Attila (2001/I) (TV)

Director:

Dick Lowry

Writer (WGA):

Robert Cochran (written by)

Release Date:

30 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

Plot:

A romanced story of Attila the Hun, since his childhood, when he lost his parents until his death. Attila is disclosed as a great leader...

Plot Keywords:

General | Alliance | Visigoth | Roman Empire | King

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Gerard Butler	...	Attila the Hun
Powers Boothe	...	Flavius Aetius
Simmone Mackinnon	...	N'Kara / Ildico (as Simmone Jade Mackinnon)
Reg Rogers	...	Valentinian
Alice Krige	...	Placida
Pauline Lynch	...	Galen
Steven Berkoff	...	King Rua
Andrew Pleavin	...	Orestes
Tommy Flanagan	...	Bleda
Kirsty Mitchell	...	Honoria
Jonathan Hyde	...	Felix
Tim Curry	...	Theodosius
Janet Henfrey	...	Palcharia
Liam Cunningham	...	King Theodoric
Rollo Weeks	...	Young Attila

Also Known As:

Attila the Hun (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

177 min | 60 min (3 episodes) | Finland:184 min (TV) (4 parts) | Finland:171 min (DVD)

Country:

USA | Lithuania

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Lithuania

Company:

Alphaville Films

Goofs:

Factual errors: Theodosius II, the Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) emperor was not alive when Attila was shown to be poisoned. He died in 450.

Quotes:

Galen: The beast with red fur.
N'Kara: The toadstool who talks.
Galen: Bleda mounts you more often than his horse.
N'Kara: That is no choice of mine.
Galen: Then why do you?
N'Kara: My mother and sister, if I kill myself then Bleda will kill them.
Galen: They live becasue of Attila... I have seen the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him.
N'Kara: It doesn't matter, I belong to Belda.
Galen: A Hun warrior does not possess a woman until she bears his child. If you bear Bleda's then Attila will have nothing to do with you.
Galen: [takes a a little bag]
[...]

History more interesting

Presumably the writer of this mini-series had to read the history of Attila and Aetius before he could change it into the pap presented. You would think it would have been easier to leave as written, and certainly more interesting.

Just to give one example. After the battle and the death of the Roman ally King Theodoric, this movie has Theordoric's son insisting of leaving immediately to fight his brothers for the throne, and thus depriving the Roman general Aetius of the strength to decisively destroy Attila. Thus a mildly interesting and fairly predictable plot as far as it goes. The historical reality is that Aetius advised the son to leave to take care of his brothers as he was insisting on revenging his father against Attila. Aetius preferred not to destroy the Huns as his and Rome's whole strategy at that time had been to play groups such as the Huns off against other barbarian tribes that had entered or threatened the Empire. To my mind a more interesting development.

Of course it might have taken slightly more effort to get this idea across to viewers but the effort would have been a far more memorial series which the poor sets and acting could never achieve. While I can understand budget limitations that make good sets and hordes of extras difficult I cannot understand the almost perverse need to change history even when the original is much more interesting.

An amusing watch just the same but disappointing that for the cost of another writer it could not have been so much better.