The Last Legion

[dianamt54]

I like this movie, but to see it as a historical movie, it is not. It is a good movie to watch with children. My boys loved it. They liked the fact that it had a young boy who was the main character. I thought Colin Firth was funny.

[cornelius_sulla]

I've not heard of this one, sis. When was it released?

[Sequens]

I like this movie, but to see it as a historical movie, it is not. It is a good movie to watch with children. My boys loved it. They liked the fact that it had a young boy who was the main character. I thought Colin Firth was funny.

 

I had seen some ad on it but also do not know what it is about. Can you give some basic info ?

thanks

Edited March 20, 2008 by Sequens

[spittle]

The young boy/main character is the Emperor who had been ruling for a short time when Odeacer and his barbarians took over Rome.

Its a fantasy based very loosely on a historical framework of the fall of the Roman empire.

 

It also rips off the Excaliber myth but the sword in this was supposedly owned by Julius Caesar (Its a huge broadsword!).

 

J.G.Caesar:"Is that gladius in your toga or are you just pleased to see me"

Cassius: "It's a gladius and I despise you"

[DecimusCaesar]

The film is based on a novel by Valerio Manfredi, an Italian archaeologist and historical novel writer. I haven't seen the film or read his book, although I did read his Alexander trilogy, which was good but flawed. Despite being an archaeologist his books are not very historically accurate.

[Marcus Caelius]

Whatever, it's in the same vein as, and a good companion for, "King Arthur," with Clive Owen. I have both movies standing together in my DVD collection. Call them both "historical fairy tales" and watch them as such.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

I own most of Manfredi's books and apart from the Alexander trilogy (which btw are fantastic) The Last Legion is probably my favorite, which is probably one of the reasons why I haven't seen the film yet. I know it's going to fall way short of my expectations and leave my all disappointed and wishing I hadn't bothered. Plus the slagging off it got in a previous thread doesn't fill me full of hope either!

[SPQR]

I saw it a few months ago. I believe it is great as a story, but the uniforms are too Hadrian and Tiberius an honorable brave, virtuous Roman?I know Suetonius is the People's Magazine of the day, but still, Tiberius doesn't sound like a nice Grandpa even through all the lies. I loved the story, though.

[ASCLEPIADES]

Salve, Amici.

 

Regarding these film's title and only for the record: some legions, like V Macedonica, were still there at the Fifth century and were eventually integrated into the themata of the "byzantine" army.

Edited June 19, 2008 by ASCLEPIADES

[M. Corvus Cato]

I enjoyed this however, I would only recommend it for people who can disengage their brain sufficiently to enjoy it as fantasy otherwise you might find the historical inaccuracies off putting. I watched it with a friend who is pretty fanatical about these things and he could not get past the inaccuracies.

[Northern Neil]

Valerio Massimo Manfredi in his book 'The Last Legion' described a world which was increasingly losing touch with its classical heritage - the germanisation of the Army, the decay of towns, vulgar latin starting to develop into dialects which would one day become separate languages and ineffectual emperors manipulated by powerful courtiers, some of whom were part German themselves. Also he describes places such as Neapolis - still greek speaking, with most of its populace still ignorant as to the change which had occured, because life went on as it had always done. Visigoths are described by the Romans of the time as 'Staunch Allies' - which by then, they had been, for a few decades. The main character several times poses the question 'Why do people not realise what is happening?'

 

The film was a masterpiece - it managed to miss all of this out, and a lot more besides!