Probably michael yorks greatest performance as a viking king. The ultimate news source for music, celebrity, entertainment, movies, and current events on the web. After marrying the beautiful aelhsweth prunella ransome, he gives himself over to his dark side and aggressively rapes his wife. The movie ends with a climatic defeat of the viking invaders, the capture of guthrum, and the return of aelswith to alfred, which is a major exaggeration. Alfred the great is an english movie released on 01 october, 1969. When the invading danes kidnap his wife aelthswith prunella ransome, he goes to battle. Nov 04, 2016 movie alfred the great 1969 ninth century english nobleman alfred david hemmings puts his plans to become a priest on hold, because his country has been invaded by vikings. But now, although alfred still longs for the priesthood, he is torn between his passion.
Find release information for alfred the great 1969 clive donner on allmovie. Clive donners alfred the great, the saga of the ninthcentury king of wessex. Alfred is the only english king to be call the great. They also wouldnt mind seeing a better update of another hollywood film that had potential, alfred the great 1969, which starred david hemmings as king alfred and michael york as viking chief guthrum. Alfred the great simple english wikipedia, the free. David hemmings of recent blow up fame is an unlikely warrior king. In 1940, alfred hitchcock released his first american film which later won him his only best picture. This is a fantastic movie about 8th century england and alfred the greats struggles against the church, other anglosaxon lords and the danesvikings to unify the kingdom of wessex. A lot of what we know about alfred the great comes from stories that have been written about him. Alfred the great questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on alfred the great.
Alfred the great 1969 cast and crew ninth century english nobleman alfred david hemmings puts his plans to become a priest on hold, because his country has been invaded by vikings. Stretch your performance music budget further with a collection of pieces for the price of one. Britains hammer films, known for its high quality low budget horror, served up the viking queen 1967. My watchlist keep track of your favorite shows and movies, across all your. Nov 4 movie alfred the great 1969 east hampton, ny patch. The alfred and belwin signature performance series combine. When the vikings invade england, alfred david hemmings is about to take his priesthood vows. Alfred soundly defeats the danes and becomes a hero. Now, 80 years later and a few weeks from the academy awards, ksl movie classics takes a look. Alfred was born at wantage in oxfordshire in 849, fourth or fifth son of aethelwulf, king of the west saxons.
In his own time alfred laid claim to being king of the anglosaxons, which meant in practice king of most of the parts of english speaking britain which werent controlled by the danes. Why was alfred the great one of only two kings named great. It is set in the dark ages, and it seems to have been made in the dark ages of mgm. The movie is a serviceable epic, but its lacking in several areas. The epithet was retained by succeeding generations who admired alfred s patriotism, success against barbarism, promotion of education, and establishment of the rule of law. Michael york has far more charisma in every scene than david hemmings. Alfred the great 1969 clive donner releases allmovie. Alfred the great 1969 rotten tomatoes movie trailers.
It was filmed in ireland using the irish army and they could really recreate the movements of shield wall formations used in battles of the period. In this film alfred the great it is the superb actor david hemmings who plays alfred with much conviction against the danish king guthrum played by another notable actor michael york. Compilation of the anglosaxon chronicle began during his reign, circa 890. Alfred vanquished the invading danes and freed the london city, besides he promoted the angloxaxon culture and the civilized values such us learning read latin. On imdb tv, you can catch hollywood hits and popular tv series at no cost. Why was alfred the great one of only two kings named. King alfred is one of the most iconic figures of british history, whose. Sep 10, 2019 alfred hitchcock, the master of suspense, made some of cinemas best films during his celebrated career.
Consequently, it was writers of the sixteenth century who gave alfred his epithet as the great, not any of alfred s contemporaries. Mar 23, 2019 alfred the great was the first king of the anglosaxons and one of only two english rulers to have been given the epithet the great. The dissenter king while old england is being ransacked by roving danes in the 9th century, alfred is planning to join the priesthood. He may have earned this title in part by defending his kingdom against the vikings and for his efforts in improving education. Alfred reluctantly becomes king and leads his people against the danish vikings who raid the country on a regular basis. Alfred the great is a 1969 epic film which portrays alfred the great s struggle to defend the anglosaxon kingdom of wessex from a danish viking invasion in the 9th century. While the defeat at brattons camp did force the real guthrum to accept that he would never capture wessex, he was not captured. List that became they shoot pictures dont theys greatest films.
With david hemmings, michael york, prunella ransome, colin blakely. He is the bestknown anglo saxon king in british history thanks to his biographer asser died c. Alfred the great cast and crew cast photos and info. Alfred the great 1969 mpg 2h 2min drama, history, war 1 october 1969 hong kong while old england is being ransacked by roving danes in the ninth century, alfred is planning to join the priesthood. Alfred the great is a 1969 epic film which portrays alfred the greats struggle to defend the anglosaxon kingdom of wessex from a danish viking invasion in the 9th century.
Yet his historic vision for his people, personal courage, spiritual devotion, and treatment of his enemies, offer profound wisdom for political leaders of any age including our own. Michael york is more convincing as danish war lord guthram. For a film with numerous battles, the fight choreography is surprisingly weak, but i have to praise the decision to show exhausted armies take a break during a battle, which i have never seen before. While old england is being ransacked by roving danes in the ninth century, alfred is planning to join the priesthood. He prevented england from falling to the danes and promoted learning and literacy. While old england is being ransacked by roving danes in the 9th century, alfred is planning to join the priesthood. Alfred the greats victory at the battle of edington, in which he stood fast against the viking invaders and changed the future of the british isles. He was the first monarch from the british isles to style himself as king of the anglosaxons and so he is sometimes considered the first english king. Great movie instrumental solos for strings alfred music. I liked michael york as the danish leader who wants to carve out a kingdom in england.
