Alfred the Great (1969)

While Old England is being ransacked by roving Danes in the ninth century, Alfred is planning to join the priesthood. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows, to... See full summary »

Director:

Clive Donner

Writers:

James R. Webb (story), Ken Taylor (screenplay)

Stars:

David Hemmings, Michael York, Prunella Ransome

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Hemmings	...	Alfred
Michael York	...	Guthrum
Prunella Ransome	...	Aelhswith
Colin Blakely	...	Asher
Ian McKellen	...	Roger
Peter Vaughan	...	Burrud
Alan Dobie	...	Ethelred
Julian Glover	...	Æthelstan
Vivien Merchant	...	Freda
Julian Chagrin	...	Ivar
Jim Norton	...	Thanet
John Rees	...	Cuthbert
Christopher Timothy	...	Cerdic
Peter Blythe	...	Eafa
Sinéad Cusack	...	Edith

Storyline

While Old England is being ransacked by roving Danes in the ninth century, Alfred is planning to join the priesthood. But observing the rape of his land, he puts away his religious vows, to take up arms against the invaders, leading the English Christians to fight for their country. Alfred soundly defeats the Danes and becomes a hero. But now, although Alfred still longs for the priesthood, he is torn between his passion for God and his lust for blood.

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Plot Keywords:

priesthood | dane | 9th century | england | epic | 

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Taglines:

The dissenter king.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 October 1969 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

A King Is Born

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bernard Smith Productions,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When first announced by MGM in 1964, this was going to be titled "A King is Born".

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Quotes

Guthrum: I am Guthrum, son of Odin! This is Ivar, my warrior cheif. He's called Ivar the boneless because his mother made him with gristle, instead of bone. Show them.
[Ivar performs impressive acrobatics with a sword]
Guthrum: He fights as well.
Alfred: I am Alfred, king of Wessex. This is my cousin, Athelstan of Lamborn. I fear he only jumps on Danish graves.

User Reviews

I have provided background on the making of the movie

Confession; I have not seen the movie, but I do have some interesting facts to share about the making of the movie: Many of the battle scenes were filmed in Ireland using Irish army regulars as extras. The men learned the marching chants and what you hear in the movie is at least in part the actual chants of the extras.

Some of the men earned extra money by doing some of the riskier shots (guys carrying kicking and screaming women for example; my Father was one such extra and earned his extra money by lying on the battlefield and permitting a horse to walk up to his 'body' and then circle around his head; some extras were unwilling to risk being stepped on, but my father's familiarity with horses convinced him that the horse would avoid stepping on a person).

The Viking ships were motorized with oarsmen acting to produce the realistic effects. One boat was offered to the local boy scouts at the end of filming, but was scooped up by a buyer before the deal was closed.

After days of shooting with large numbers of extras on the shores of the River Shannon near Athlone, the crew would repaint the brown grass using large buckets of green paint.

Although not a review, I hope this information is of interest to the site visitors, it comes from the recollections of my Father. Cheers!