It was high time for another list. The Crusades are a fascinating theme and there is nothing to infuriate me more than to watch a bunch of fanatic Christians (or any other zealots for that matter but during the Crusades the Christians were disreputably active) causing mayhem.
Of the movies on the list I have only seen Kingdom of Heaven and Arn The Knight Templar. While I almost fell asleep during the first one, I really liked Arn as you can read in my review. I have a feeling that my list is far from complete, so feel free to add/comment should you know other movies.
- Richard the Lion-Heared ditrcted by Chester Whitey (1923
- The Crusades, directed by Cecil B. DeMille (US 1935) starring Henry Wilcoxon, Loretta Young
- King Richard and the Crusaders directed by David Butler (US 1954) starring Rex Harrison and Virginia Mayo
- El Naser Salah el Dine or Sultan Saladin, directed by Youssef Chahine (Egypt 1963) starring Ahmed Mazhar
- Robin and Marian, directed by Richard Lester (US 1976) starring Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Robert Shaw
- Hearts and Armour or I Paladini – storia d’armi e d’amori, directed by Giacomo Battiato (IT/ US 1983) starring Ronn Moss, Tanya Roberts
- Rytsar Kennet directed by Yevgeni Gerasimov (Russia 1993)
- The Crusades directed by Alan Ereira and David Wallace (GB 1995, TV), starring Terry Jones, Anthony Smee, Steve Purbrick
- Kingdom of Heaven, directed by Ridley Scott, (US/ SP/ UK/ GE 2005) starring Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Michael Sheen, Liam Neeson
- Arn: The Knight Templar or Arn – Tempelriddaren, directed by Peter Flinth (GB/ SWE/ DK/NOR/ FIN/ GE 2007) starring Joakim Nätterqvist, Sofia Helin, Vincent Perez, Bibi Andersson (see my review)
- Arn: The Kingdom at Road’s End (Arn – Riket vid vägens slut, directed by Peter Flinth (GB/ SWE/ DK/NOR/ FIN/ GE 2008) starring Joakim Nätterqvist, Bibi Andersson, Callum Mitchell, Sofia Helin
As you may have noticed there are two Arn’s on the list. The reason for this is that there is a longer and a shorter version available but the longer one seems to be in Swedish only.
All About War Movies 
King Richard and the Crusaders (1954?) Avoid.
Thanks for the input, I will not rush to find it. 🙂
Why?
The Crusades represents triumph over savagery and the Barbary civilizations of the middle eastern savage pirate tribes. Only a decadent philistine would think over wise or a descendant of savages with a log on their shoulders.
Kingdom of Heaven twisted the truth a little.
Yes it did but that wasn’t the only thing I didn’t like. I’m not much of an Orlando Bloom fan…
It did not twist the truth my friend. This is the truth. The christian crusaders butchered every muslim they saw whether it was a soldier or a 5 year old child. Attacking unarmed caravans was their most commonly used tactick. When you people see something you dont like you call it twisting the truth but in fact it is the clear truth. Muslims never butchered unarmed civilians or farmers or woman or children troughout the whole history. Unlike the Christian Templar Crusaders. Your own bible says it in the old testament that you should go dwell in the land(israel) and kill everyone in it man,woman and children. Christianity has done the more harm to this world than any other religion has done or will ever do.
Hi Kareem, thanks for commenting. I fully agree with what you write and so would Novroz. She is a Muslim and she certainly didn’t mean it did twist the truth when showing how Muslims were butchered. She was referring to another element but I cannot remember right now which one.
There is no institution that wreaked such havoc as the Catholic Church. I think we need to make this distinction. It wasn’t the faith, it was the Church. In those days the poeple couldn’t read they had to believe the interpretation of the priests. The Catholic Church was composed of a greedy bunch of old men. The old testament is strictliy speaking Jewish. Christians believe in the new testament. The Gods of the two books are very different.
In its essence the Christian faith is a religion of peace and love. At least that is what Jesus taught. The Church abused and distorted his teachings.
Many Christians were disgusted with the Catholic Church that’s why, much later, there was the second branch, the Protestants who aimed at purifying the faith and move away from Rome and the Pope.
@ Kareem…
“Muslims never butchered unarmed civilians or farmers or woman or children troughout the whole history.”
without getting too far into this “war of words” and accusations you seem to be trying to start… who did what on 9-11-2001?
Or have you been too preoccupied with distant past to remember things more recent… let’s not get too hasty when we say things like “never” and “always”…
Furthermore, to reply to you on this point, “Christianity has done the more harm to this world than any other religion has done or will ever do.”
I have to agree with allaboutwarmovies to some extent here… though he and I may disagree on some of the finer points of what it means to be a Christian (I’m not sure what his personal beliefs are atm). There seems to be some confusion on your part what a true follower of Jesus is like… just like many Muslims I have met tell me that those who are terrorist are not “true” Muslims, and they give the rest a bad name… those crusaders, are likely not true Christians – meaning those who believe in the teachings of Jesus, but rather misled men who would rather kill those who are different than to show them compassion and grace like Jesus did… They are not the “true” examples of what a Christian is…
sgtb, I think we do agree. I wrote in the final part of my comment that the Christian faith, and certainly what Jesus taught, is about love and peace. I made a lot of typos (as often in comments) and corrected them now.
I thought Kareem was referring to a long gone past or I would have felt the urge to add something about 9/11.
Misguided people of most faiths have done horrible things to others. I think only Buddhists have never fought any religious wars.
I certainly agree about the use of “never” and “alaways”… I should also be more careful when using them.
“The christian crusaders butchered every muslim they saw whether it was a soldier or a 5 year old child. Attacking unarmed caravans was their most commonly used tactick. When you people see something you dont like you call it twisting the truth but in fact it is the clear truth. Muslims never butchered unarmed civilians or farmers or woman or children troughout the whole history.” Kareem obviously is a Muslim this statement is without doubt the most complete lie I have ever heard in my life! kareem pick up a book and start learning to read outside your Mosque, This whole movie was twisted from the start , Saladin was no saint after capturing Gaza he slaughtered the inhabitants, He fought other Muslims for power ,after Hattin he executed the surrendered Christian prisoners and he threatened to kill or inslave the inhabitants of Jerusalem if Ibelin didn’t pay him enough ransom,The Christian Bishop of Jerusalem actually helped raise money and encouraged Ibelin to defend the city in the movie he is shown as a base cowardly human being , which was not true , Muslims worked for and even fought on the Crusader side as well so how could the Christians kill every Muslim they saw on site as you so falesly said! I don’t support what atrocities either the Christians or Muslims did but it was the way of those times, And the Crusades started as a defensive war to help the Eastern Roman Christian Empire which had been under attack by Islam since Caliph Abu Bekar and Omar’s invasion, please pick up a book and read some unbiased history before making dumb comments.
I’m glad I didn’t review Kingdom of Heaven as very clearly I need to brush up the details.
I checked now on Novroz older comment and what she had said was that it twisted the truth because Saladin had no big army but just a few men. I’m sure you know more about it.
