Ridley Scott, che di suo sarebbe un eccellente regista, ultimamente sembra essere troppo convinto di sé stesso ed alcuni suoi film paiono voler trasmettere l'idea che ciò che piace a lui debba - per la natura stessa delle cose - essere apprezzato da chiunque...
Per dirlo chiaramente,
Le Crociate (pessima traduzione di
Kingdom of Heaven) è un film mediocre.
Verso la fine del 12esimo secolo un giovane fabbro si scopre figlio di un nobile(un
Liam Neeson che ha il buon senso di schiattare prima che le cose si mettano davvero male) e si incammina verso i suoi possedimenti a
Gerusalemme. Porterà con sé un buon carico di peccati, di dubbi religiosi e tutta la bontà d'animo e l'eccellente educazione che il fabbro medio dell'epoca pareva possedere.
Giunto in quella dannatissima sassaia che già all'epoca era la
Terra Santa® non tarderà a trasformare il suo angolino in un prato fiorito colmo d'armonia inter-culturale e, a tempo perso, troverà anche il modo di inserirsi brillantemente nella vita di corte di re Baldovino, di farsi dei nemici potenti e di spupazzarsi un po' la gran dama di turno.
Purtroppo alcuni amici crociati remano contro, ed alla morte del saggio re (saggio in quanto
Edward Norton passa tutto il tempo con una maschera sul volto) provocano il buon
Saladino - che qui si guadagna l'appellativo di
Feroce eccellendo in diplomazia e carità - e costringendolo ad una guerra.
Il nostro eroe, dopo una quantità di combattimenti contro più o meno tutti in cui dimostra doti soprannaturali (ci si aspetta da un momento all'altro che lo stucchevole
Orlando Bloom si metta un costume sgargiante con mantello ed inizi a volare) si prende a carico d'organizzare prima la difesa e poi l'onorevole resa di Gerusalemme.
Il regista continua a bullarsi dello
"stile da battaglia" già visto nel sopravvalutatissimo
Il Gladiatore, con
ralenti, fumo e terra e sangue che volano da tutte le parti. Non sembra poi molto comprensibile (ma sarebbe il meno) la scelta di cambiare un fatto storico ed inserire personaggi inesistenti; ancor peggiore il cattivo gusto di far voltare di tanto in tanto i protagonisti a favor di telecamera al fine di proclamare le proprie massime conclusioni moraleggianti a mò di pillole di saggezza necessarie e sufficienti per risolvere tutti i problemi del mondo attuale. Mah.
Ridley forse dovrebbe sparare un po' più in basso.
Voto: 4.
Tags: crociate, 1180, Gerusalemme, cristiani, musulmani, Saladino, avventura, azione, storico, guerra, battaglia, assedio, amore.
Gladiator (2000)
Gladiatore, Il
Regista: Ridley Scott Scrittore: David Franzoni,
David Franzoni Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Valutazione: 8.1/10 (124992 voti) [#140 nella top250]
Durata: 155 min
Paese: UK, USA
Lingua: English
Cast:Trama:Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge.
Trivia random: In the original drafts of the script, the name of the main character was not "Maximus" but "Narcissus" the name of the man who killed Commodus in real life.
Citazione random: Lucius Verus: Are you the one they call the Spaniard?::Maximus: Yes.::Lucius Verus: They said you were a giant. They said you could crush a man's skull with one hand.::Maximus: A man's? No. A boy's?
