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• Alfred the Great

  • Houston White
  • 1/7/12

  This is a fantastic movie about 8th century England and Alfred The Great's struggles against the Church, other Anglo-Saxon Lords and the Danes/Vikings to unify the kingdom of Wessex. It was filmed in Ireland using the Irish army and they could really recreate the movements of shield wall formations used in battles of the period. The battle sequences are very authentic and exciting. The actors do a great job with this well known Anglo-Saxon legendary King's story of defeat and then overcoming the odds to final victory. Alfred is the only English King to be called Great. The director made this film as authentic as he could for the UK audiences who know this story well. I saw this movie once on TV in early 1970's on late night TV. I was up past my usual bedtime and it was shown at 10;00pm or 11;00pm. As it was probabl;I was enthralled as I knew the historical story. The full length directors cut is the best as the later edited for TV versions cut out so of the most authentic scenes. This film is up there with other great viking films of the 1960's: The Vikings, The Warlord, and the Search for the Golden Bell, etc.. For years there was some problem with re-releasing this movie! I always heard it was because of the late directors estate, something about the director's spouse wanting to have whole movie as he filmed it or nothing? It never made the journey to VHS or DVD. Turner Classic Movies must release the original film version without the cuts made for American release! This film only received a very short release in US in 1969. There was so much happening in US in 1969 that it did not have much of a chance: Vietnam, Race riots, landing on the moon, etc.. I have wanted to see this movie again for all my life. But, I do not want to see the cut done for TV. I want to see and own the restored, full length original wide screen, in letterbox format as only Turner Classic Movies can do. Please there is a large audience in US that would love to see this movie agai

• Opening sequence

  • Ed Butler
  • 5/16/11

  I've quoted this from IMDB: I have some interesting facts to share about the making of the movie: Many of the battle scenes were filmed in Ireland using Irish Army regulars as extras. The men learned the marching chants and what you hear in the movie is at least in part the actual chants of the extras. Some of the men earned extra money by doing some of the riskier shots (guys carrying kicking and screaming women for example; my father was one such extra and earned his extra money by lying on the battlefield and permitting a horse to walk up to his 'body' and then circle around his head; some extras were unwilling to risk being stepped on, but my father's familiarity with horses convinced him that the horse would avoid stepping on a person). The Viking ships were motorized with oarsmen acting to produce the realistic effects. One boat was offered to the local boy scouts at the end of filming, but was scooped up by a buyer before the deal was closed. After days of shooting with large numbers of extras on the shores of the River Shannon near Athlone, the crew would repaint the brown grass using large buckets of green paint. http://www.athlonelive.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1905

• Overdue for DVD release

  • Robert
  • 1/6/10

  I remember this movie in my teens. I have described it to others but it's release was so limited that most have forgotten it. I think that if released as a DVD it would rapidly become a must have for anyone who enjoys historical movies.

• Overlooked Saga

  • Carl Fortun
  • 8/29/07

  A splendid film, that besides being a fairly accurate depiction of the life and times in the 9th century, also has a religious dynamic of a pagan culture and its emphasis on power and passion versus the Christian ethic of love and understanding. Add a couple of meticulously filmed battles for the action fans and you have a "reel" gem.

• RELEASE THIS ON DVD!

  • Terry Lewis
  • 8/19/07

  I remember this as one of my favorite late 60's movies. Gritty realism and a good cast make for a very entertaining film. If you like medieval, vikings etc, you'll love this.

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