Empires - Holy Warriors: Richard the Lionheart & Saladin (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Like a previous reviewer, I found the omissions in this program to be glaring & laughable. If anyone is expecting to get a comprehensive treatment of the Third Crusade, look elsewhere. One is gets as accurate a treatment of history as in "Kingdom of Heaven," which played fast & loose with historical accuracy.
One would get the impression that Richard I was the prime force behind the Crusade, depsite the fact that Barbarossa & the Germans left for the Holy Land a full two years earlier. The program would have you believe that after Barbarossa's death, the German armies simply melted away --- I believe the narrator actually said that most of the Germans "went home." If he meant that "home" was Antioch, then I suppose that is an accurate statement. It was the remnants of the German army (largely decimated by plague) that successfully defended Tyre (left almost unmentioned in this program) against Saladin's forces. Also barely mentioned is Phillip II of France, who played a key role in the political events that unfolded in the Holy Land.
The producers at least mentioned Richard's execution of the 3000 prisoners (following the siege of Acre), but left unmentioned is Richard's complicity in the assasination of Conrad of Montferrat, recently crowned King of Jerusalem, in 1192. The program would prefer to paint Richard as a noble warrior, rather than a political strategist of the first order. The political in-fighting between the Germans, French & English (not to mentioned the already entrenched Crusader States) is a not insignificant part of the story of the Third Crusade, but it goes entirely unmentioned here.
In fact, this program skims the topwaters to such a degree that only a historical neophyte could find much value in it. This program is a big disappointment overall.

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Studio: Paramount Home VideoRelease Date: 10/11/2005

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Empires - The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)This four-hour documentary on the Medici has all of the series' strengths (high production values, excellent cinematography) and its great weakness of substituting simple conflict for historical analysis. You might get weary, as I did, of the implicit comparisons of the Renaissance banking family with the Coreleones, but that's relieved by a truly diverse selection of talking heads and viewpoints.

There are other problems, though. Nearly every entry in the "Empires" series has had difficulties with characterization, and "The Medici" is no different. Lorenzo de Medici, for example, is portrayed as an enlightened ruler, a public-minded human being and an art patron whose career was sabotaged by religious fundamentalism. You'd never know he covered his debts by stealing from the public treasury. Savonarola is accurately depicted as a puritanical maniac, but his appeal to Florence is never fully explained. One minute the Florentines are sipping grapa and discussing Platonic forms, the next they're tossing their copies of "The Republic" on a bonfire. For "The Medici," it's enough to show Lorenzo as a patron of learning, and Savonarola as a fundamentalist, creating a black and white conflict that dehumanizes both and makes a mockery of the competing and often contradicting strains of piety and humanism found in many Renaissance figures. It also makes ordinary Florentines look like dupes: Savonarola was a fanatic, but his Puritanical, anti-Medici sermons had resonance with a city that was tiring of Lorenzo's abuses.

The third episode on the Medici popes moves in a similar direction. This is the weakest of the bunch. The narrative is little more than a society-page list of parties and paintings, mixed with random acts of violence and a barebones timeline of the two pontiffs' lives. Intervals with Michelangelo are enjoyable, but brief. And the series again simplifies the protagonists. Leo and Clement were wastrels whose excesses helped spark the Reformation. They lived large and often led their armies into impious war. That's all correct. But if Leo X lived it up, he was also sincerely religious. He wasn't unique, either: Many medieval and early Renaissance rulers saw no conflict between hedonism and piety. Given the chance to explore this odd trait, "Empires" shies away and opts for scenes of Leo killing off his enemies.

The documentary is worth a purchase, though. The first episode on Cosimo de Medici is one of the best explorations of Renaissance politics I've seen on television, and Brunelleschi is given his due in both raising his dome and inventing perspective. If Cosimo's failings are passed over, the overall assessment of his rule is fair. One wishes the film would point out that common families like the Medici rose to power because the Florentines abolished feudalism in 1290, but that's a minor nit to pick.

To be fair to the filmmakers, you can't fit everything about the family in a four-hour documentary, and "The Medici," at least, hits the basics and doesn't get anything wrong (unlike Empires' "Martin Luther," which told us the faith is a Freudian rejection of father figures). This is probably the best treatment of Renaissance politics television will ever come up with, so you might as well seek it out, and hope the next "Empires" film fixes the flaws of its predecessors.

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From a small Italian community in 15th-century Florence, the Medici family would rise to rule Europe in many ways. Using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, they would amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They would also ignite the most important cultural and artistic revolution in Western history--the European Renaissance. But the forces of change the Medici helped unleash would one day topple their ordered world. An epic drama played out in the courts, cathedrals and palaces of Europe, this series is both the tale of one family's powerful ambition and of Europe's tortured struggle to emerge from the ravages of the dark ages.

