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  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#1) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

    • John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes, Connie Booth, John Young, Sandy Johnson, Julian Doyle, Bee Duffell, Maggie Weston, Rita Davies, Charles Knode, Joni Flynn, Roy Forge Smith, Sally Kinghorn, Zack Matalon, Mary Allen, Margarita Doyle, William Palin, Romilly Squire, Judy Lamb, Alison Walker, Tom Raeburn, Mitsuko Forstater, Tracy Sneddon, Fiona Gordon, Avril Stewart, Elspeth Cameron, Gloria Graham, Yvonne Dick, Sandy Rose, Joyce Pollner, Sally Coombe, Vivienne MacDonald, Daphne Darling, Sylvia Taylor, Anna Lanski, Loraine Ward, Mark Zycon

    The Python troupe's classic comedy film follows King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table as they search for the Holy Grail.

    What It Gets Right: Although the legend of King Arthur is played for laughs in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, there's a lot the troupe gets right about the time period. The Middle Ages were a time of rampant disease, filth, and staggering fatalities. Holy Grail reflects this in scenes with plague victims being wheeled through the streets on carts and peasants wallowing in filth. The cow catapulted over a fort wall is also based in reality; in some ancient entanglements, fecal matter, plague-infected bodies, and animal cadavers were used as biological weapons.

    The Pythons also accurately show how primitive science was, and how greatly superstition influenced the masses, especially during the sequence when villagers, who have accused a woman of being a witch, decide that the only way to know if she's truly a witch is to see if she weighs the same as a duck.

    Where It Falls Short: Needless to say, the plot points are regularly exaggerated for comedic effect - or due to budget constraints. In one example, the production couldn't afford real horses, so coconuts were used to mimic the sound of their galloping.

  • Kingdom of Heaven on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#2) Kingdom of Heaven

    • Eva Green, Liam Neeson, Edward Norton, Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, Michael Sheen, Brendan Gleeson, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kevin McKidd, Iain Glen, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Alexander Siddig, Ulrich Thomsen, Jon Finch, Bill Paterson, Philip Glenister, Nathalie Cox, Khaled El Nabawy, Robert Pugh, Bronson Webb, Eriq Ebouaney, Peter Copley, Martin Hancock, Tim Barlow, Christian Boeving, Steven Robertson, Alex O'Dogherty, Michael FitzGerald, Jouko Ahola, Velibor Topić, Angus Wright, Giannina Facio, Karim Saleh, Nasser Memarzia, Paul Brightwell, Shane Attwooll, Ghassan Massoud, Alfonso Sánchez, Matthew Rutherford, Lotfi Yahya Jedidi, Emilio Doorgasingh, Alex Revan, Michael Shaeffer, Peter Cant

    When Kingdom of Heaven was released in 2005, it flopped. Critics and viewers felt it was incomplete, in part because of the studio's cuts. However, when the movie was made available in Ridley Scott's extended version, both its drama and its historical accuracy hit a stronger note.

    What It Gets Right: This Crusades epic dramatizes the conflict between Christians and Muslims during the battle of the First Kingdom of Jerusalem, in which Christian knights attempted to reclaim Holy Land sites (located in modern-day Israel) from the Arabs, for whom the region retains significance. The movie focuses on events prior to and during the Battle of Hattin, where the crusaders were mostly slaughtered. This battle led to the Third Crusade, in which the English and French also tried to recapture the Holy Land. 

    According to historians, Kingdom of Heaven is accurate in its depicton of crusaders becoming "orientalized" over the decades, its realistic combat sequences, and its portrayal of Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). The sequence in Saladin's tent following the battle and eventual surrender of Jerusalem is said to be largely accurate.

    Where It Falls Short: The main character, Balian (Orlando Bloom), is based on a real-life crusader, Balian of Ibelin. Unlike his film persona, the real man was not a humble blacksmith who was born illegitimately and whose wife took her own life, but a nobleman whose real father was a powerful lord. Despite the differences in his portrayal, both the real and fictional Balian were instrumental in negotiating a settlement to end the skirmish.