Throwing myself in just for one piece: “Muslims” did not attack America on 9/11. A group of people who happened to be Muslim and yes, for them perhaps that’s how they took their faith, but I have many Muslim friends in America and I can assure you that they did not attack on 9/11. The entire war was directed at this specific group of people within the Muslim society, because it was them, not the entire Muslim society. You should be wise not to generalize as such, as that’s how you begin prejudice against people who have done nothing to you.
And this has happened for Christians and many other religions as well, so I’m not pointing fingers at Christians, but I do think that the comparison of 9/11 to the Crusades is COMPLETELY different. Both very awful events in history, but truthfully not comparable.
@Kareem i dont agree with you i mean yes christians were doing some very very bad things and those who did it should burn in hell but muslims did the same things maybe not in the crusades but trough years ottoman empire first they butchered raped and did some horrible things to the people from balkans…
Oh please. As an atheist I would like to think I am an objective observer in this and Islam is definitely the worst, most damaging, and violent religion in history. Christianity takes second place. But really I consider you all of the same religion. You all worship the monstrosity known as the god of Abraham.
All we can say with certainty about ‘holy’ wars is that people can do monsterous things when they think god is on their side. A terrible thing to consider is that these people, and indeed all people who today believe in the supernatural (god), believe these things and carry out these monstrocities without one shred of real evidence that any such being(s) exist…
I believe what they meant was the story line between the 2nd and 3rd crusade. ie Guy and Raynard were dressed up in Templar tunics. There were not Templars.Although there was killing by the crusaders, don’t get in a hissy and think the Seljuks and other Muslim factions didn’t do heinous acts. Nur al-Din took no prisoners.
LOL “Muslims never butchered unarmed civilians or farmers or woman or children troughout the whole history. ” thats so ignorant of you to accuse Christians of wrong doing while claiming such nonsense. Muslims killed countless children, stole women and raped them then selling them to slavery throughout their short existence. (even Volter wrote about it in “candid”). I’m from Ukraine and its history is filled with bloody muslims pillaging and stilling, raping and butchering. Even now the killing continues in Ethiopia, Libya and Syria against christian minorities. religion should be private affair but it seems that muslims have not gone through, “separation of state and religion” like western world did. On the other hand religious violence is considered as a myth by some since it all has political interests and applications.
havent you see what muslims did in Bosnia?
I was searching for Crusade movies. Your comments on the Catholic faith are disturbing and totally inaccurate. No institution on the face of the earth has fed more hungry people, clothed more needy people, cared for more sick or educated more people than the Church. Individual leaders have at times used their apostolic authority for their own agenda, but that is true of secular governments and other faiths, including Islam. In fact, if you keep up with current events you will see the mayhem, carnage and intolerance throughout the Muslim world. A Christian minister was just executed in Iran for refusing to convert, Hamas dragged a man through the streets on a motorcycle… Does that mean that you would conlude that Islam is horrible?
The Doctors of the Church were not “a greedy bunch of old men” as you claim. In fact, the only reward for many faithful Catholics has been martyrdom, including modern-day saints such as St. Mamillian Kolbe. Please think about what you are saying before you make comments. God bless and keep you.
Kareem, you are trully liar, aren’t you… Kareem A-Liar, that’s your name after all.
Our ancestors were both same, they loved to kill another because they’re scared of “something”.
I can say that mosleems were more cruel, but thanks to the leader Saladdin who had the golden heart… So, YOU SHOULDN’T EVER SAY ANYTHING HYPOCRATE ANYMORE
Kareem, the poor lil’ muslims, sniff… Now, thousand years later, they do way, way worse than any Christian has ever done, yet, not a peep against their savagery! Makes sense, doesn’t it? You’re an imbecile, by the way!
Did you say “Muslims never butchered unarmed civilians or farmers or woman or children throughout the whole history” ?? Are you really serious about this?
Better check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_violence_in_India
u really r a fool then because what would’ve happenend had tey not done it we would look like Iran or Saudi Arabia under Sharia law. all of human moral are from Christianity such as the civil rights movement, what about Martin Luther King are u a racist?
Whoa there people. There are good people, bad people and there are misguided people. The good people are peaceful, practice tolerance and friendship in the name of brotherhood, love and forgiveness. Bad and misguided people practice war and argument in the name of religion which are labels to hide behind and to apportion blame. Which sort of people are you?
Hi kareem , if u bothered to read kingdom of heaven biography is says fiction , its not based on a true story , if u bothered to open a text book or went had an education other than youtube videos you would.know that muslims took over ( massacrrd raped pillaged ) the Christians of syria jordan palestine iraq saudi arabia oman n former day yemen as well parts of egypt and lebanon , this is why a crusade was called, its averaged muslims killed over 1billion before 1 crusade was called so.please spare your nonsense leftist illuminati comments if.you dont beleive me.look at the world and read ” a history of.islam” it clearly explains that to you , lol idiots and if you still dont beleive me please go read ehat Salahudins own squalor said ” we are the aggressors as we will continue to horde the lands of the Christians one third we have already taken ” so please go get an eduucation
Bullcrap, Islam has brought at least as much destruction as Catholicism, and in a more brutal way. Both have been agents of cultural destruction and imposition .Islam does not get a “get out of jail free” just because Catholicism is big brother.
Also, Muslims started the invading, the massacres, etc centuries before the crusades happened.
Please, less modern political activism, more real historical research.
Stupid cuck. You have no idea what you are talking about. Muslims are now conducting a strategic invasion of the West and will eventually take over because people like you want to destroy Christianity which fucking created western civilization that you enjoy. There is a terrorist attack 1-2 times per week by islamists in western nations now thanks to idiots like you. The blood is on your hands stupid piece of shit liberal.
Kareem have you ever heard of Mahmood Gajnabi. What he did with hindus when he invaded India. Every muslim invader butcherd non muslim children and raped non muslim women in india.
The thruth is that muslims won easy because of their strength, all what orlando did at the end is lies x)
@David , as an atheist you don’t know a single fuck about religions so keep your ass shutted. Islam isn’t violent at all , only because some terorists were musulmans doesn’t mean the hole musulmans are bad stupid ass
@Nico
As an atheist I’ve studied various religions and each history is as bad as the other. You should try it sometime Nico, you will be surprised.
Islam is violent, and it’s in their holy book to destroy non islams. And they do it all the time, from the beginning to this very day, right now, as I Type this. To deny this is folly, and ignorance. Islam is evil. Period.
it was only a movie…but i did like it and also orlando bloom
it was a movie
Hi..i just wanted to say that both parts are equally bad,though i am a Christian…for example,Turks that occupied Balkan peninsula were doing terrible things(like boiling newborn babies,rammed people on stakes,etc…) and Christians have done many bad things too(killing innocent people,slaughtering…),but thats in the past and we shoud try not to repeat that evil things…Peace to all of you…
Amen to that, drunkensailor. Let’s not forget about the past but let’s not repeat it.
Oh and as for the statement “Muslims never butchered unarmed civilians or farmers or woman or children troughout the whole history.”
Try reading your own history : Khalid the conquerer the most brillant Muslim general without him there would be no Islam was fired by Caliph Omar for doing just that! He was replaced by a merciful man Abu Ubaidah
who while allowing Khalid to lead the army stopped his killings of unarmed civilians after the battles were over please read and learn don’t propagandize!
