2004-06-13 Movies

The Lions of Al-Rassan* is loosely based on the Reconquista. I decided to rent *El Cid* (IMDB:0054847) – over 3h of Charlton Heston (yuck) and Sophia Loren (looking good). The story was not so great, the movie had multiple bugs I noticed on first viewing, plot details that made no sense, and very lousy battle choreography.

Eventhough *Troy* (IMDB:0332452) had not much to commend it, I really enjoyed some of the battle choreography (eventhough a lot or all is computer animated). The creation of a martial arts style that is not obviously inspired by Eastern movies impressed me!

IMDB:0332452

El Cid* and unbelievable characters, lousy oriental atmosphere, was not captivating. If you read *The Lions of Al-Rassan* you’ll find bitter sweet love, melancholy, soldier’s companionship, deep respect for enemies, believable motivations on every side. Where was there similar stuff in the movie? Not that Troy was stunning in that respect – but at least there was *some*. ;)

I don’t know whether I should recommend *Lawrence of Arabia* instead of *El Cid* (see 2003-12-26)... Maybe not. Or *Gladiator* instead of *Troy*? That was a movie with similar strength (visions of Rome) and weakness (plot). Plus Gladiator had too much gore. That, at least, works well for me in older movies. I don’t need gore to enjoy a violent movie.

2003-12-26

#Movies