Medieval Monarchs in Film

In this unit, we will look at several film interpretations of medieval monarchs.  Many of these works are not so much portraits of medieval monarchs as they are commentaries on their own age.

Shakespeare was fond of historical topics, though his plays often contain inaccurate details.  His portrayal of Richard III has become the most famous of all portrayals of the monarch, and led to the widespread assumption that Richard III was a thoroughly evil monarch.  Many modern historians challenge this assumption, and argue that his involvement in the imprisonment of the two princes and later coronation may have had a historically legitimate basis, and that was a legal challenge to the marriage of his brother, Edward IV, and his wife, Elizabeth Woodville.  The best place to go on the web to review the primary sources associated with Richard III's reign as well as several historical commentaries in the Richard III society American Branch web site. 

Shakespeare's interpretation of Richard portrays him as a physically deformed person, which is really a metaphor for his spiritual deformity.  During the play, Richard become progressively more deformed, as he becomes progressively more evil.  There are several film versions of Shakespeare's play, including Olivier’s Richard III and Ian Richards’ Richard III.  The latter film is particularly interesting for the (too) obvious connections made to Nazi Germany, 

Shakespeare also commented on Henry V, the victor of the Battle of Agincourt.  While Richard is seen  as the epitome of evil, Henry V is the crusading knight fighting the French in the interest of the English.  Branagh’s version is an excellent film portrayal of the play as well as the battle scenes.  We'll compare and contrast this portrayal to Olivier’s Henry V.  Olivier made the play in part to boost the morale of the troops during World War II.  We'll also compare western interpretations of Richard III to a modern African version of the theme in Guimba the Tyrant.  This film is a beautifully made commentary on tyranny in Africa during the colonial period and is an allegory about the overthrow of repressive regimes in modern Mali. 

Shakespeare's Macbeth is another famous portrayal of a medieval monarch. There are numerous film versions of the play, including Roman Polanski's Macbeth.   The Tech at MIT maintains a site with the complete texts of Shakespeare.   To review some scholarly analyses of Shakespeare's works, go to Shakespeare online.   The Shakespeare Oxford Society also has some interesting resources.

Akira Kurosawa has also made several versions of Shakespeare's plays, including a Japanese version of Macbeth, Throne of Blood. We'll also study his version of King Lear in his masterpiece, Ran.   You might want to read more about Kurosawa.  Go here for a database of his films and other material.  Foreignfilms.com has a good page on Kurosawa. see also the Epic Images of Kurosawa,  Michael Ghost's The Films of Kurosawa.  The British Film Institute has a nice Kurosawa page.  Images has reviews of three of Kurosawa's most well known films, including the Lower Depths and Stray Dog. 

Sergei Eisenstein has also made several films on medieval subjects, including Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible/Ivan Groznyj  (parts I and II).  Eisenstein was constrained by Soviet politics and their rigid control over art, but in part II of this masterpiece he portrayed an Ivan that was a precursor to Stalin.  The film was banned and part III was destroyed. You might want to read the World Socialist Web site's take on Eisenstein's interpretations, as they claim he was ignorant of history.  Here is another socialist commentary on Eisenstein.  You might want to further explore the work of Eisenstein.  Here is another survey from Film North.

Although we won't study them in the course, there are several other well-known portrayals of medieval monarchs in film. If you are interested in this topic, you might want to view:

Becket  a portrayal of the stormy relationship between Thomas a Becket and Henry II. You might want to review the actual facts of the matter on the Thomas a Becket page. There are several primary sources available on the Internet, such as Roger of Hovedon's Chronicle,   The Constitutions of Clarendon

The Lion in Winter. Poor Henry.  He has to contend not only with Becket but with Eleanor and his sons. You might want to read a review of the film.  See Peter of Blois's letter to Eleanor,  a description of Henry's relationship with his sons from Gerald of Wales in his Topography of Ireland,  and the Chronicle of Benedict of Peterborough on the death of Henry II.

King Richard and the Crusaders arguably one of the worst films on the Middle Ages ever made.