The lady responsible for the costumes in The Lost King….

I have heard mixed opinions about the costumes for The Lost King, mostly that the armour was spot-on but the king’s other clothes weren’t luxurious enough. Well, if you’ve wondered who was actually responsible for making them, here’s the answer:- “….A historical costume maker from Nottingham created some of the clothing worn by the actor…

Henry Tudor was a villain….

  “….Two years later, after being cast by Laurence Olivier as Henry Tudor in Richard III, he played a villain again in Child in the House….” Oh, the bliss of taking a sentence out of context. Yes, of COURSE Henry Tudor was a villain! The quote is from this link about the great Welsh actor…

The Lost Plot (by the Guardian) and ‘The Lost King’ Exhibition

A number of film critics have now viewed the new Steve Coogan movie, THE LOST KING, about the finding of Richard III’s remains. Reviews have been mixed but generally quite positive; I imagine it might be one of those ‘marmite’ films, which viewers either love or loathe. A exhibition in The Wallace Collection had also…

Don’t believe the medieval battles you see on-screen….

Well, I for one always like a damned—um, darned—good medieval battle…at least, I do from the comfort of my nice modern sofa. No nasty blood and gore for me, and certainly no dreadful screams and horrible deaths with all sorts of innards spilling everywhere. Oh, no, not for my delicate modern self. So we delicate…

The Middle Ages and the movies….

  “….In The Middle Ages and the Movies eminent historian Robert Bartlett takes a fresh, cogent look at how our view of medieval history has been shaped by eight significant films of the twentieth century. The book ranges from the concoction of sex and nationalism in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, to Fritz Lang’s silent masterpiece Siegfried, the art-house classic The Seventh Seal to…

Richard III meets Philippa and Harry at the Wallace Collection….

We’ve been deluged with reviews and information about The Lost King, and we’re flocking to see it wherever we can. But one thing has always been thin on the ground, and that’s publicity photographs. We’ve had the same few, so finding another (not actually from the film itself) with Philippa Langley and Harry Lloyd looking…

Would YOU include some of these in a list of all-time best historical films…?

  Here’s an interesting list of the “best historical royalty” films. Interesting….and peculiar. As well as some excellent period-based movies we have the likes of The King and I, the animated Anastasia musical and the Taylor-Burton Cleopatra. Maybe the latter will be acceptable to many, but to me it was a circus because of what…

The joys of catacombs, caves and labyrinths….

When we wonder about our DNA, origins and so on, there’s one that I’m pretty sure will never turn up in my distant history: I am not descended from troglodytes. I hate going underground—the Circle Line in London made my hair stand on end. My entire experience of caves consists of Cheddar, Wookey Hole and…

A new film about Charles II….

Well, if the above painting (left) really is “Charles Spencer….the younger brother to late Princess Diana” I’m impressed by his complete dedication to his subject, Charles II! Talk about entering into the spirit of things! 😁 I look forward to the ultimate film but am rather more enthusiastic about Steve Coogan’s earlier film about the…

Marc Morris on mediaeval television programmes and films …

… programmes and films about the Middle Ages, not actually made during them – which would require an even greater advance that the Viking discovery of America before Columbus … Here he discusses: The Game of Thrones (2013), Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (1991), Ironclad (2013), The Last Kingdom (2015), Vikings (2013), Braveheart (1995)