Hi I made you a nice little list that i’m going to call nobody’s perfect(not even the muslims):
1.A wholesome Muslim terrorist group know as Al-Qaeda are responsible for the 9/11 attacks killing thousands.
2.If a Muslim husband is caught cheating on his wife they stone his wife.
3.If a child is caught stealing they cut his hand off.
4.The Taliban pay children to handle IED’s and transport them from A to B many children have died.
5.They also plant bombs in peoples remains to give there western enemies a bit of a surprise when they butcher them!
6.Afghanistan produces 91% of the world heroine (I know its not quite on topic but I think its relevant).
There is a huge difference between fanatics and ordinary people, between Islamists and Muslims.
NOT TO MENTION THE BUTCHERY OF THE MUSLIM ARMIES OF THE MOORS WHO KILLED EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO DID NOT CONVERT TO ISLAM, THE MUSLIMS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR A LOT OF KILLING IN THE PAST AND THAT HAS CONTINUED TO THIS DAY, ESPECIALLY CHRISTIANS, AND NON BELIEVERS, OR INFIDELS, OR DON’T YOU READ, OR WATCH THE NEWS…. ALSO YOU SHOULD READ UP ON YOUR HISTORY, IT IS FULL OF MUSLIM BUTCHERY DONE BY MANY MUSLIMS, WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND SOLDIERS IN ALL ERAS OF TIME SINCE ISLAM WAS CREATED, BY THE WORDS OF THE MOHAMMED !!!!! QUIT YOUR LYING PLEASE !!!!!
Thanks for your input, PM.
Are we seriously going to argue which side was more evil? Why not wait and get the historical participants together for a debate? In Hell.
Neither side were angels. Both had their religious fanatics. I would have to say that the Christians were the first and worst offenders when it came to atrocities in the name of God. Nothing can top the well-documented slaughter of Muslims and Jews when Jerusalem fell to the First Crusaders. The second most famous atrocity was also by the Christians – the “chivalric” Richard the Lionheart’s execution of over 2,000 civilians after the fall of Acre. The Christians also routinely attacked Muslim caravans, killing innocents.
On the other hand, even the most noble of Muslim leaders – Saladin, regularly executed prisoners of war. However, these actions were usually retaliations and were killings of soldiers, not civilians. I must point out that when Saladin liberated Jerusalem, there was no reciprocal slaughtering of Christians.
As far as “Kingdom of Heaven’, although it has its share of Hollywood hokum ( Bayelin was a noble, not a blacksmith and he did not hook up with Sibylla), the theme that the Christians were worse than the Muslims is generally accurate.
You fanatics need to take your quarrel to another forum and leave this nice movie blog alone.
Caroline, tell them to shut up!
Thanks for your clarifications, warmoviebuff.
It’s quite alright to discuss things, it seems however that whenever religion comes into the equation, people’s discussions get more heated.
I started to doubt my own history lessons, as I had really learned the Christians were far more brutal in those days.
I think it started with a misunderstanding. Novroz really meant a detail, not the whole movie.
Good to know that the there was no reciprocal slaughtering of Christians after Saladin took back Jerusalem. This I didn’t know.
Bro are you. Normal ? Muslims slaughtered ovwr 1 billion Christians in iraq jordan syria libya sudan iran saudi arabia modern day oman n yemen n parts of lebanon and palestine before that event thats why the christians did what they did , how do u think islam was spread? It didnt just pop out like a daisy and take over Christian middle east easy they massacred all the Christians in the middle east raped and enslaved them you can just look it up its one of the biggest facts of the crusades but no one wants to talk about the pre events because it makes muslims look bad but its a fact , so bro.read up dont just listen to what leftist illuminati dole.bludgers say online , and saladin didnt let em off like he did when he took over jerusalem he enslaved most of the woman and let the men go only if they paid a large sum of money so the poor copped it bad , just look it up and you will know whats true n whats false
Dummy, u need to go live in Pakistan, Iran or Saudi Arabia if the moslems are so wonderful, Christian needed to do it
Another uneducated idiot , you talk about one event what about all the Christians that were slaughtered before that event the reason the Christian did that is because muslims massacred raped and pillaged all of the Christians in oman yemen saudi arabia syria jordan iraq palestine egypt libya n souther lebanon n modern day sudan , over 1 billion were killed their lands stripped and their children wives taken as sex slaves , that is why Christians slaughtered everyone in Jerusalem they deserved it as the jews in Jerusalem wanted the same fate for the Christians so good you all deserved it i hopw one day your countries get taken over and your parents n children killed or taken as sex slaves n if you fight back im going to say your both equally evil lol fukn idiots with no education
IT’S ALL TALIBANTA!!!!!!!!!!!!
HI everybody,
apart form these movies, were there any movie made on crusade war
i like this kind of historical movies. or any other sword movies with action packed. thank u
You would love Ironclad.
I just reviewed it.
King Arthur
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349683/
Good story, deserves better then it received.
King Arthur is one of my favourite movies but I included it in the list on Movies on the Roman Empire.
religion is the medium at which powerful people use to divide and conquer mankind into slavery…
Not anymore. Now it is the illusion of “freedom” (which you dont really have), advertisement distraction, propaganda bombardment… distractions distractions while they deprive you of what you THINK are your “rights”. Religious manipulation is frankly a thing of the past, nowadays, it is more an agent of resistance against those who manipulate populations today, because nowadays religion has “Fallen out fashion”, so to speak.
It is all relative.
I challenge anyone to give the name of ANY leader THROUGHOUT history who did not get to where he/she is/was WITHOUT lying, deceiving, killing or twisting religious beliefs in their followers. Please, people…until we acknowledge the sins of our ancestors, AND our leaders of today, we will only continue this abhorrant circle of unjustified “slaughter” of the innocent. Even today…many people, worldwide are suffering due to our leaders trying to point out who is better, who is worse, who is more powerful, who controls the oil, etc etc. GOD is not a religion, he is a being…of MANY names. Do not be so ignorant AND arrogant to say “CHRISTIANS” or “MUSLIMS” did cruel, murderous things. MEN in power, or women for that matter made and are making the decisions to further their power or conquest, at the cost of the innocent. Saladin fought in the name of Allah, the Crusaders fought in the name of Christ…I do not believe that God or Allah wants to see His people suffer at the hands of others for anything. That’s why the Bible and Quran preach peace to it’s REAL followers, though many leaders twist the words to suit their needs. Really think it through. Most of you have hate in your words. Until that hate in YOU dissipates, we will ALWAYS repeat history’s mistakes. Even Saladin was quoted once as “Nothing would be as glorious as all men living together in peace”, despite his warring ways. PLEASE, I BEG EVERYONE WHO READS THIS…we must find peace in our hearts and share it with our fellow man. I am neither Christian or Muslim. I believe in God. I talk to God. I have faith in my fellow man, despite time and time again being reminded of how EVIL we can be, and how easily faith can be misplaced. For example…feeling the need to write something like this on a blog ABOUT MOVIES. Stop the fighting. Start working towards a brighter future for our children, as a bright future for us is unattainable in our lifetimes. Don’t make it that way for our children. TEACH THEM PEACE. Blessings to you all.
Thank you, Jason, for this very thoughtful comment. I agree with you and that’s why I don’t want to add anything. I think you said it very well.