  • Outlaw King on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#3) Outlaw King

    • Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Billy Howle, Tony Curran, Stephen Dillane, Callan Mulvey

    While Outlaw King isn't the pinnacle of historical realism, it does succeed where Braveheart doesn't in terms of telling the story of the Wars of Scottish Independence.

    What It Gets Right: The character of Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) was written with factual events of the real man's life in mind, including the many setbacks he experienced before becoming an esteemed warrior on the battlefield. There is some crossover with the time period covered in Braveheart, as William Wallace (portrayed in that movie by Mel Gibson) existed in the same timeframe. Wallace is seen only briefly in Outlaw King, and only part of his chest and a limb are featured. In reality, Wallace was tortured and quartered, and his remains were sent to four different regions in Scotland.

    Outlaw King also outshines Braveheart in terms of costuming, as there are no kilts to be found (they didn't exist until the 1600s). The armor seen here is what would have been worn during the Middle Ages. Also, Outlaw King gets its weaponry right; the massive trebuchet featured in the film really did exist. It was called Warwolf both in real life and on screen.

    Where It Falls Short: Chris Pine looks nothing like the real Robert the Bruce, who was short, stocky, and may have suffered from a mild case of leprosy. Edward, Prince of Wales, is portrayed as being cruel and sadistic in the movie, but was said to be quite generous with his subjects in real life.

  • The Passion of Joan of Arc on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#4) The Passion of Joan of Arc

    • Antonin Artaud, Michel Simon, Renée Jeanne Falconetti, Marie Losier, Jean Ayme, Maurice Schutz, André Berley, Jean d'Yd, Gilbert Dalleu, Eugene Silvain, Louis Ravet, Eugene Sylvain, Antonin Artaud

    The 1928 silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc tells the story of the trial of Saint Joan of Arc.

    What It Gets Right: The movie takes its story from the actual transcripts of her trial. In her one and only major film role, Maria Falconetti plays the martyred saint with great conviction. According to legend, director Carl Theodor Dreyer required her to kneel for long periods on stone and remain expressionless in the process so that her inner agony would be more apparent.

    Silent film actors usually wore an abundance of makeup. However, Dreyer wanted his actors makeup-free, as they would have been in real life. The set was no less authentic. The entire movie was filmed on a stage built from concrete and modeled after the architecture of the day.

    Where It Falls Short: Dreyer once said historical accuracy was not a concern of his while making the movie, but he created a fairly accurate portrayal of Saint Joan nonetheless.

  • Robin Hood on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#5) Robin Hood

    • Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, William Hurt, Max von Sydow, Léa Seydoux, Oscar Isaac, Luke Evans, Kevin Durand, Matthew Macfadyen, Eileen Atkins, Danny Huston, Arthur Darvill, Mark Addy, Scott Grimes, Gerard McSorley, Robert Pugh, Douglas Hodge, Simon McBurney, Ralph Ineson, Alan Doyle, Ray Donn, Bronson Webb, Mark Lewis Jones, James Fiddy, Steve Evets, Jessica Raine, Ned Dennehy, Denis Ménochet, Lee Nicholas Harris, João Costa Menezes, Roy Holder, Ruby Bentall, Jonathan Zaccaï, Lasco Atkins, Mark Ryder, Velibor Topić, Jake Curran, Neil Findlater, Giannina Facio, James Payton, Thomas Arnold, Jamie Beamish, John Atterbury, Lloyd Handley, Geoff Searle, Robert Roman Ratajczak, Lee Battle, Kas Graham, Teresa Mahoney, Andy Callaghan, James Currie, Simon Steggall, Pip Carter, Abraham Belaga, Samuel Dupuy, Matt Tyzack, James Burrows, Jack Butler, Christian Wolf-La'Moy, Richard Riddell, Sarah Jane O'Neill, Denise Gough, Lisa Millett, David Bertrand, Ryan Stuart, Nicolas Simon, Stuart Martin, Warren Harrington, Robert Harrison O'Neil, Stephen Armourae, Russell Honeywell, Joe Golby, Eric Rulliat, Jimi James, Umit Ulgen, Michael Koltes, Jason Beeston, Ciaran Flynn, Jamie Clark, Kirsty Seager, Martin Walker, Steven Hopwood, John O'Toole, Jack Steele, Alison Faith, Adam Martin, James Hamilton, Tom Blyth, John Nicholas, Chris Jared, Peter Holyoake, Jo Marriott, Jason Collins, Jane Hardcastle, Joseph Hamilton, Lothaire Gerard, Alan Charlesworth, Jack Downham, Hannah Barrie, Nicholas Crum, Danny Clarke, Michael St Omer, Mat Laroche, Zuriel De Peslouan, Nick Lucas, Lucy Lavey, Nicky Bell, Andrea Ware, Jean-Christophe Leger

