Alfred the Great - Conqueror of the Vikings
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Alfred the Great - Conqueror of the Vikings |
| Original title | Alfred the Great |
| Country of production | UK |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1969 |
| length | 122 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Clive Donner |
| script |
Ken Taylor James R. Webb |
| production | Bernard Smith |
| music | Raymond Leppard |
| camera | Alex Thompson |
| cut | Fergus McDonell |
| occupation | |
| |
Alfred the Great - Vanquisher of the Vikings is a historical film about the King of Wessex , who united the Anglo-Saxon principalities of England against the Vikings.
action
The film is based on the historical records of priest Asser , who was Alfred's teacher, friend and companion.
The young Prince Alfred is to be ordained a priest, but it does not come to that, because his older brother Æthelred , the king of Wessex, asks him for help against the Danish invaders. Alfred leads a successful battle and is again prince at court, but still wants to be a priest.
When his brother arranges a meeting with the King of Mercia , Alfred meets his daughter Aelhswith , an old sweetheart, and falls in love with her again. Seized by the lust of the flesh, he renounces chastity and marries Aelhswith.
Shortly afterwards the king dies and Alfred becomes his successor, but the onslaught of the Vikings shakes his kingship, personal cruelty against subordinate princes and his wife lead to alienation, so that he loses the trust of his people. After severe military defeats, he fled underground.
There he becomes human again and tries to drive the Danes out of England, whose king has also fallen in love with Aelhswith.
Staging
The film shows an extraordinary mood and scenery. It is more documentary than effective and shows the life and work of the English king in a critical light.
Reviews
“The attempts to include the private life of the king in the historical events are suffocated by the decorative as well as the efforts to deepen psychologically; remarkable the choreography of the crowd scenes. "
“Despite an attempt to deepen the psychological depth of the main character, the King of Wessex [...], in this color widescreen film from Great Britain we only have an unfortunate pseudo-historical monster ham of unfortunate [...] memory in front of us. Only slightly above average. "
Web links
- Alfred the Great - conqueror of the Vikings in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alfred the Great - Conqueror of the Vikings. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Evangelical Press Association, Munich, Review No. 210/1970.