The War Lord (1965)

In 11th century Normandy, a Norman duke sends one of his knights to build a defensive fortress in order to guard the borders against Frisian raiders.

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner (as Franklin Schaffner)

Writers:

John Collier (screenplay), Millard Kaufman (screenplay)

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Richard Boone, Rosemary Forsyth

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	Chrysagon
Richard Boone	...	Bors
Rosemary Forsyth	...	Bronwyn
Maurice Evans	...	Priest
Guy Stockwell	...	Draco
Niall MacGinnis	...	Odins
James Farentino	...	Marc
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Frisian Prince
Sammy Ross	...	Volc
Woodrow Parfrey	...	Piet
John Alderson	...	Holbracht
Allen Jaffe	...	Tybald
Michael Conrad	...	Rainault
Dal Jenkins	...	Dirck
Johnny Jensen	...	Boy Prince

Storyline

A knight in the service of a duke goes to a coastal villiage where an earlier attempt to build a defensive castle has failed. He begins to rebuild the duke's authority in the face of the barbarians at the border and is making progress until he falls in love with one of the local women.

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Plot Keywords:

warlord | epic | 11th century | sword and shield | norman | 

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Taglines:

Until this moment, the shield was his only bed...the sword his only bride!

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

The War Lord

Filming Locations:

Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Court Productions, Fraser Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several reviewers at the time commented that Richard Boone and James Farentino were miscast--Boone seemed more like a cowboy in a western and, even though he was supposed to be a French peasant, Farentino coudn't shake his Brooklyn accent.

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Goofs

Although the action supposedly takes place at the height of Norman power in the 11th century, in the area where the movie is set, indeed throughout western Europe, paganism had been largely eradicated by the end of the 8th century. It is conceivable that tiny, secret cells of druids might have existed in hiding until the 11th century, but certainly not an entire village openly practicing druidism. Druidism itself was wiped out by pre-Christian imperial Rome.

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Quotes

Chrysagon: [of Bronwyn] She has a calm face.
Draco: So has a cow.

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Connections

Referenced in Behind the Planet of the Apes (1998)

User Reviews

Charlton Heston goes for poetry instead of bombast, romance instead of heroism

If you want a movie about long ago and far away, this one is highly recommendable, unless of course you need light sabers or all-powerful rings to hold your attention.

Costume pictures often reek of Classics Illustrated comic books. This is among the few whose script as filmed is not an insult.

Director Franklin Schaffner obviously loves the material. He later returned to the period with "Lionheart: the Children's Crusade," after "Planet of the Apes," "Patton," and his other famous epics.

The film's atmosphere is incredibly strong - I was absolutely sure that this was shot on location in Europe until I recognized the Universal hillside towards the end. Rarely does a Hollywood movie hide its back lot origins so thoroughly.

Minor drawbacks must be acknowledged. The girl suffers well silently but can't deliver her few lines. Maurice Evans is an awful ham, showing once again why he was Orson Welles' least favorite actor. There's a handful of clumsy process shots, and Paul Frees not only delivers the opening narration but voices both Sammy Ross and Michael Conrad, later familiar from "Hill Street Blues." Someone in the Universal sound department thought that Frees' voice was undetectable; and it isn't. (It gets worse: you can hear Frees as four separate characters in "Spartacus.")

None of these quibbles matter. The "War Lord" is romantic, poetic, mildly gritty (by today's standards), and the production design, cinematography and music are all gorgeous. The tumultuous siege of the tower is solid in the way things were before computers, and features what seems to be every stuntman in Hollywood, including Joe Canutt, Hal Needham, Richard Farnsworth and Buddy Van Horn.

I wish Universal could figure out a way to keep the DVD in print. Remastering might help. If you have a multi-system, multi-region player, at this writing a far superior widescreen Danish transfer is available from both UK and German Amazon.

IMDb lists at least 250,000 worse ways to spend two hours than "The War Lord." Make yourself comfortable and enjoy.