The War Lord (1965)

Guy Stockwell nailed the Norman knight characterization, and should have won nominations for it. Eleventh-century knighthood was not of the 'shining armor' sort. They were extra sons, trained for war but with plenty to do between battles. Basically, they were aristocratic bikers, arrogant and exceptional, often despoiling the countryside. Draco as an 'I want it now' bully perfectly captures this mentality. His character reflects that of an actual younger brother who really screwed up things. In 1066 Tosti Godwinson convinced the King of Norway, a 7' Viking, to attack England. He did and lost to King Harold, but Harold then lost to the Normans exemplified by Draco far more than Crysagon.

Truly, this film was masterfully done in all of its aspects. As many others have remarked it's quite odd that this film is so underrated and unknown. It's easily Heston's best work, and Schaffner's too. The direction, acting, cinematography, and music all come together virtually flawlessly. For any aspiring film students take note, this is a master class in how a great film is made. It really shows just how powerful a film cam be when done right, and how so many of them are done so woefully bad by comparison.I love this film for the respect that Schaffner accords the viewer with. His sense of visuals are unparalleled, as directors go. The best scenes in the film are conveyed wholly without words or gesticulation, just pointed looks. It's amazing just how much a look can convey. My favorite scene in the film is where the old woman brings Heston and Forsyth food. He steps out of the room and the old woman into it. We then see closeups of Heston and Boone exchanging looks. Then to the old woman and Forsyth exchanging looks. Four people speaking volumes and not a word being said. Brilliant! This is a deliberate film, both intelligent and thoughtful, treating the viewer as such. I re-watch it once a year at least. I always find it best viewed in the late fall/early winter on a Saturday night, or a blustery Sunday. Usually as part of a marathon with such classics as 'The Lion in Winter', 'Beckett', and 'A Man for All Seasons'. This one however, this one is the real gem and the one I always look forward to most.

I am a movie buff since my childhood and I have seen tons of films, of all kinds, although I avoid certain comedies...But besides that I am rather "open" to many kinds. So this feature is for me the best medieval films ever made, all countries confounded. I don't think that Russia for instance has made a medieval movie better than this one. And the British, french and other American films are not at the same scale as this one.Schaffner, Heston, Boone all are here at their best. Even score, sets, everything is here brilliant, awesome, poignant, terrific at the most. You have here a flawless movie that grabs you from the beginning to the end. And the peasant's character, whose the Young beautiful bride is stolen by the war lord - Heston- because the lord's right to take the bride on her wedding night, this character shown as the "evil" guy of the film is unforgettable. I LOVE ambivalent characters, for whom you hesitate between admiration or empathy and disgust. Like the Heston's character is. Unfortunately all audiences are not as sensitive as me concerning places the connections between characters. They like foreseeable schemes, the evil guy here and the good dude here...If you put these scheme out of the way, the audiences are lost. Those pricks....If you have not seen this film yet, you are Lucky, because discovering such a jewel will certainly be the best thing that could happen in your movie buff life.

The War Lord stars Charlton Heston, Richard Boone, Rosemary Forsyth, Guy Stockwell, Maurice Evans, Niall MacGinnis, Henry Wilcoxon and James Farentino, amongst others. It's directed by future Oscar winning Director Franklin J. Schaffner (Best Director for Patton), and the screenplay is by PJohn Collier with the adaptation coming from the play, The Lovers, written by Leslie Stevens.The War Lord harks back to days of yore as we enter the 11th century and ancient Normandy. The film successfully brings the period down to the nitty gritty and doesn't glamorise either the characters or the way of life of the various social dwellers. Time has been afforded the pagan mythologies that existed back then, whilst the upper class' rights such as "droit de seigneur" (ius primae noctis) forms the back bone for our story as Heston's Duke falls for the Druid peasantry virgin (Rosemary Forsyth) he has claimed his right too, tho his inner conflict with the ways irks him so. Thanks to Schaffner the film manages to blend its dialogue heavy plot with some well crafted battle scenes, with the use of weaponry and tactics particularly impressive. You can see that this hasn't just been thrown together as a cash in historical epic featuring Chuck Heston. The cast are strong, particularly Boone and Stockwell, while Jerome Moross (score) and Russell Metty (cinematography) capture the time frame with skill.Rarely talked about in terms of historical epics, or even Heston epics come to that, The War Lord is however one of the more tightly written and thematically interesting movies from the genre. 7/10