15 thoughts on “Top 5 Films Set in the 12th Century

  1. I fell in love with The Lion in Winter when I was still at school, and love it still. “Every family has its ups and downs.”

    1. Oh, god, yes. The series isn’t up to the books but I, too, would like to follow Derek Jacobi around. (Am writing from Winchester, the prettiest small city in southern England, and a very Cadfaelish place.)

      1. One of my great solaces during the deep COVID lockdown was finding about half of the Cadfael books in a Little Free Library down the street. I loved loved loved the TV series growing up!

  2. I loved The Lion in Winter. I was not expecting much when I came across it while surfing the tv in the olden days before streaming.

    PT had to really persuade KH to take the role. She was in mourning from the death of Spencer Tracy.

  3. Adding more Eva Green to a film and giving her more to do is seldom a bad idea, except for any wispy lesser thespians she may proceed to act offscreen.

    On an unrelated note, I’m very fond of Brother Cadfael myself and will only quibble with your remarks to note that his television adventures were filmed by ITV rather than the BBC.

    1. Viewed it last year after 30 years, and I agree: Henry II was an energetic, capable man, not this spoiled brat. (The film’s version of Eleanor is also ridiculous.)

  4. “The Lion in Winter”. I will join you on that hill. I did watch Glenn Close and Patrick Stewart but ended up putting on the original and comparing the two………….Katharine and Peter won

  5. Never try to remake Lion in Winter after Hepburn and O’Toole. If I could only have one DVD in my library, this would be it. An absolute masterclass in acting from all the major players.

  6. Ah, Cadfael, ever since it first aired. Derek Jacobi is just bliss..and really nails the character from the books which I read after being introduced to the series through the TV adaptation

    Yet, watching any other actor than Sean Pertwee as Hugh Beringar just pains me, and I stopped trying.
    Pertwee and Jacoby had chemistry together, both very alert and astute, as people as well as in their roles. Such joy. Both have presence.
    Did I develope an actor crush on Pertwee?😂😇 You bet! I just love his intensity.
    And I, too, for the longest time have wondered why break up this winning actor match…until I came across an obscure Pertwee interview in which he explained that he caught some bug (bacteria or so) in the murky waters they were always traipsing through and it took him a while to recover but not in time for series 2 shoting to begin. BBC wouldn’t wait, so he got replaced.
    Mistake.

  7. I’m surprised you liked the pillars of the earth series if you also like the book. I love the book and really struggled with the series. I cut all the bits I loved to do with cathedral building and added in all the royal court stuff instead. I wouldn’t mind that in another film but I didn’t feel this was the place for it.

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