And also find it great that you add this on a movie blog. One never knows, someone might hear you.
Jesus Christ , that answered your essay
kingdom of heaven was a false re-presentation of the crusades because the Christian’s were the victims… the Sunni Muslim’s even killed other kinds of Muslim’s so that there would only be the Sunni and they went on to conquer Europe and then brave Christian men stood up to the Sunni tyrrany and drove them out of Europe and regained the Holy Land back to Christian control because it was invaded by Sunni
I’m sorry but I have a feeling this discussion could go on endlessly and nobody would ever agree.
I think Jason said it well and there isn’t a lot I could add.
I think trying to escape discussion by just throwing your hands up and saying “let’s all live in peace, nobody is guilty, just some man in power” is pretty intellectually dishonest.
There is historical investigation, formal, scholarly. NEVER PERFECT, and never 100% reliable, because each person , even those historians, have their own bias. At the same time, the point is right now is to discuss historical events, order and comparison of accounts, not whether Christianity or Islam has been worse, which is actually a legitimate discussion.
Do not excuse religions, which are systems of thinking, from their responsibility and role, because it is pretty arbitrary to only take them for their “love thy neighbour” little phrases and forgetting that they are both huge multo-faceted. They are not evil or good, that is ignorant to say. They are both a certain kind of response to certain historical and geographical circumstances that happened to succeed for complex situations. Religions are ideologies, people who hold them are not “victims”, they are participants. only children or prisoners can be regarded as such.
Saladin did not slaughter the inhabitants becasue THEY SURRENDURED.
when the Christians took the city in 1099 they slaughtered the people within the walls because they were forced to carry out the siege to the final assault. Every city that fell to final assault in that time was sacked and butchered…whther by Chrsitian or Muslim or pagan soldiers. it was a rule of warfare
Richard executed the 200 civilians mostly becasue he had no way to care for them and their city was destroyed. It was not in our eyes a good decision but to him he was putting them out of misery. If he let them live they wouldve been a stranded population with no shelter or supplies
That’s interesting, thanks for the input.
Dear Brian I don’t want to offend you but the truce has always been broken by the Christians, one of the Muslim forts which surrendered to the Richard the Lion Heart, each and everyone was be headed by the christian army, moreover 90 years before Saladin when christian took Jerusalem from Muslims more than One million Muslims were massacred, the Christian Soldiers reported that the blood of Muslims had reached the knees of their horses…
Brother to talk truth is good but to admit wrong is better.
A Muslims character is merciful because we follow the teachings of all the prophets, even Jesus (MPBUH) and if being a christian would mean following the teachings Jesus and not calling him God or the Son of God then we Muslims are more Christians than the Christians themselves. Salam O alaikum !!! Peace !!!
False, muslims took over ( massacred killed enslaved n raped) all of the Christians in the middle east iraq syria jordan saudi arabia oman yemen libya egypt palestine these were all majority Christian lands , then Richard came , muslims.killed over 1 billion Christians in the middle east thats how they took over , just read all the muslim.squalors and commanders and history of islam., lol how did you think islam spread they werent just born in the middle east lol? You were upset how richard beheaded 90, well im upset muslims killed and enslaved over 1 billion Christians took their lands wives and children and now are trying to play victims , and just a quick note they are stil killling Christians in the middle east today so clearly they havent changed , so please before you get upset about 90 heads think of the other 1billion your ” ancestors ” killed and still continue to do today
ah, all the children of abraham, killing, hating. brilliant !!!
@sgtb
“without getting too far into this “war of words” and accusations you seem to be trying to start… who did what on 9-11-2001?”
LOL talk about ignorance, i think you should watch less movies and do a bit more reading on that subject. I think everyone knows 9/11 WAS NOT done by anyone BUT the US Government. Before you make another ignorant reply, and i say that to all, go read alittle bit on controlled demolition and then watch how the twin towers went down.
Alright a few questions about 9/11,
Why was no Jew present in the WTC on the very day???
Why are americans themselves saying it was an inside job???
few renowned names who believe it was a inside job …
Gabriel Day
Santa Cruz, CA
Bonnie Faulkner
Glen Ellen, CA
Mickey Huff
Berkeley, CA
David Kubiak
Half Moon Bay, CA
David Mathison
San Francisco
Janice Matthews
Kansas City, MO
Peter Phillips
Sonoma, CA
Ken Reiner
Long Beach, CA
Bryan Sacks
Philadelphia, PA
According to Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, the ”war on terrorism” is a complete fabrication based on the illusion that one man, Osama bin Laden, outwitted the $40 billion-a-year American intelligence apparatus. The “war on terrorism” is a war of conquest. Globalization is the final march to the “New World Order”, dominated by Wall Street and the U.S. military industrial complex.
and brother your advice suites you the best ” SO START READING 😉
ok and muslims are perfect lets look at israel and gaza. also who said NO jews where present in the WTC, You and yoru facts are totally incorrect, people of all nations where present in the WTC, also who says jews where not present in the planes which hit both towers? have you forgotten the other planes which never reached their destinations? Let me guess you love hitler and your into antisemitism? Ooooops maybe your a muslim sympathizer either way before you put your fingers on the keyboard I suggest you write factual evidence, not lies and propaganda.
Muslims.killed over 1 billion Christians in the spread of islam.and still continue to persecute them today , Americans aid them in their persecution and did the september 11 to themselves , both more evil than each other God help us yuk
so the planes didnt play a part?
Also someone mentioned 91% of the worlds opium field is in afganistan. youre damn right it is. And guess whos gaurding it? The US. Stop putting so much passion into movie reviews and more into the present day wars going on on your selves via propaganda by the media.
If we stop hating each other and look at the past and present of christians and muslims we would be able to understand that it was never the faith that caused collision between the two of these, rather there were always political motivations and wested interests of some expensionist on each side. Religion has been used as a tool to fuel to situation.
@Michael
leaving a comment such as ‘Stop putting so much passion into movie reviews’ Is rather counter-productive on a forum such as this.
I’m no Crusades expert. I believe much of the human narrative was changed simply to elevate its standing as a story rather than a scholary work. Aside from this, the setting which covers the legacy of the Second Crusade is rather accurate. Race should not really be an issue here, as hollywood has evened things out.
Im a Reconquista specialist, if you check out Samuel Bronstons 1961 epic ‘El Cid’ based on Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, you’ll see the race divide was rather obvious. In that context, we could argue whether that was really hollywood, or if it was just the Influence of Francisco Francos government who funded the project to no end.
Musims and Christians are all humans. Humans have the capability to do awful awful things. With this in mind, it would be absolutely fruitless to argue against Muslims and Christians being murderers, rapists and pillagers. If a humans did it, and they happened to be Muslim or Christian, then its just logic to suggest that they were acting as that specific community.
Muslims have murdered. The very history of Islam was forged in the hottest flame, on the battlefield. Anatolia, North Africa didnt just say ‘Hey ho, lets scrap our Orthodox/Coptic/Arian churches and adopt this fabulous new faith that encourages us to unlock the potential of our nature.’ – It was cold hard warfare.