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Crociate, Le
Regista: Ridley Scott Scrittore: William Monahan Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Valutazione: 7.0/10 (30786 voti)
Durata: 145 min
Paese: UK, Spain, USA, Germany
Lingua: English, Arabic, German
Cast:Trama:It is the time of the Crusades during the Middle Ages - the world shaping 200-year collision between Europe and the East. A blacksmith named Balian has lost his family and nearly his faith. The religious wars raging in the far-off Holy Land seem remote to him, yet he is pulled into that immense drama. Amid the pageantry and intrigues of medieval Jerusalem he falls in love, grows into a leader, and ultimately uses all his courage and skill to defend the city against staggering odds. Destiny comes seeking Balian in the form of a great knight, Godfrey of Ibelin, a Crusader briefly home to France from fighting in the East. Revealing himself as Balian's father, Godfrey shows him the true meaning of knighthood and takes him on a journey across continents to the fabled Holy City. In Jerusalem at that moment--between the Second and Third Crusades--a fragile peace prevails, through the efforts of its enlightened Christian king, Baldwin IV, aided by his advisor Tiberias, and the military restraint of the legendary Muslim leader Saladin. But Baldwin's days are numbered, and strains of fanaticism, greed, and jealousy among the Crusaders threaten to shatter the truce. King Baldwin's vision of peace--a kingdom of heaven--is shared by a handful of knights, including Godfrey of Ibelin, who swear to uphold it with their lives and honor. As Godfrey passes his sword to his son, he also passes on that sacred oath: to protect the helpless, safeguard the peace, and work toward harmony between religions and cultures, so that a kingdom of heaven can flourish on earth. Balian takes the sword and steps into history.
Trivia random: In the movie Saladin's army is shown to have attacked the wall of Jerusalem from one side while in reality he attacked the north-western corner first then changed his position to attack the northern walls.
Citazione random: Sybilla: What becomes of us?::Balian of Ibelin: The world will decide. The world always decides.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Scott, Ridley
Data di nascita: 30 November 1937
Altezza: 5' 7½" (1.71 m)
Coniuge: Sandy Watson::(1979 - 1989) (divorced) 1 child, Felicity Heywood::(March 1964 - ?) (divorced) 2 children
Ultimi lavori: Trivia random: Usually casts / works with actors that have a strong theatre background and are graduates of Drama School.
Citazione random: "We're suffering from saturation, overkill. The market place is flooded by demand, and there are too many films, so everything gets watered down. Demand is the boss and everything bends to that will. Bigger and not necessarily better shows seem to be the order of the day. I can't watch most of them." [August 2005]
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Norton, Edward (I)
Nome di battesimo: Jr., Edward James Norton
Data di nascita: 18 August 1969
Altezza: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
Ultimi lavori: Biografia:Edward Norton was born on August 18, 1969 to parents Edward, an attorney who works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Robin Norton, a former foundation executive and teacher who passed away of brain cancer on March 6, 1997. Edward also has two younger siblings named James and Molly. From the age of 5 onward, the Yale graduate (majoring in history) has always been interested in acting. At the age of 8, he would ask his drama teacher what his motivation in a scene was. He attended theater schools throughout his life, and eventually managed to find work on stage in New York as a member of the Signature players, who produced the works of playwright and director Edward Albee. Around the time when he was appearing in Albee's Fragments, in Hollywood, they were looking for a young actor to star opposite Richard Gere in a new courtroom thriller, Primal Fear (1996). The role was offered to Leonardo DiCaprio but he turned it down. Gere was on the verge of walking away from the project, fed up with the wait for a young star to be found, when Edward auditioned and won the role over 2000 other hopefuls. Before the film was even released, his test screenings for the part were causing a Hollywood sensation, and he was soon offered roles in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996) and The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996). Edward won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Primal Fear (1996). In 1998, Norton gained 30 pounds of muscle and transformed his look into that of a monstrous skinhead for his role as a violent white supremacist in American History X (1998). This performance would earn him his second Oscar nomination, this time for Best Actor. In 1999 came the critically acclaimed Fight Club (1999) and in 2000 came his directorial debut in Keeping the Faith (2000).
Trivia random: Serves as a member of the board of directors at the Enterprise Foundation in New York.
Citazione random: "I get heartbroken flying into L.A. It's just this feeling of unspecific loss. Can you imagine what the San Fernando Valley was when it was all wheat fields? Can you imagine what John Steinbeck saw?"
