The War Lord Message Board
WP posts a message on 2/13/2009 11:02:26 PM
A superb period film with great accuracy in armour and siege warfare technology! Probably Charlton Heston’s finest acting! Although this 1965 Franklin Schaffner-directed drama has abundant, realistically performed fighting scenes, the film is principally a love story, based on a Leslie Stevens’ stage play called The Lovers and telling the story of a Norman lord, Chrysagon de la Crue, who in the 11th century travels to the coast of Normandy to take possession of a backwater holding granted to him by his duke and to defend the area against raiding Frisians. Chrysagon (played by Charlton Heston) soon encounters Bronwyn, a beautiful young woman (played by Rosemary Forsyth) from the local village and falls in love with her at first sight, as she does him—despite her being betrothed since childhood to Mark (played by James Farentino), a young man from her village.
Although Bronwyn goes through with her marriage ceremony with Mark, they do not have an opportunity to consummate their marriage since the war lord, using his feudal right of the first night, claims her on her wedding night. By morning, Bronwyn is unwilling to return to the village and Chrysagon is unwilling to give her back regardless of whatever laws he may be breaking by keeping her.
The villagers, incensed at the flagrant violation of their laws and customs by their Norman lord, form an alliance with the Frisians to wipe out the Norman garrison—the Frisians being more than willing to storm the Norm tower at any cost to rescue their chief’s small son who had been captured by the Normans in a bloody skirmish at the beginning of the film.
Bronwyn’s abandonment of her groom, although initially forced under the feudal custom of droit de seigneur, changed within the space of a few hours to a voluntary resolve never to return to her husband.
Daniel Staebler posts a message on 4/15/2005 5:27:49 AM
According to Imdb, the name is Paul Frees. Regards.
E-Nice posts a message on 4/15/2005 12:19:14 AM
It's the same person who played a news reporter in original 'The War of the Worlds'. Too lazy to search for it myself now, so I look forward to someone posting the person's name.
john posts a message on 4/10/2005 9:42:00 PM
does anyone know the name of the deep-voiced narrator of The War Lord? I recognize him from another movie, Taras Bulba, but I can't track down his name or a list of movies he narrated. Can anyone help?
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