    In Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe's take on the mythic eponymous figure, Robin and his band of men rise up to represent the impoverished citizenry of England against corruption.

    What It Gets Right: The production went to great lengths to get the visuals right. The 12th century as depicted here has all the proper weaponry of the day, including swords, arrows, boiling oil, and fire. Life at this time was also difficult for commoners, a fact Robin Hood accurately demonstrates. Most people lived in dirty shacks under persistent threat of disease and extreme hunger, with vermin virtually everywhere.

    Where It Falls Short: While Robin Hood himself is more steeped in legend, he coexists in a world of real-life historical figures like Richard the Lionheart, King John, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and takes part in entanglements during the Crusades. However, as with many films about the Middle Ages, events and locations in Robin Hood are compressed, moved, and sometimes ignored outright. As an example, Richard the Lionheart was not slain in conflict as depicted here, but was punctured by an arrow while walking the perimeter of Chalus-Chabrol castle. He passed two weeks later from his injuries.

  • The Name of the Rose on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#6) The Name of the Rose

    • Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Ron Perlman, Abraham Murphy, William Hickey, Elya Baskin, Michael Lonsdale, Leopoldo Trieste, Feodor Chaliapin, Jr., Helmut Qualtinger, Valentina Vargas, Volker Prechtel, Michael Habeck, Urs Althaus, Franco Valobra

    The Name of the Rose tells the story of a Franciscan friar, William of Baskerville (Sean Connery), who investigates a series of slayings in a 14th-century Benedictine monastery.

    What It Gets Right: Based on the book by Umberto Eco, this somber film takes the viewer on a journey through one of Catholicism's darkest eras. During this time, the Inquisition, an institution of the Catholic Church created to combat heresy and punish those it believed committed it, was at its peak, and monasteries hid books that didn't follow the doctrine of the day. The movie reflects this period accurately, as the slayings are based around a scriptorium in the abbey that William of Baskerville is visiting, and where books believed to be pagan in nature are hidden.

    Where It Falls Short: The book of the same name, while well-researched, is considered historical fiction. William of Baskerville is based on friar William of Ockham, who discovered the "Ockham's Razor" principle, in which the simplest explanation is the most likely. He is not a Sherlock Holmes-type investigator, but William of Baskerville's name is a nod to the Arthur Conan Doyle novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.

  • The Lion in Winter on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#7) The Lion in Winter

    • Anthony Hopkins, Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Timothy Dalton, Kenneth Griffith, Nigel Stock, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Henry Woolf, Kenneth Ives, Jane Merrow, O. Z. Whitehead, Karol Hagar, Ella More, Fran Stafford

    After the passing of their eldest son, King Henry II (O'Toole) and Queen Eleanor (Hepburn) must decide who will be the successor to the throne. Each parent has their favorite child for the job. The sibling that gets left out attempts to manipulate the situation to his own liking - as does the French king who sees the rift as his opportunity to gain political power.