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Bloom, Orlando
Nome di battesimo: Bloom, Orlando Jonathan Blanchard
Data di nascita: 13 January 1977
Altezza: 5' 11" (1.80 m)
Ultimi lavori: Biografia:Orlando Bloom was born in Canterbury, Kent, England on January 13, 1977. The man he briefly knew as his father, Harry Bloom, was a legendary political activist who fought for civil rights in South Africa. But Harry died of a stroke when Orlando was only four years old. After that, Orlando and his older sister, Samantha Bloom, were raised by their mother, Sonia, and family friend, Colin Stone. When Orlando was 13, Sonia revealed to him that Colin was actually his biological father.Orlando attended St. Edmunds School in Canterbury but struggled in many courses because of dyslexia. He did embrace the arts, however, and enjoyed pottery, photography and sculpturing. He also participated in school plays and was active at his local theater. As a teen, Orlando landed his first job: he was a clay trapper at a pigeon shooting range. Encouraged by his mother, he and his sister began studying poetry and prose, eventually giving readings at Kent Festival. Orlando and Samantha won many poetry and Bible reciting competitions. Then Orlando, who always idolized larger-than-life characters, gravitated towards serious acting. At the age of 16, he moved to London and joined the National Youth Theatre, spending two seasons there and gaining a scholarship to train with the British American Drama Academy. Like many young actors, he also auditioned for a number of television roles to further his career, landing bit parts in British television shows "Casualty" (1986), "Midsomer Murders" (1997) and "Smack the Pony" (1999). He also appeared in the critically acclaimed movie Wilde (1997).He then attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. It was there, in 1998, that Orlando fell three stories from a rooftop terrace and broke his back. Despite fears that he would be permanently paralyzed, he quickly recovered and returned to the stage. As fate would have it, seated in the audience one night in 1999 was a director named Peter Jackson. After the show, he met with Orlando and asked him to audition for his new set of movies. After graduating from Guildhall, Orlando began work on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, spending 18 months in New Zealand bringing to life "Legolas", a part which made him a household name. Today, he is one of the busiest and most sought-after actors in the industry.
Trivia random: Ranked 76 on VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties.
Citazione random: "Theatre is something that I feel very important for an actor to keep doing. I think it keeps you sharp. But at the moment I'm intrigued with movies and filmmaking. It hasn't lured me away from theatre, but I'm just going to try to ride this wave and then jump onto another and see how far it takes me."
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Neeson, Liam
Nome di battesimo: Neeson, William John
Data di nascita: 7 June 1952
Altezza: 6' 4" (1.93 m)
Coniuge: Natasha Richardson::(3 July 1994 - present) 2 sons
Ultimi lavori: Biografia:Irish-born Neeson worked as a forklift operator for Guinness, truck driver, assistant architect and an amateur boxer. He had originally sought a career as a teacher by attending St. Mary's Teaching College in Belfast. However, in 1976, Neeson joined the Belfast Lyric Players' Theater and made his professional acting debut in the play "The Risen People". After two years, Neeson moved to Dublin's Abbey Theater where he performed the classics. It was here that he was spotted by director John Boorman and was cast in the film Excalibur (1981), which dealt with the Arthurian legend. From there, he acted in a number of average films and Television Mini-series until he gained notice for his role as the mute in Suspect (1987). Neeson did not play the lead in a movie until he appeared in Darkman (1990). Good performances in Leap of Faith (1992) and Husbands and Wives (1992) led to Neeson being picked for the role of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993). For this role, Neeson was nominated for the Academy Award and the Golden Globe. In 1993, he made his Broadway debut in "Anna Christie" in which he co-starred with Natasha Richardson. For his role in this play, Neeson was nominated for a Tony. When he returned to the big screen, Neeson again co-starred with Richardson in the Jodie Foster movie Nell (1994). In the next 2 years, Neeson played characters close to his roots when he was the eighteenth century Scottish Highlander Rob Roy (1995) and the Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins (1996).
Trivia random: Ranked #69 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Citazione random: "In Los Angeles, it's like they jog for two hours a day and then they think they're morally right. That's when you want to choke people, you know?"
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
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