Customer Reviews

The Warlord

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Heston did a lot of films in his career, but some were overlooked because they were not the bigger than life Epics like Ben Hur and 10 Commandments.

But I have found Heston's works, The Naked Jungle, Diamond Head, Secret of the Incas (where Indiana Jones came from right down to the hat and leather jacket!!), The Big Country and The Warlord to be much more statisfying.

The War Lord especially is a rarely noticed and unappreciated film.

Set in Norman-Saxon England, he has been 'awarded' a small fief to hold against Frisans invaders (the same invaders that captured his father and bankrupted his family to ransom him). Tired of war, tired of the struggle, he is more than content with his lot - though not his younger brother, well played by Guy Stockwell. Heston only wants one thing more....the woman, a peasant promised to another. He can take her by right of being the lord, but he wants her heart and a woman's love.

Realisit portrayal of the fuedal person of post Saxon era of the Norman invasion of England, the performances are solid making this one special film, most notable the late Richard Boone (Have Gun Will Travel), one of the most natural actors ever to fill the screen. Solid action and battle scenes.

A must for Heston fans that want more than just the flash, a must for fans of medieval history, and an absolute must if you are a romantic at heart and love knights of auld and damsels in distress.

I saw this movie in its original theatrical release. I was impressed at the time with its attempt to portray the period accurately. It was the first movie I had seen that did not romanticize the period as was done in Robin Hood, Ivanhoe and other similar movies.

The story is about a minor knight defending a dreary castle on the fringes of Normandy. The costumes are realistic and the dirt, grime and poverty of the period are shown without any of the usual Hollywood gloss. The main story is a love story between the knight (Charleton Heston) and a local peasant woman (Rosemary Forsyth), but there is plenty of action, including a seige of the castle by barbaric Frisians. I wouldn't call it a classic, but it is well done and entertaining.

The DVD is the first I've seen from Goodtimes. The video transfer is surprizingly good for a film this old and on a disc this inexpensive. The color is rich and bright. The sharpness varies. The close and medium shots are good to very good but the long shots were both soft and showed some grain. The audio is digital mono so it won't exercise your sound system, but it was clear and the dialogue was never drowned out. The only supplemental material is a trailer.

If you like sword and armor movies, you won't go wrong with The War Lord.

I love "The War Lord". It's no Oscar winner to be sure but it doesn't make any pretense to be. Charlton Heston give a convincing performance as Chrysagon de la Crux, an 11th century Norman noble sent to govern a small backwater fief.

Guy Stockwell, who in my opinion steals the movie, is excellent as Heston's younger brother. He exudes that latent violence and ambition that inspired so many landless knights of that time to go on Crusade to the east.

Richard Boone also does a stand up job as the older, more experienced soldier whose job it is to squire Heston's character thru life. A little known James Farentino plays the local Celt in love with the woman whom Heston's character takes as his own.

This is just a wonderful period film with all the things that make medieval epics so much fun. Knights, longships, druids, castle towers, boiling oil, the whole nine yards. It's a wonderful way to spend a saturday afternoon.

This is a great looking film from 1965 that, as another reviewer mentioned, will draw some comparisons with "Braveheart," though it lacks the epic scale of that film. It's a much smaller and, in some ways, a more personal film. Charlton Heston gives yet another strong performance in the kind of role he was born to play, and is ably supported by the likes of Richard Boone, Guy Stockwell and Maurice Evans, among others. Look for a young James Farentino as the groom whose bride is taken from him during their wedding ceremony.

The film was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner who would re-team with Heston and Evans three years after this film to make "Planet of the Apes." Schaffner later went on to make "Patton." The film was adapted from a play entitled "The Lovers" and is, at heart, a bittersweet love story and not quite the action/adventure film that some viewers might expect, though the attack on the castle during the second half of the film is exciting and well staged.

Thanks to Goodtimes, an independent video/DVD company for releasing this film and other, older titles that they have licensed from Universal Studios. Thsy've done a fine job with this release; it's presented in widescreen format, but in mono sound (not surprising for a 1965 film). The picture quality is mostly great except for a few smoky, grainy scenes early in the film's opening battle, which suggests that this DVD release may have been constructed from composite sources. The DVD also offers a 3 minute preview trailer, complete with Heston extolling the virtues of the film, as well as English, French and Spanish subtitles and 18 chapter breaks.

The Warlord is a medieval epic about a Norman knight's love for a peasant girl he may not have but whom he keeps anyway, and the consequences that ensue. It realistically depicts peasant life in 11th century Normandy before Christianity has become firmly established and the attention to detail is impressive. The costumes are accurate, right down to the bowl haircuts and horses' trappings, and were clearly designed with the Bayeux tapestry in mind.

Charlton Heston does very well as Chrysagon de la Croix, the Norman knight in question. He manages to be both stern and tormented at the same time, and Guy Stockwell is marvelous as Chrysagon's spiteful, witty, and very jealous younger brother. Notable performances are also made by Richard Boone, Chrysagon's retainer and friend, Maurice Evans, the village priest, and Henry Wilcoxon, the Frisian prince. (Wilcoxon had his own day as a heroic heart throb; he was Richard the Lion Heart in Cecil D. DeMille's 1935 epic, The Crusades). Rosemary Forsythe, the peasant girl, is initally very good. She is both attracted to and afraid of Chrysagon and conflicted about her betrothed, Marc (James Farentino). She plays all this out very well, but seems to lose interest half way through the movie, and her acting becomes wooden and unconvincing.

The fight sequences are a bit long and do not advance the story much but there is a good lesson here about medieval seige warfare - the battering ram, a wonderfully constructed siege tower, catapults and flaming arrows. And in a time when there were no computer enhancements, the battles are well staged and effective.

In summary, the Warlord is an intriguing movie that has a bit of everything. Although it is almost 40 years old, it doesn't seem dated. There is action, adventure and romance, with a little education thrown in. The ending is ambiguous enough to have allowed a sequel - Son of the Warlord? The Warlord Returns? Duke William's Revenge? It is too bad that Charlton Heston has retired for health reasons. He would have been terrific.

Based on Leslie Stevens' play, "The Lovers", this Hollywood production added many action scenes to make the story into an epic full of 11th century battles, giving Charlton Heston, after having starred in "Ben Hur" and "El Cid", another athletic part to show his horsemanship, and ability to wield sword and axe like the Norman knight he plays in this film; it also shows his tender side, with Bronwyn (Rosemary Forsyth), a peasant girl he lusts after, and then falls in love with after bedding her on her wedding night, using the pagan rite of "Prima Notte", a law (supposedly fictional) that allowed the war lords of the time the privilege of deflowering the virgin bride (used also as a plot device in "Braveheart").

Heston is excellent as Chrysagon, the Norman knight, and he is backed by a marvelous supporting cast, with gruff and wily Richard Boone as a man who is Chrysagon's friend and protector, and best of all, a brilliant performance by Guy Stockwell as Chrysagon's devious and evil brother Draco; he steals every scene he is in, with a flamboyance that is just short of "over the top", and is vastly entertaining.
Other cast members of note are Maurice Evans as the Priest, Niall MacGinnis as Odins, and James Farentino as Marc, Bronwyn's husband.

The costuming and set design are meticulous in detail and period, and the circular castle is marvelous, with an eerie cold atmosphere.
Director Franklin Schaffner (who would work with Heston 3 years later in the box office hit "Planet of the Apes"), keeps the pace rolling with a lot of action, from hot oil poured from the castle tower, to fireball catapults and other medieval methods of warfare. Lovely cinematography by Russell Metty, much of it filmed in Northern California, and a score by Jerome Moross add to the enjoyment of this fine film. Total running time is 123 minutes.

There is a point in this movie when Norman warlord Chrysagon de la Crux (Charlton Heston) tells his love interest that there is more to the world than just the local marshes and the lonely tower in which they reside. But broadly speaking, 'the world' doesn't matter in this movie. You never see it and you don't miss it. One of the many charms of this movie is the fine job director Franklin J.Schaffner does in creating a small, set-piece world where conflicts are played out by very interesting characters--- the isolated fens and marshes, the lonely tower, the brooding forests inhabited by strange celtic-druidic peasants.

De la Crux (Creaux?) comes to this insular world at the behest of his liege-lord, a great Norman aristocrat, and Duke William of Ghent, though never seen, continually casts a long shadow across the landscape of the movie. Heston is perfectly cast as the disdainful (but of course, basically decent) Norman knight sent to periphery of the norman world on a thankless mission. For twenty years he's been successfully fighting the Duke's battles with little to show for it. Only his ambitious and more perceptive brother, Draco (Guy Stockwell) seems to grasp the irony--- over the long years, Chrysagon's loyalty and trustworthyness have induced the Duke to give him the most dangerous and least rewarding tasks.

This movie is at heart a sentimental work; to the astonishment of those around him, de la Crux falls in love with the peasent girl Bronwyn and seems to be grasping for a meaning in life beyond the typically ruthless and violent ambitions of a Norman warlord. But the movie's sentimentality is balanced by intelligent dialogue, both sharp and subtle character conflict, and the fine use of foreshadowing. The supporting cast is marvelous and there are wonderful subplots and triangulatons of character between Bors (Richard Boone) Draco, and de la Crux. This is not just Charlton Heston's movie by any means, although, quite typically, he shines brightest when the supporting performances are powerful.

I don't think it's an exageration to state that Stockwell's performance is brilliant. Draco's intensity, his thinly veiled resentment of his brother and his astonishment regarding his brother's love for Bronwyn are riveting. Richard Boone's performance is also very nice. He manages to invest the outwardly coarse and brawny Bors character with a degree of intelligence and compasion, but you still get the feeling that Bors could bite the nose off an ogre. The performance of Maurice Evans as the priest Uggo de Bullion is also kick.

Although the production values of the battle scenes are somewhat mediocre, this is a movie I can watch again every now and then. It's just fun. The celtic tribal wedding scene is memorable, the musical score is well adapted to the movie's plot and Rosemary Forsyth is eternally winsome. I highly recommend this flick!

Usually old movies are really cheesy and fake, but not this one. Hey, it's Charlton Heston! Along with Excalibur (directed by John Boorman) this is one of my favorite "Middle Ages" movie. The War Lord has one of the best, if not the most realistic battle scenes ever filmed-- the castle scene, it's uttlery fantastic. I'll take the realistic and non-glorified battle scenes of this movie over those of the Gladiator anyday. Also, Heston's love interest in this movie has that classic hollywood look, I can't describe it, but it's there. This movie is kind of the opposite of Braveheart, they're both dealing with Lords stealing other men's women, but in this movie they actually end up falling in love. Not too shabby.

The Warlord is one of those films that is rare. It's a period piece that was made at a time when they were primarily cinematic spectacles. But in the capable hands of Franklin Schaffner, this was really a film about tormented lovers who came from two different worlds- practiced and believed in seperate religious teachings, and who were misunderstood by all who surrounded them.

It opens in a time in history where warring parties fought over a fragmented Europe, while the conquered peasants tried to exist as best they could, trying to survive and carry on with their own traditions and beliefs, regardless of who held the momentary reigns of power.

It's a moody, well wriiten piece of work with a very adult theme (especially for the time in which it was made- the early 1960's).

Charlton Heston gives one of his finest performances, playing the battle weary warlord who is sent to govern and watch over them. Richard Boone and Guy Stockwell are excellent as the friend and brother in tow. They play a marvelous ying and yang to how Heston must govern- and how he must deal with the warrior threat that looms close by. Maurice Evans is a delight as the bumbling, bewildered priest and Rosemary Forsyth is properly mystical with what little she was given.

The only flaw is the ongoing battle scenes towards the film's end. They were forced on Schaffner by the studio to beef up the spectacle/commercial aspect of what was really a love story, and a study of pagan beliefs. It doesn't destroy the film but I came away wondering how good this film might have been, if they'd let Schaffner make the film he was trying to make.

Still, the mixing of Christianity and witchcraft- the love that springs between the lord and the pagan girl, from what initially is a cold act of conquest and a manipulation of pagan tradition....

It has some very interesting exchanges, excellent performances (especially Heston and Stockwell) and is definitely worth the watch.

Charlton Heston is in his prime and at his best in this film. It's very obvious why he was such a fantastic leading man. In this role he's rugged; tough but fair; harsh but tender. It all works with him. This movie is basically about this Warlord(Heston) and his younger brother Draco (Guy Stockwell)who became pauper knights when their father was taken hostage and all they owned had to be sold off to pay the ransom demand some 20 years earlier. Heston has spent these 20 years fighting for his Lord, the Duke, and turning over all the prizes to his younger brother who loves him but resents him of course because he can never be first, or the best, or the knight in favor with the Duke. Richard Boone is wonderful as what is really a surrogate father, but is the knight who was put forth to protect Heston's back by his biological father before he died. You really like all of these characters and become engrossed in their lives and what is happening to them.

Heston sees a peasant girl he wants, (Rosemary Forsyth)and after several encounters realizes she is already spoken for but can't give up on the idea of having her. When her husband-to-be and father-in-law to be come before him to seek his permission to wed, he gives permission but ultimately becomes crazed with the knowledge she is going to be lost to him forever. The plan for the right to the first night with the virgin bride is put forth and he once again has hopes of having her. The problem increases dramatically when after the first night, instead of returning her, he keeps her for his own. She of course is in love with him as well and their world is now this stark tower standing alone in what seems to be a wilderness. A major attack begins against the Warlord when the villagers join in with other enemies to fight what is now a common foe. We find however we are happy this great knight has managed to win the girl and have something of his own, something that he really wants and needs. We want him to be happy and to win. I think the era of romance and intrigue portrayed in this film is intermingled in our minds with the stories we've been told and read about: ladies fair who are saved by the knights and then kept for their own because they always end up falling in love with each other. Regardless, this is a love story that is very well told and you really do like every one of the characters (except for the falconer who is a turncoat). I watch this movie several times a year and I never tire of it. It's worth the price believe me. Do yourself a favor, buy it and enjoy it.