    What It Gets Right: This 1968 film has a stellar cast in Katherine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, and a young Anthony Hopkins, and is regarded by many as one of the best medieval movies ever made. When it comes to accuracy, The Lion in Winter does take some liberties, but is generally rooted in fact. The king and queen really were faced with this decision. Also, unlike other medieval movies, The Lion in Winter doesn't show politics as being about weightier, broader issues. In most instances, it was really about marriage, title, and what those in power had to bring to the table in terms of land and wealth.

    Where It Falls Short: Richard the Lionheart (Anthony Hopkins) is portrayed is having had a brief fling with Philip II (Timothy Dalton). While some people believe Richard may have been homosexual or bisexual, there is no real evidence that he was either.

  • The Seventh Seal on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#8) The Seventh Seal

    • Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Nils Poppe, Erik Strandmark, Gunnel Lindblom, Bengt Ekerot, Åke Fridell, Inga Gill, Inga Landgré, Gunnar Olsson, Anders Ek, Bertil Anderberg, Maud Hansson, Siv Aleros

    Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal has a plot rooted in fantasy, in which a knight, Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), coming back from the Crusades plays chess with Death for his soul.

    What It Gets Right: Bergman's story appears to have been inspired by a real-life painting from the 15th centuryAlbertus Pictor's Death Playing Chess. The movie also takes place against the backdrop of the Black Plague, which swept across Europe quickly in the Middle Ages, taking millions of lives. While Bergman wasn't trying to make a historical film, he did capture the pessimism and religious reverence of the period, which was informed by rampant disease, famine, and armed conflict. The Seventh Seal was made in 1957, but there's no hint of modernity. Its bleak, high-contrast cinematography is enough to make viewers believe they are looking through a window in time. 

    Where It Falls Short: In the chess game itself, the players do not play according to the rules that would have been the norm at the time.

     

  • Henry V on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#9) Henry V

    • Christian Bale, Emma Thompson, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Ian Holm, Robbie Coltrane, Derek Jacobi, Paul Scofield, Brian Blessed, Richard Briers, John Sessions, Robert Stephens, Geraldine McEwan, Charles Kay, Alec McCowen, Danny Webb, Michael Maloney, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin, Edward Jewesbury, Colin Hurley, Fabian Cartwright

    Kenneth Branagh's Henry V is based on the Shakespeare play of the same name.

    What It Gets Right: Branagh was the same age as the king he was depicting when the events of the story took place. Henry V takes place during the Battle of Agincourt, which was primarily fought using bows and arrows. Because a fight of this magnitude would have been hard to stage in a theater, Shakespeare tells the tale with hand-to-hand combat instead, but Branagh was able to authentically create the skirmish using the requisite archery, horses, and armies.

    Where It Falls Short: Branagh was a little too good-looking to portray the real king. Henry V had a massive scar on his face from an arrow that impaled him in the Battle of Shrewsbury. Henry V also ordered French captives to be slain en masse after Agincourt, but there is no mention of this in the movie.

  • The 13th Warrior on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#10) The 13th Warrior

    • Omar Sharif, Antonio Banderas, Tony Curran, Erick Avari, Clive Russell, Sven Wollter, Diane Venora, Vladimir Kulich, Richard Bremmer, John DeSantis, Mischa Hausserman, Dennis Storhøi, Albie Woodington, Asbjørn 'Bear' Riis, Oliver Sveinall, Daniel Southern, Neil Maffin

    The 13th Warrior is based on Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead, which is rooted in the real-life account of Ahmad Ibn Fadlan's adventures as the secretary to ambassador Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad during his travels to Bulgaria. The real Ibn Fadlan recorded what he saw in the Risala, which served as an eyewitness account to the lives of the Volga Vikings and their customs and traditions, including a ship burial. Antonio Banderas plays Ibn Fadlan in The 13th Warrior.

    What It Gets Right: The clothing choices of the Viking extras appear to be on point, and Ibn Fadlan wears armor close to that of a real Viking. The blades used by the Vikings are realistic to the time period, as are the Viking ships. It is also true that the dragon heads on the ships were removed when not approaching enemy shores to placate land spirits.

