Between the myths of darkness and of gold,
The Middle Ages stand, their tales retold.
A time of contrasts, neither black nor white,
But shades of struggle, faith, and human plight.
From Hollywood’s grand epics, knights arose,
With gleaming swords and virtue in repose.
Yet by the ‘60s, cracks began to show,
As filmmakers sought truths the myths don’t know.
Enter The War Lord, bold in its intent,
To strip the gloss from feudalism’s bent.
In Normandy’s damp marshes, power plays,
Where knights and serfs clash in their separate ways.
Chrysagon, a knight of Heston’s mold,
Yet darker, flawed, his moral compass cold.
No hero here, but man of lust and pride,
Who claims a bride, then keeps her by his side.
The ius primae noctis, a feudal claim,
A brutal act that stokes the villagers’ flame.
For Bronwyn, beauty caught in power’s snare,
Becomes the spark that lights the rebels’ glare.
Heston sought to shatter his own fame,
To play a man consumed by greed and shame.
Yet in this shift, the audience withdrew,
Unmoved by deeds too grim to misconstrue.
The script, though bold, retreats from darker ends,
A redemptive arc that bends where truth transcends.
Bronwyn’s heart, implausibly, does sway,
A twist that softens what the film might say.
Yet Schaffner’s hand brings grit to every frame,
With battles raw and towers set aflame.
The siege, confined, yet pulses with despair,
A microcosm of feudal warfare’s snare.
The costumes, props, and rituals of old,
A pagan-Christian blend, both brave and bold.
The score by Moross, haunting, rich, and deep,
Lends weight to shadows where the secrets sleep.
But casting flaws do mar the film’s design,
Forsyth’s Bronwyn, a beauty less divine.
Stockwell shines, yet Boone feels out of place,
And Farentino’s rage lacks fire’s embrace.
Still, The War Lord dares to question lore,
To peel back layers, show what came before.
No golden age, no darkness absolute,
But life in all its raw, unvarnished brute.
A flawed yet noble effort to explore,
The Middle Ages, not as told before.
In shadows cast by towers, swords, and flame,
It finds the truth behind the myth’s false name.
(Note: The review in its original form can be read here.)
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