Mary Queen of Scots (2018)

[Al Jackson]

I look forward to seeing this film, tho it has gotten mixed reviews.
Some while back my entertainment meter got saturated with movies set in contemporary times , last I saw that entertained me greatly was THE BIG SHORT....
These days , maybe it is jadedness, I can't get into even good films with settings in the present … and there is lot of that on TV.
(Some that are set in the not so distant past have pulled me in, the first season of FARGO (FX) was stunningly good.)

I have lost count of how many times Mary Queen of Scotts has been done, recently Elisabeth: The Golden Age with Cate Blanchett , a handsomely mounted goof ball historical drama inferior to Blanchett's turn in the 1998 Elisabeth a much better film. Tho Blanchett was great in Golden Age.
Kate Hepburn even did a turn as Mary in a John Fords (John Ford!) 1936 Mary of Scotland (I have not seen this film again in 50 years !).
It is an interesting story but gad! the fascination with Henry VIII and an Elisabeth has been beaten to a blood pulp!

Anyway any historical drama or historical fiction , if well done, I will go for. I am fond of ancient history and science fiction (if it is set like 300 hundred years in the future and is well done …. The Expanse fits this.)
I am tired of comic book movies bring on films like Scott's Gladiator , too few of those these days.

 

[Narkalui]

I can't believe that 1066 hasn't been done properly on screen. It's one of the most earth shattering events of world history.

 

[Al Jackson]

I can't believe that 1066 hasn't been done properly on screen. It's one of the most earth shattering events of world history.

Tho you got have a good story to tell in the screenplay.
As I noted recently Outlaw King is a good film about Robert the Bruce , but it is not a compelling treatment.
There have been big 'history' films , Lawrence of Arabia , Spartacus, The Longest Day, … to mention three... a very odd one is El Cid (people even remember this?) , it got made in Spain and got help from the Spanish government … an important event in Spanish history, but not a very well known event in European history . A good film a little more compelling than Outlaw King but not exactly a stunner.
There has never been a really good film about Cleopatra even tho there is a colossal movie about Cleopatra with Elisabeth Taylor. This movie is watchable but whew klunks around and has an awkward ending.
Funny HBO's ROME did an excellent Cleopatra within it's story.
One thing , if Netflix and Amazon are going to finance Epics will we ever see them on the big screen?
I watched Outlaw King on a Big Screen TV but it seemed diminished by the framing.