    Where It Falls Short: In the costuming of its leads, The 13th Warrior mixes up centuries. Vikings wouldn't have worn walking kilts or anything that looks like a Spanish conquistador helmet during the Middle Ages. Also, the geography is incorrect. Baghdad is shown as being between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, 700 miles north of its real location.

  • King Arthur on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#11) King Arthur

    • Keira Knightley, Clive Owen, Ray Winstone, Mads Mikkelsen, Ioan Gruffudd, Stellan Skarsgård, Hugh Dancy, Ray Stevenson, Joel Edgerton, Graham McTavish, Til Schweiger, Stephen Dillane, Ken Stott, Owen Teale, Clive Russell, Charlie Creed-Miles, David Wilmot, Ned Dennehy, Beans Balawi, Bosco Hogan, Ivano Marescotti, Sean Gilder, David Murray, Alan Devine, Nigel Martin Davey, Joe McKinney, Dawn Bradfield, Charlie Allan, Pat Kinevane, Donncha Crowley, Des Braiden, Phelim Drew, Lochlainn O'Mearain, Jerry O'Brien, Johnny Brennan, Shane Murray-Corcoran, Stefania Orsola Garello, Maria Gładkowska, Elliot Henderson-Boyle, Lorenzo De Angelis, Gerry Wade, Dessie Gallagher, Malachy McKenna, Brian McGuinness, Stephanie Putson, Daire McCormack, Patrick Leech, Brian Condon, Lesley Ann Shaw, Paul McGlinchey

    Antoine Fuqua's gritty take on the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table was released in 2004.

    What It Gets Right: The best that can be said about King Arthur is that the movie gets some parts of the legend correct. The conflict featured in this movie is the Battle of Mount of Badon, which is believed to have to taken place around the year 500 - although there isn't much in the way of historical record regarding where it took place. Arthur, if he did exist, is often cited as having been involved in this battle between the Celtic Britons and Anglo-Saxons, and his association with it first appears in the Historia Brittonum, written in the ninth century.

    Cerdic (Stellan Skarsgård) is the Saxon leader and main villain in King Arthur. Saxons did take part in the invasion of Britain during this time period and also around the time the Arthurian legend was first told, but the movie otherwise takes extreme liberties in time and story.

    Where It Falls Short: On-screen text tells the audience that "recently discovered archaeological evidence sheds light on his [Arthur's] true identity." In fact, there is no still proof Arthur ever existed. The movie also plays fast and loose with factual events, and there are plenty of anachronisms in regard to sets and costumes.

  • 'Hard to Be a God' Captures All The Filth And Fury Of The Middle Ages on Random Pretty Accurate Movies Set In Medieval Times

    (#12) 'Hard to Be a God' Captures All The Filth And Fury Of The Middle Ages

    Scientists are sent from Earth to a distant planet to observe, but not interfere with, a civilization that has not progressed past the Middle Ages. 

    What It Gets Right: Hard to Be a God accurately depicts the Middle Ages with all the filth humanity had to offer at that time. The viewer can almost feel the diseases of the day jump off the screen as various characters vomit, defecate, and slosh through the mud in peasant villages replete with animals, blacksmiths, and warriors. Hard to Be a God was filmed in the Czech Republic, which has plenty of medieval ruins and landscapes to bring the time period to life.

    Where It Falls Short: The film (and the book of the same name) is more rooted in the sci-fi genre than historical fiction.

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About This Tool

Medieval movies have become more and more popular. Medieval movies always reflect the time and the myths, people have a strong desire for swords, armor and horse riding. Over the years, there is no shortage of great medieval movies, some are grounded in reality, others many depends on imagination, Game of Thrones dominating TV series, and Lord of the Rings forever changing epic fantasy movies. 

This page has 12 entries, there is a list of pretty accurate movies set in Medieval times, such as Kingdom of Heaven, Outlaw King, etc. You can share them with your friends if someone interested in this type.      

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