Christianity on the other hand has different parameters. Again, coming from a Hispanists point of view. Catholicism was adopted more than it was forced. Think of it as a ‘club’ which the Pope administrated. Being under the Vaticans axis had great perks – such as relative security against other Catholic neighbors.
The unity of the Catholic Crusaders in 1098 did much for their success. Especially as the Seljuk Turks, Fatimids, Abbassids, Almoravids, Almohads, Gurids, Ghorids, Persians, Syrians and Ayubidds were all at each others throat.
The only reason why Jerusalem was captured in the First Crusade was because Rizwan of Aleppo was too busy fighting his brother Duqaq of Damascus. When Duqaq won he ordered the mutilation of his Brothers whole army and staff. Murdered his brother and his family to ‘wipe his seed off the face of this holy earth.’
I have talked at length now, but my main point is to highlight the fact that everyone has fought and commited attrocities no matter what their understanding of God.
Thank you Tach for this infomative and interesting comment.
I’m not an expert on this era that’s why I have given up answering although usually I answer all the comments.
I equally refuse to close the comments section as I do not like the idea of censoring a discussion.
I think I was right. If I had closed it down we wouldn’t have the opportunity to read your interesting comment.
This is historically correct I have checked the primary sources on this.
Very nice comment, and you are right about the areas that we now know as the Latin countries, but it is also known that Germanic and Nordic areas were pretty much forced through dirty means to adopt Christianity.
Charlemagne helped push it on what remained of Germanic resistance. Kidnappings of leader’s children, torturing and burning of pagans, etc. Where Christianity could not “convince” it spread through terror.
The Muslims did this even more, of course, they were traditionally a much more ignorant and militant group from the beginning, only becoming more refined in time through outside literacy (I mean, muslim philosophers and mathematicians come from lines of thinking and sources older than islam, not produced by it), while Catholicism was essentially intellectually driven and pushed on the masses from its inception.
These distinctions have a lot of implications, which cannot be simplified since they evolved through the centuries….
[…] of the only really controversial and heated discussion on this blog. A while ago I wrote a post on Movies on the Crusades: A List. It is the only post on which people still comment frequently, calling each other names and being […]
[…] but that was a mild controversy. However there was a very controversial one on my movie blog on Movies on the Crusades. I was even tempted to close the comments […]
Ow wow!!! I didn’t realize it goes this far!!! what an eye opener!!
I know that you know what I meant by twisting the truth Caroline but I never realize it will become something like a religion debate. My words is for the way the movie depicted as if Salahudin could defeat Jerusalem easily because he had massive army where as the truth was the other way around, Salahudin had so little army but his cleverness outnumbered the Christian in Jerusalem and that was why he is remembered.
About the killing and stuffs…it’s a war, despite of anyone’s religion, they bound to kill each other.
Tach said it correctly
I am Muslim by heart, mind and soul…but I hated it when any group claiming to kill anyone in the name of Allah…because that is not how it supposed to be.
Yes, it got a bit out of hand because of some random comment. I wasn’t too sure what you had meant initially but knew it wasn’t anything negative.
Still, I don’t want to close the comments down but I’m not answering anymore…
Some have said very good things, very true.
Kareem your ignorant, how many murders did “the prophet” himself order? i can name at least 4… He was a caravan raider and a butcher for gods sake.. We dont even have to point to 9/11 everyone, rotten fruits have foul roots..
And for any of you appologists that claim he was a peaceful man: Asama bint Marwan, Abu Afak, Ka’b bin Al-Ashraf, and all the jewish tribes he genocided including the Ukl tribe where he had their hands and feet cut off and their eyes pulled out, left to die in the sun, that one was cool… or when he beheaded all 900 of the Banu Quaryzah jewish tribe, men women and children who refused to turn their back to YWH.
THIS ONE HOWEVER IS MY FAVORITE ACT OF THE PEACE-LOVING PHROPHET:
“We have prepared chains, yokes, and blazing fire, but for the unbelievers garmets of fire will be cut for them, boiling fluid will be poured down their throats, whereby that which is in their bellies and skins will be melted….. And for them are hooked rods of iron. Whenever, in their anguish, they would go forth from thense, they are driven back therein. Taste the doom of burning.” 22; 19-22
Compare that awful man to Jesus (I.e New Testament) and you get an idea why the west looks at you as barbarians, yes the church was corrupted by politicians, yes the crusaders were only slightly better than the saracens, but deep down at the heart of the matter, is your prophet was a monster that was even considered bad by the standards of the day in 7th century arabia. Good day and salam, i guess.
Strong words like those make all the people of the world learn to hate each other. It will be better for all of us if we leave the comments without religous arguments. I can tell you some things about your religion as well. But it will be better to leave it as it is. Saladin fought for jerusalem because his religon made him think it belonged to the religion of Islam. But he did make peace with his majesty, Richard the lion hearted. Someone said buddhism has never believed in wars but isnt their a lot of martial arts in buddhism. Even if a religion was once respected, technology make us not heed too much about our religion. Jerusalem is one of the greatest religous cities in the world. Are you sure the “holy wars” of richard, king of france, and barbarossa were holy wars. is it not true that plots were made to kill each other. only saladin and richard made peace.
i follow the teachings of muhammad and he made peace with the non believers in medina. Let me ask you . If you had the choice of destroying another religion you hate would you hesitate. no you would destroy them
Do you think so many people would convert to islam if they thought the prophet of islam was a beast. you will see when the day of judgement comes, what the consequences of islam are. you will feel the kindness of the prophet. you will stay in the sea of fire that hell has for you . whether you laugh at me or respect my words you will always recieve good treatment from true religous people.
Good luck
Prophet Muhammad MPBUH hated his sword the most he didnt wanted to kill yet he was forced by the enemies.. And in bible we find Jesus MPBUH asked his companions to sell their clothes and buy swords, you everyone knows why he asked to do so, he was forced to do so !!!
to establish the religion of righteousness it sometimes becomes necessary to take rigid steps !!!
you are so arrogant to accuse the prophet and use such words against him, even Jesus will hate you for this… ask for gods mercy and guidance.. Walekum Salam brother … peace !!!
Evan, just a note, while your passage of the Koran exists, it must be taken to account that the Hadiths revise this. While the New Testament preaches peace, it should also be noted that there are far too many volumes to mention, produced by Catholic, Coptic and Orthodox Christians to legitmise the spilling of blood. Aquinas’ ‘Summa Theologica and Augustines ‘Two Cities’ – It must be stressed that the Original holy books mean absolutely nothing, it is the theologians who preach and revise them that spread hatred and malice across the world.
What absolute nonsense, original holy book, the words inspired by god such as the bible or not so much the quran are meaningless! The hadith excuse along with abrogation is the saddest excuse justifying the ‘evil and malice’ as you say that Mohammed chose to reap. I also do not know what alternate universe you speak of where St. Thomas A as more clout and power amongst Christians than Jesus. There is no argument at all that can support this while maintaining sense. I’m sorry I don’t mean to attack but its so preposterous
I know you don’t mean to attack, but Aquinas and Augustine would not write on war if it was already perfectly crystal clear in the Bible itself. It was open to interpretation. And this interperetation is why we have extremism. It is about what people choose to read, or be told, not the books themselves. The Summa Theologica is very clearly a Christian Almanac to deal with problems outside the influence of the bible, but in strict Christian fashion. Therefore I find it relevant in the context I used it in. – This is an arguement that will never be resolved, so I guess we have to agree to disagree.
