I will second Queen Margot for all reasons, mentioned by Sean - really impressive accuracy.

Others of my most favourite moves (not in this order - just mentioning them):
Arn
With Fire and Sword
The Last Samurai
El Cid
Red Cliff
Ran
Kagemusha
Alexander Nevsky

Excalibur was my favorite movie growing up. When I tell you I watched it many times, I mean I watched it close to 100 times I bet. Not the whole thing every time mind you, but the first 1/3 at least, up to where they accept Arthur as the legitimate king. The middle of the movie, the Grail quest gets a bit tedious but it ends great. The cinematography and music in that movie is so good, so mythical in my mind and that is what that movie really is all about. The pre-Camelot scenes, grey and darker are so much better than the Camelot scenes which ended up being way to glittery and shiny, if that makes sense. The armor is pretty awesome too. Overall a great movie though.

El Cid is a good one. I vividly remember the 1 on 1 fight he had where as the battle went on and the smaller weapons were discarded, they went to the greatswords, which if I recall where HUGE two-handers in the movie. I always liked the way the movie ended, a lot. Very stirring.

Kingdom of Heaven is really good for the pretty darn good depictions of that time period, I think. Orlando Bloom as the hero is what it is....but the other characters are solid. The fight scene in the woods with the snow falling is GREAT cinematography as well. I bought the director's cut on Blue Ray and it is so good, the images nearly come out of the TV and fill your room. Its the only Blue Ray I own and I can see why some people swear by them.

I have seen parts of the Warlord, never the whole thing. Need to see that one all the way through.

Ivanhoe is another I saw several times on Saturday afternoons growing up and really loved. I distinctly remember during the (I think) final fight scene, after getting smashed many many times by a flail, Ivanhoe's all "metal" heater shield deforming so badly on his arm do to the repeated strikes that it completely folded over his forearm.

At the suggestion of a friend, I watched a movie called Anonymous starring Rhys Ifans, Joely Richardson, and Vanessa Redgrave. Set during the rule of Queen Elizabeth I, the film postulates that the plays attributed to William Shakespeare were actually written by the Earl of Oxford, Edward De Vere, who was in love with Queen Elizabeth.

My question is: for those who have seen the film, how accurate were the costumes, arms, and armor?

Just watched above mentioned "Alatriste" - really very good movie.

I would have to say some of my favorites are (in no particular order):

Timeline (really like the heraldry and armour style)
Prince Caspian (love the duel between Peter and Miraz)
Knights of the Round Table (1954 and inspired my love for arms and armour)
Brother Cadfael (with Sir Derek Jacobi)
Henry V (with Kenneth Branagh)

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is at the top of my list. I don't care that they're fantasy, in fact I prefer it. :lol:

I'm nowhere near an expert on medieval history, but from a layman's perspective, I thought Kingdom of Heaven was excellently done. I would easily say it feels like the most realistic movie from that era, even if it's not. The new Robin Hood with Russell Crow really impressed me as well.

But my new favorite is without a doubt The Hobbit. As I said, I loved all three LOTR movies, but in my opinion The Hobbit is even better than they are. The cinematography was excellent and the action was fun, but Bilbo was flat out the best character in any of the recent Tolkien movies. Martin Freeman is a great actor to begin with, and his portrayal of Bilbo made him the most down to earth, likeable character in any of the movies. I never thought that I'd like a hobbit character better than an elf, human, or dwarf (I honestly couldn't stand any of the hobbits in the LOTR trilogy). But Martin Freeman's Bilbo turned all that around.

Lord of the rings, is one definite choice, i have the box sets of all three movies so i got to watch all the little bits about the design of the armour and weapons, and I just drank it up.

Chronicles of narnia prince caspian is another, the armour of the telmarines was VERY nice, and they had a chronicles of narnia exhibition last year at the powerhouse museum here in sydney, i got a chance to see the armour of Peter, Edmund, Susan and Miraz up close.. all of them look great.

But my currently leading favorite by a very long mile is Game of thrones, cheating I know, bcause it's a TV series and not a movie, but just the sheer volume and breadth of armour styles makes it worth mentioning all the same.

the soldiers of stannis baratheon look pretty decently like medieval commoner infantrywith quilted jacks and kettle hats etc.


if had to pick a favorite i would narrowly say the armour used by the armies of the lannister clan because the helmet design catches my eye, and the VERY flamboyant armour of ser loris and the ottoman-esque armies of the kings landing city guard are all worth a mention, even if the maile face screens look like the flimsiest thing ever.


also giving an honourable mention to jabberwocky for just the sheer LOL factor of armoured knights in frogmouth helms playing hide and seek.

lastly, giving a mention to the russan movie 1612 for their large number of gorgeously kitted actors and extras, particularly the polish winged hussars.

Several armoured movies I had watched perhaps in the past 3 years and they are:
1 - Narnia (all 3)
2 - Kingdom of Heaven
3 - Gladiator
4 - Braveheart
5 - Army of Darkness
6 - The 13th Warrior
7 - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
8 - The Viking Sagas
9 - Conan the Barbarian (original and remake)

Who else has seen Fetih 1453?

A Turkish movie, about Sultan Mehmed !! "The Conqueror".

Some cool Turkish armour and weapons, and some decent fight and battle scenes...

But perhaps sometimes ruined by the Turks ALWAYS being depicted as noble and just, and the leaders of Constantinople (prior to the siege and capture) ALWAYS being depicted as somewhat unjust and craven.

Also, there's one scene where it appears Mehmed REMOVES his armour to fight... :eek: