplay is by PJohn Collier with the adaptation coming from the play, The Lovers, written by Leslie Stevens.The War Lord harks back to days of yore as we enter the 11th century and ancient Normandy. The film successfully brings the period down to the nitty gritty and doesn't glamorise either the characters or the way of life of the various social dwellers. Time has been afforded the pagan mythologies that existed back then, whilst the upper class' rights such as "droit de seigneur" (ius primae noctis) forms the back bone for our story as Heston's Duke falls for the Druid peasantry virgin (Rosemary Forsyth) he has claimed his right too, tho his inner conflict with the ways irks him so. Thanks to Schaffner the film manages to blend its dialogue heavy plot with some well crafted battle scenes, with the use of weaponry and tactics particularly impressive. You can see that this hasn't just been thrown together as a cash in historical epic featuring Chuck Heston. The cast are strong, particularly Boone and Stockwell, while Jerome Moross (score) and Russell Metty (cinematography) capture the time frame with skill.Rarely talked about in of historical epics, or even Heston epics come to that, The War Lord is however one of the more tightly written and thematically interesting movies from the genre. 7/10