Why must you guys start a flame war on something so unnecessary…this is a post about movies not about Christianity vs Islam as a whole yes it depicts a time of war in the two religious factions but it is merely for entertainment and for education to prevent such horrific events in the future please do not put in example of 9/11 again in here for those men are extremest.Its like depicting The United States with a bunch of white red neck trash drinking beer and watching Nascar…if you guys have not noticed Christianity and Islam are alot alike because they both come from the same higher power God/Allah…Muslims just call God Allah since it is a much purer word, because Muslims believe in the oneness of God and God is not a well suited word in their perspective since u can manipulate the word such as adding ess to God making it Godess, giving God a gender, but this cannot be done to the word Allah which also has no specific meaning or rather the meaning to the word is unknown. But these are mere words creted by Humans its significance is very little. The Christian holy book is very similar to the Muslim holy book. If you guys would like to learn more please take a look at some comparative religion specialists, there is no reason for people to argue such unnecessary matters, for both religions teach the same essentials to love each other to help each other and to worship the almighty God/Allah. So i plead again to not further continue this unnecessary flame war and for everyone to enjoy the movies and to have a good day.
I couldn’t agree more.
I’m also still puzzled that something that I maant to be a resource for people to like to watch movies from that time period degenerated into such a controversial thread.
Watch the movie “Taken”
Kingdom of Heaven is a twisted story.Christians were the real victims.Pope Urban declared crusade only because Muslim infedels robbed Christian pilgrims toJerusalem
Ahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahah man I cant stop laughing you are so stupid ….. i mean no offence but you leave me with no other option !!!!!!!!! You guys along with the jews have proved a curse to the humanity …. Christians and sufferers are synonyms!!!!!
Don’t feed the troll.
Alright listen to me, 1st you cannot call everything good about Muslims a lie, there are only 2 movies to this date that shine upon the Muslims and their leaders (Fetih 1453, kingdom of heaven), 2nd of all, you Americans really believe that a group of rebels organized themselves in poor Afghanistan miles (SEAS!) away from your country where they have no way of getting any resistance what so ever their and not have to gain anything at all to blow up 2 buildings PLEASE, it was hoax the US had barley anything to gain from those towers (a few trade routes) so they bomb both towers and airplanes to make it look real! do you really think that a successful Muslim airplane pilot wanted to or had anything to gain from killing himself in that so called terrorist bombing just so they can have their land invaded,,, the US government has a huge conspiracy against all of the people, you think this is different then the medevil times when they used the church to conseal conspiracies, its all the same now instead they use the media to conceal themselves (have you ever noticed that websites are all in english and using the american region), they wanted to go to war so they could get the oil in the middle east, but could not of just said we wont to go to war because the U.N. would of seen that as illegal and Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and great Britain would of declared war on the US for “picking on the little nations” so they needed an excuse and that’s what it was, then to make it believable they started to add more bombings in smaller parts of the us (which doesn’t cost them much for repairs trust me),,, so they send troops into the middle east and start making an alliance with Israel because the US needs checkpoints in the middle east so they can safely drop their troops in, in exchange the US helps Israel to start building nuclear weapons. then the real afghan,syria,arabia,palestine rebels come in becuase they know that they are on their own, then russia comes in to help the rebels which is y you have the russian “terrorists” but then Germany (gsg9 force) britains (SAS) kick in to repel the russians becuase they disliked the idea of russia going to war with the US since there was no reason for them to mix up in that fight which is what would of happend to the US if they didnt stage the bombing. now we are up to 2010 The US noticed that the arabs (with whom they were just starting to make an alliance) were catching on to the story so they send in “missionaries” of some sort to spread the word that al Qaeda was bad and they should over through the rebels which later happend… even though he was the reason they had something to eat and were still alive. and thous al qaeda was killed… later the Israelis started to attack gaza and jordan whic syria could not of put up with so they start to threat Israel and are now in the situation that they could go to war but israel does not want this becuase syria has a much stronger force then the Israelis…Now to rap up with: if syria wil go to war with israel that will be a tough situation for the jews and if that happens then turkey will attend the war in a few years or so, and it will break out into a maybe “world war 3” and the muslim nations (plus great russia) will be at war with the christen nation but if you do think about it the christens have no more usefull countries to invole in that war, Once palestine gets its independence then its all over for the jews and christens,,, and the “kingdom of heaven will bee in its rightful place with the muslims under the guard of salahudin, mehmed 2 el-fatih osman, Selim 1 osman , Al-mamun, Sulejman 2 the magnificent osman and ALLAH the all mighty,,, the christens wil fall all empires will fall eventually even the empire of muslims that will form but that is not the end of it, islam will still be there and forever right,,, those who do not belive me will be judged by their actions not by me not by a judge not bye the people but by allah the all mighty who will never let the 1 true religion die i cannot contiune writing this on a post but i did my best to fit most of it in there i hope i will get the chance to write a successful book on this topic and most christens will read and belive what history brings to their courtyard,,, peace be upon you all of my brothers and sisters of islam my cousins the jews and christens i wil not bend any truth i will just speak it i am sorry if have offended you in any way in this post allah please forgive me and you the offended
now my brothers we must pray for our religion, iman and selfs let us recite this before i go
ESHEDU-ENLA ILAHE ILLALLAH ESHEDU-ENLA MUHAMMEDEN RASULULLAH,
ESHEDU-ENLA ILAHE ILLALLAH ESHEDU-ENLA MUHAMMEDEN RASULULLAH,
ALLAH EKBER ALLAH EKBER
BAYRAM SERIF MUBAREK OLSUN TO PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS…
Aleykumu-selam
Now that was a long comment. I can see the topic is close to your heart. I’m not going to elaborate on whether I think you are right or not I just wanted to say I appreciate that, unlike some other people who commented here, your comment is not full of hate and aggression. Thank you for that.
MashaAllah you have good knowledge…. love you brother !!!! take care
As salam O alikum wa rehmatullah !!!! Peace
While what you have written was very thought provoking, I would warn you that there are some on this forum that like to discuss and debate rather than be told what the truth is. I believe I could successfully counter argue every clause in your post (or just submit my dissertation) – but would it ever make a difference to the way you think? Probably not. – Be wary of the stray internet scholar who stumbles upon this and declares war on it.
hahah i think you are right both of you of you (tech, and allaboutwarmovies, i appreciate both of your comments and it is true that someone will probobly declare war on my comment 😀 but people have their own beliefs, if any of our gods showed up (Jewish, Muslim, christen, buddist, or Hindu) i guarantee that most people would not believe it which is probably why he doesn’t show up, they would probobly make an excuse that it is fake..
ISLAM IS NOT A NEW BORN RELIGION AT ALL…
ITS THE TRUE SUCCESSOR OF JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY…
U ARE RIGHT THAT MEDIA IS THE CONCEALER OF GREAT SECRETS…AND US GOVERNMENT IS PLAYING THE ROLE OF THE GREAT CONSPIRATOR AT THIS TIME…
But do we understand their motives? will we get united? can we search for the true path that unites us all? can we devastate their evil motives???
It will be seen as a provocation to other posters here though, the anti-conspiricy theorists and historians in particular.
how can i watch the movies please?
Netflix maybe.
non of them are on netflix
any other ideas?
I’m sorry, I’m afraid I can’t help. I bought the DVDs, I just thought that Kingdom of Heaven and Arn Knigthtemplar should be available on Netflix.
Maybe someone else sees the question and knows more.
Hi, You can see Arn and Ironclad on Netflix. Many great period pieces as well. May want to view some of the awesome (off topic, sorry) Chinese and Thai war extravaganzas which have, literally, casts of thousands. Also, a great silent classic, D W Griffity directed, concerning the time of Christ and wars to follow in the middle ages. Cheers
Thanks, James, I hope he sees it.
what an interesting topic! a film review has dramatically changed to a novice critique. Wars at the time were marches of “warmongers”. The Papacy at its best called for “war” against “infidels; Saracens; Muslims” just for the sake of ridding Europe from schism that struck nations, the church vs landlords and Barons. The Crusades were a total disgrace to mankind and Christianity. Crusaders from Europe vanquished all the Eastern Christian territories on their way to Jerusalem! Salah-Al- Deen was merciful enough to spare all inhabitants in Jerusalem after its fall. for more info you can check this primary source “chronicles of William of Tyre” who witnessed the whole thing. True Islam and true Christianity are in no need for disputed allegations.
Crescent and cross
(+
Yes, indeed, the original topic of the post – a movie list – has become far less interesting than the discussion.
One of the greatest crusade movies made. +9
If there is any sort of God. He/She/It must hate us all or he/she/it doesn’t give a damn about innocent people.
US made 21th century crusade. They have murdered hundreads of thousands innocent people… If some extremist killed 3000 people, it gives you right to kill whole damn Muslim world? I don’t think so. Americans always preach how much they believe in God and God is always behind American “honourable deeds”… You are all burning in hell if you ask from me. We european christians have learned something from our mistakes and errors. Most of us still follow Gods original message and Laws. It doesn’t matter do you believe in him/her/it.
1) Don’t kill.
2) Don’t steal.
3) Honor your Mother and Father
4) You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
5) Treat other like you would like to be treated yourself.
I’m atheist, but I still believe in some laws and teaches. I know so much about religions, because our education system force us convert to Christian. I’ve studied many religions, only because I wanted to know if this same force convert is all around world… As I suspected it is. US might have the worst, because they got European made Christian School System(older, like 18th century convertion methods)… which sucks in my opinion. You can’t even decide yourself which religion you want to believe before you are 18y.
Valid points. I still think that if we applied “Treat others like you would like to be treated yourself” the world would look a bit better.
THE MESSAGE OF A RELIGION IS TO SPREAD LOVE, JUSTICE, PEACE AND HARMONY… and the purpose IS TO UNITE THE HUMANITY AND CONNECT TO GOD…
it is not to slaughter humanity or to do injustices…
u are correct in pointing out some errors…y we all want to be the part of the religion we are born into…???
There aint no long or short versions of Arn out and about, they are 2 movies, part 1 and part 2 in the story of this fictional proto-swedish knight.
Are you sure? The way it is marketed on amazon.de it says they are two versions. But thanks, I’ll recheck.
I have read a few just right stuff here. Certainly value bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you put to create this type of excellent informative site.
Glad you like it. It takes some time, yes. 🙂
hahahhaha…well done abdul karrem u did it…somone was talking about 9 11.I always thought that western countries are devolped so their people thinking will also be developed but after reading comments i laughed…u was talking about 9 11 but i want to tell u about 2013…what about dorones???what about palastine???…ahhahaha love peace
what about afghanistan where bombers bomb at innocent people..what about iraq..???ahhahaha chemical wepons were there???…and after all i want to tell that u al know what is the reallit of 9 11…and u have no idea what islam is and what it gives us…internal frenqualit!!
And for ur kind iformation sLAHUDEEN AYUBI never use womans for its means but u did!!and i thnk u remember about the lion heart illnes!!!i cant belive you developed people…KAREEB brother u know…SUM MUM BUK MUN UM YUN FA HUM LA YARJ JA OON!!!1400 year before it was told and now u can see it!!(sorry about my english)
DEAR BROTHERS…
The point of discussion should not be to blame each others and protect your side…
speak truth and support it…
evil and injustices are not done by the religions rather they are done by the evil in man’s inside in the name of religion…to Condemn any religion of doing so is false…
only the interpretations are taken wrong which forms the basis of injustice…jews, christians, muslims etc all them have committed injustice in history but not every one of them…but their false believers…
As far as ISLAM is concerned…its true meaning and message is LOVE, JUSTICE AND PEACE…
But not every muslim practices or believes the true teachings…so those wrong believers are to be blamed…ISLAM or any other religion is not responsible for their evil…
Respect. I wish people could understand that…
Religion is not bad, Religion is Religion.
What people do with Religion, well that’s a different story.
Cheers,
Big special thanks to whoever created this post on Crusade Movies. I have been trying to find a medieval/Jesus related movie, that I think I believe is Kingdom of Heaven, for like 3 years…
I saw parts of it once when I was younger and forgot the title Big thanks guys/gals, take care, have a good day, and God bless!
You’re very welcome. I’m glad someone got something positive out of this list.
Muslim started the jihad 400 years before Crusade wars, attacking Roman Christian and forced them to convert or die….please stop telling that Christian start the war. Even now more Muslim hate their leaders and trying to move to Christian peaceful region….Muslim warring Christian, Jew, Buddist, Hindu, even other Muslim…please don’t be hypocrite
Cecil B. DeMille’s The Crusades is a strange one. It’s pure historical fantasy mixed with romance (will the Queen of England and Saladin go for a tryst?) and religious faith. And it’s quite good at all of them in a boyish way. Particularly – unsurprisingly for DeMille – in the last department: the scene where the crusaders enter in a trance in front of the ‘true cross’ in Acre is amazing, and the miscreant that I am suspects the director approached the spirit of the times there. Richard’s slow conversion is also quite well done, though less convincing (unless you understand it as a gigantic shortcut through time to the Reformation).
Not on your list: King Richard and the Crusaders (1954) is quite bad. It was supposed to be in the line of the very entertaining Richard Thorpe medieval adventure films. Alas, it has a weak script and a non-existent direction: the lavish costumes and technicolor don’t save the film, nor do George Sanders (as Richard) and Rex Harrison (as… Saladin!).
Well, now I’m torn. Since you say it’s n ot good, should I inlcude it? Maybe.
Up to you naturally, but there are so few movies on the subject… and Curvy Kitty had already mentioned it in the first comment.
Incidentally, Robin and Marian is more of a ‘crusades veteran’ movie, and if I’m not wrong it doesn’t contain any scene located in the Orient (contrary to Prince of Thieves). Much like Ridley Scott’s own Robin and… Ingmar Bergman’s Seventh Seal.
Two more, based on Walter Scott’s The Talisman which is the basis of the 1954 film and even parts of the Youssef Chahine and Ridley Scott movies:
– Richard the Lion-Hearted (US, 1923 – lost film).