Alfred the great is a 1969 epic film which portrays alfred the greats struggle to defend the. Alfred is noted for his defence of the kingdom against the danish vikings, becoming the only english king to be awarded the epithet the great although not english. Alfred the great 1969 ninth century english nobleman alfred david hemmings puts his plans to become a priest on hold, because his country has been invaded by vikings. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing alfred the great near you. At their fathers behest and by mutual agreement, alfred s elder brothers succeeded to the kingship in turn, rather than endanger the kingdom by passing it to underage children at a time when the country was. If you like alfred the great you are looking for epic, exciting and serious movies about with viking, war, military, heroes, battles, clergy and religions or cults themes of drama, history and war genre shot in uk. The story of english hero alfred the great is told in this epic tale of a king who is torn between his love of the battle and his need to take on religious vows. Who was alfred the great and is bbcs the last kingdoms. The movie shows the times when some of the english kingdoms were ruled by danish vikings danelaw.
To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our fandango. Want to get the latest updates and special offers from alfred music. I am sorry to hear that you feel the film alfred the great is not a fit subject for humour. Alfred the great managed himself to unify the small angloxaxons states in order to battle and beat the invaders barbarians vikings. Alfred is the only english monarch to be known as the great, and central to the last kingdom but who really was he. But now, although alfred still longs for the priesthood, he is. Select any poster below to play the movie, totally free. Before joining the priesthood, alfred is forced to lead the people of west saxon england against the invading danes, a fight that proves alfred is a great. Find similar and related movies for alfred the great 1969 clive donner on allmovie. Alfred the great movie posters from movie poster shop. Alfred the great appears to be not about the king who burned the cakes but about a move studio that has been burning money. End of the road 20, warrior queen 2003, the last kingdom 2015, the fall of the roman empire 1964, the battle of culloden 1964. Wessex, his own original kingdom, which was basically saxon. The movie is directed by clive donner and featured david hemmings and ian mckellen as lead characters.
Alfred, also spelled aelfred, byname alfred the great, born 849died 899, king of wessex 871899, a saxon kingdom in southwestern england. A medieval warrior fights to supplant his weakling brother on the throne. May 04, 2017 alfred is the only english monarch to be known as the great, and central to the last kingdom but who really was he. Were your movie poster source for new releases and vintage movie posters. Buy alfred the great movie posters from movie poster shop. His faither deed whan he wis young an three o alfreds brothers. 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. Another great battle between saxons and danes ensues and alfred is reunited with his wife and child.
Here we have a film about king alfred the great that was shot in utah, of all places, that was actually really enjoyable to watch. Oct 22, 2019 filmmaker alfred hitchcock was nicknamed the master of suspense for employing a kind of psychological suspense in his films, producing a distinct viewer experience. Alfred the great came into the theatres in 1969 when epic films had already lost their appeal to larger audiences. But now, although alfred still longs for the priesthood, he is torn between his passion for god and his lust for blood. Visitors of subtitlesbank have given a rating of 6. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. From the passages of english lore, alfreds legend lends itself to a few of the many deeds and innovations which shaped his country and its reforms. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only film about alfred the great, and it is a disappointment. Alfred is often remembered as one of englands greatest anglosaxon rulers. Undeterred, i eventually found a website prepared to supply me with this rare delicacy, albeit at a premium price. One story says that alfred went to rome at the age of four to meet. Alfred the great 1969 clive donner related allmovie. When the invading danes kidnap his wife aelthswith prunella ransome, he goes to battle to retrieve his queen and drive the enemy from england.
Perhaps if you are after historical material on alfred the great, you could try the anglosaxon chronicle i hear the worcester manuscript is particularly good, or if your old english is as bad as mine, you might try wikipedia. Few kings in english history deserve the title great more than alfred, king of wessex. Sadly these are only touched on in this proficient but not terribly gripping late sixties movie. Subtitles of different languages may be downloaded for free as a. When the invading danes kidnap his wife aelthswith prunella ransome, he. In an age and country devastated by viking invasions, alfred inflicted a major defeat upon the norseman at edington in 878 and set about conquering the danelaw territory to secure the unity of england.
Imdb later informed me that the film was alfred the great 1969, starring david hemmings and michael york, but to my grief, it had never been rereleased on dvd. The movie ends with a climatic defeat of the viking invaders, the capture of guthrum, and the return of aelswith to alfred, which is a major. Alfred the great david hemmings changes his plans to becomes a priest and aspires to political greatness. Alfred soundly defeats the danes and becomes an english hero. 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.
Great kings of england alfred the great, william the conqueror, richard the lionheart, henry viii, charles i. Alfred the great was the first king of the anglosaxons and one of only two english rulers to have been given the epithet the great. This is an interesting historical action movie set in england in the 9th century c. Alfred,king of england was a man of vital importance in the history of his nation the first to set down a written legal code in the vernacular and a staunch defender of the realm against the incursions of the danes,he also can be regarded with some validity as the founder of the english navy,throughout history the great barrier against foreign invasion.
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