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Jason & The Argonauts (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was pleasantly surprised to find this version of JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS as a worthy successor to the original film starring Todd Armstrong.
I admit I was expecting some cheesy, low budget, badly-acted made-for-tv series but was pleased to find an entertaining film that stays faithful to the original myth. Add to that a strong cast, good production values and impressive special effects and you have a film that you will want to watch again and again.
The story centers on Jason (Jason London), who returns to reclaim his kingdom from his uncle, Pelias (Dennis Hopper). In order to regain the throne and save his mother's life, Jason agrees to sail to Colchis and obtain the golden fleece. With a crew that includes Orpheus, Atalanta, the mighty Hercules and the shipbuilder Argos, Jason faces many dangers on his quest for the fleece. The argonauts encounter the bronze giant Talos, the women of Lemnos (led by their queen Hypsypile - Natasha Henstridge), blind Phineas (Derek Jacobi) and the frightening harpies, the clashing rocks and more. When Jason arrives in Colchis, he falls in love with the lovely Medea (Jolene Blalock) but must face more challenges (including its ruler, King Aertes - Frank Langella) before he can leave the island with the fleece.
This version is more faithful to the myth than the 1963 film. For instance, Orpheus, Atalanta, Castor and Pollux make their appearance here. Also, this version shows what happens when the argonauts return home and has a better, more tightly woven ending than the original. The special effects are impressive and I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes bickering between Zeus (Angus MacFadyen) and Hera (the lovely Olivia Williams). I also thought that this version's Hercules (Brian Thompson) was a lot more convincing than Nigel Green from the original. This film also does a great job of portraying the role of the gods in Jason's quest.
However, there are also a few weaknesses. For one, I certainly miss the Talos of the original. Watching Talos first come to life on the 1963 film still gives me goosebumps up to this day. That Talos was definitely one of Ray Harryhausen's greatest creations. I also preferred the many-headed hydra to this version's giant lizard-like creature. Jason London is a passable lead but I believe the filmmakers could've picked a stronger actor. He certainly is nice to look at and the supporting actors more than make up for his shortcomings.
All in all, I enjoyed this film and would recommend it to those who enjoy mythological, fantasy or action/adventure films. For those who enjoy Greek mythology, I suggest you also check out the 1963 version of JASON OF THE ARGONAUTS if only to see the fantastic Talos and the army of skeleton soldiers as well as CLASH OF THE TITANS (starring Harry Hamlin) and upcoming film TROY (starring Brad Pitt). Edith Hamilton's book MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS AND HEROES is also a great introduction to the wonderful world of Greek and Roman myths and legends.

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The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)It is reassuring to know that Amazon.com has placed the DVD version of the made-for-television movie THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS STONE on the wait list for its release in March of this year. For those fortunate enough to have viewed this film last fall the queue to own this high quality version of a novel by Tennessee Williams starts here. For this reviewer this version is superior to the movie made years ago for theater audiences.
Mrs. Stone is an aging actress and devoted wife of a man who, after his wife's rather pathetic last bow on Broadway as Juliet, takes her to Rome to escape the critics and the public. She is a woman of means and when her husband dies suddenly of a heart attack she finds herself alone in a way she has never known. She decides to remain in Rome rather than returning to America. Though an actress by profession she is rather shy by nature and a vulnerable woman who stares a bit too long in the mirror that reminds her of her fading glamour. In attempting to 'adjust' to her new expatriate status she mingles and meets a lecherous 'Contessa' who loathes Americans (silently) for her postwar lack of money. Actually the Contessa makes her living by manipulating the wealthy visiting Americans, particularly lonely wealthy women who need succor. She 'arranges' dates with handsome Italian gigolos, encourages her men to make the women fall in love, and then perpetrates schemes to capture their money.
Mrs Stone is thus squired by legions of handsome men and eventually meets the one young gigolo with whom she can fall in love/lust. They have an extended affair until the obvious need for big money takes importance and Mrs Stone is left alone, injured, and feeling foolish. All during the story there is a disheveled beggar who stalks her and when she at last is left out in the cold, she invites the beggar up to her rooms for...and that is where Tennessee Williams leaves the ending to us!
Helen Mirren is wholly believable as Mrs Stone. She holds a flawless American accent, carries herself as the actress she is, and becomes as beautiful as any creature can become when love walks beside her. The costumer for the film provides spectacular gowns for her character and she carries them off with aplomb. The sleazy Contessa is played to a fare-thee-well by Anne Bancroft: you can almost smell her rags and wigs and evil breath. Mrs Stone's lover is Olivier Martinez and he burns up the screen with his sexuality and nobility of demeanor. Even the beggar is given the importance to be acted by Rodrigo Santoro who again proves that words are completely unnecessary when defining a sex symbol garbed even in filth. He is magic.
The settings are magnificent, the ironies between the wealthy and the poor are stated in just the right way, and all of Tennessee Williams' trademark characteristic symbols are in place. This is a superb film and an absolutely stunning performance by Helen Mirren. Get on the order list now and prepare for a pure delight in drama.

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A beautiful cinematic adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ first novel, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, tells the emotional story of Karen Stone (Mirren), an aging American actress who falls for a young Italian gigolo of captivating beauty (Martinez) after the untimely death of her husband, Tom (Dennehy). In typical Tennessee Williams fashion, Mrs. Stone finds romance, but ultimately loses control and steps into a dangerous world of chaos.

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