– Rytsar Kennet (The Knight Kenneth, RU 1993 – on youtube as ‘Рыцарь Кеннет’).
Yes, yes, you are right. I’ll add it.
Thanks for all the additions.
Youssef Chahine’s Saladin stands above the lot. Surely, it’s as much a fantasy as the Hollywood flicks and the propaganda for Nasserism is clear – how could one resist, after the Suez expedition, to tell the story of a ruler of Egypt and Syria defeating both France and England? Nasser allegedly liked DeMille’s movie, but this one seems to borrow more from the chronicler Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad and Walter Scott’s Talisman.
Nevertheless, and that’s the main point, the cinematography is the work of a master, able to mix classical and experimental forms, political and intimate discourses, to alternate the boisterous and the majestic as if the narrative hesitations were that of life itself. Plus, it never feels like we are in some kind of a lunar landscape: the terrain, the light, the sea are always very real. Thoroughly enjoyable!
(this refers to the ‘short’ version – ca 140mn).
I’d definitely watch the short version. What you say about the cinematography sounds very appealing. And “yay” for moving this thread back to the actual content of the post.
The short version (vhs quality) is afaik the only one available with English subs, so unless you understand Arabic… For those who do: it seems a Blu-Ray of the full version was recently released (in Egypt or Lebanon, I suppose).
Thanks. There are visitors who speak Arabic, they might be glad for the info.
For your Turkish-speaking blog readers:
Selahattin eyyubi (TR, 1969). From the version currently on YT, it looks quite the swashbuckler!
OK, thanks but I’m not going to include that in the list as that would set a precedent.
Nathan the Wise (DE, 1922). The first adaptation of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s famous play. There’s a full version on YT.
Gosh, that one is quite something. A fable on religious tolerance in Jerusalem at the time of the third crusade, the central character being a Jewish merchant (plus Saladin, a young Templar and his unacknowledged sister)… Unsurprisingly, the early Bavarian nazis tried to have it banned by the authorities.
That said, I wouldn’t put Manfred Noa in the top tier of the Weimar era directors on the sole basis of this film (which was a big success though). Nathan der Weise relies too much on the story alone, and not enough on the cinematography – but perhaps were there too many visual masters among his compatriots.
PS: the same play has been adapted/filmed again five times since the 1960s for German television.
I think I’ve read it at school. I couldn’t find the movie on IMDb. Maybe not one I need to watch urgently right now. 🙂
On YT it’s there: http://bit.ly/1gxijrb – that’s the 2006 DVD edition. I think Arte produced a whole new score in 2009. I understand this is not a priority 🙂 but as far as I know it’s the only Crusade movie with Jewish characters…
There was also an Italian film apparently adapted from Walter Scott’s novel in 1911, but it seems lost. Could have been interesting, as Italy was engaged in colonial conquest of Libya and Ethiopia at the time.
Just nitpicking: I Paladini: Storia d’armi e d’amori isn’t about the Crusades. It’s an adaptation of Orlando Furioso, which itself was based on the Chanson de Roland – meaning we’re in the Pyrenees in the 8th Century, not in Palestine in the 11th.
Of course, the Chanson de Roland was in all likelihood written at the time of the Crusades (the poem switched enemies between the Basque and the Saracens). Yet…
God!…I thought I was trying to read through a movie review…anyways..@ moderator…Arn has 2 parts..i.e the movie is broken into 2 parts..it has nothing to do with language..both films have separate content.And about religion-Every religion has its share of extremist and every religion has blood in their hands…so it is really pointless to argue.
And…if you get bored watching “Kingdom of heavens”…I suggest you watch Kingdom of Heavens-Director’s cut.Few other movies are there as well..namely.1.Ironclad,2.Seasons of Witch.3.Black Death.4.Robin Hood.4.Ivanhoe.etc etc…
Hope you lot really understand that “All religions are only different means to reach to the One God”…whom some call Allah,some Jesus…others something else…and enjoy the movies…!!!!
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve seen most of them, but not all.
Sorry for the heated thread. I still haven’t found out how to disable commenting on one post… A bit late anyway.
It´s actually two different movies of Arn. Part one and Two. Jan Guillou wrote two books about Arn. Each filmed separately.
Thanks so much for this information. I had the wrong idea.
… I’m wondering if any of you have actually changed your minds since you’ve posted these comments. Perhaps, current events sparked an interest in real actual research of your own on the matter of the Crusades. Islam’s prophet Muhammad was a murdering, raping donkey of a man. The whole religion of Islam is founded on terror, intimidation, and subjugation. Don’t take my words for it. Read the Hadith (traditions), the Sira (Muhammad’s biography), and both Qur’ans (yes, there are two Qur’ans: one made in Mecca and one made in Medina).
That being said, I wish they would make true crusades movies instead of historically inaccurate fantasy crusades movies.
The Islamophobia is strong on this one, lol.
Don’t interpret Quran’s words and Hadiths solely by your knowledge, even Muslims themselves are not allowed to do such things. You know that those terrorists you see on Fox News interpret the Muslims’ Holy Book by themselves? If you were a Muslim then surely it won’t be hard for those donkey-raping ISIS members to recruit you. There are Muslim scholars to do the interpreting (known as Tafseer by the Muslims) and even then they will consult with another scholars to avoid mis-interpretations, simply reading translations is a very bad idea.
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Ugh, I came here to read movie reviews and recommendations! Anyway to Admin, what do you think about the Robin Hood films? I heard the films are set in the time of the Crusades, though maybe the Crusades isn’t the primary focus.
I didn’t really think it was the primary focus. I’ve only reviewe one of the earlier ones. You’ll find it in the movies A-Z list.
I should disable coments on this thread but don’t seem to find te button. I don’t want to delete all of it though.
That’s just the same as Christian apologism. Stop making modern excuses and admit that Islam is originally a violent religion. We are glad that it has reformed itself many times over to become much more peaceful through the eyes of Islamic scholars, but that is something different.
Christianity is a bundle of contradictions, because it tries to reconcile old , general Judaic law WITHOUT THE INSIGHT OF PROPER PRIESTS, and the reformation that the New Testament is. Catholicism is another beast that is an institutionalized form of Christianity seen through the eyes of Europeans. It’s a mess of contradictions.
The first Crusades started in 633 led by Muhammad himself, and it was an Islamic Crusade. The first Christian Crusade was started in 1095 by Pope Urban and was originally a DEFENSIVE action. The Islamic Crusaders killed roughly two to three times as many Christians, Jews and non Muslims than the Christian Crusades had, as well as forced conversion to Islam by the sword as they sacked Italy, France, Spain, Northern Africa and everywhere in between. Oh, and Muslims had black slaves long before the European nations did, see the Zanj Rebellion (869-883). Albeit, the Christian Crusades diverted from their original purpose later on, and they were far from being the perfect examples of Christians as, they too, committed atrocities in the Middle East, but I am so very tired of people villianizing the Crusades, portraying it as an excuse to go kill Muslims and conquer more territory. It was an answer to 450 years of Muslim aggression and the blood of hundreds of thousands of Christians spilled in the name of the Islamic Jihad.
Wow you people crack me up, you’re lunatics for believing in a “higher power”!
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