Rating: 
Summary: A Period Piece With Heart
Review:
The Warlord is one of those films that is rare. It's a period piece that was made at a time when they were primarily cinematic spectacles. But in the capable hands of Franklin Schaffner, this was really a film about tormented lovers who came from two different worlds- practiced and believed in seperate religious teachings, and who were misunderstood by all who surrounded them.
It opens in a time in history where warring parties fought over a fragmented Europe, while the conquered peasants tried to exist as best they could, trying to survive and carry on with their own traditions and beliefs, regardless of who held the momentary reigns of power.
It's a moody, well wriiten piece of work with a very adult theme (especially for the time in which it was made- the early 1960's).
Charlton Heston gives one of his finest performances, playing the battle weary warlord who is sent to govern and watch over them. Richard Boone and Guy Stockwell are excellent as the friend and brother in tow. They play a marvelous ying and yang to how Heston must govern- and how he must deal with the warrior threat that looms close by. Maurice Evans is a delight as the bumbling, bewildered priest and Rosemary Forsyth is properly mystical with what little she was given.
The only flaw is the ongoing battle scenes towards the film's end. They were forced on Schaffner by the studio to beef up the spectacle/commercial aspect of what was really a love story, and a study of pagan beliefs. It doesn't destroy the film but I came away wondering how good this film might have been, if they'd let Schaffner make the film he was trying to make.
Still, the mixing of Christianity and witchcraft- the love that springs between the lord and the pagan girl, from what initially is a cold act of conquest and a manipulation of pagan tradition....
It has some very interesting exchanges, excellent performances (especially Heston and Stockwell) and is definitely worth the watch.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Medieval Films!
Review: A superb movie showing the reality of life in remote corners of Europe in the medieval age. Heston is superb as a lower ranked member of nobility who has been tasked by his Duke to defend a small keep on the coast from raiders. There he has to deal with not only the raiders but pagans, a jealous brother and a love interest. The plot brings in all emotions which culminate in a teriffic siege of the keep.Great combat scenes and costumes make this a must see movie. If you liked El Cid, Ivanhoe or Excalibur you will love this movie. It deserves 5 stars plus!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Medieval Films!
Review: A superb movie showing the reality of life in remote corners of Europe in the medieval age. Heston is superb as a lower ranked member of nobility who has been tasked by his Duke to defend a small keep on the coast from raiders. There he has to deal with not only the raiders but pagans, a jealous brother and a love interest. The plot brings in all emotions which culminate in a teriffic siege of the keep. Great combat scenes and costumes make this a must see movie. If you liked El Cid, Ivanhoe or Excalibur you will love this movie. It deserves 5 stars plus!!!
Rating:
Summary: Action, Adventure and Romance
Review: Charlton Heston as the title charcter, given charge of land and a village to serve his lord in an accurate portrayal of the feudal system. The land is under attack by marauders, the Frisians, against one of which Heston has a personal grudge. In the story Heston falls in love with a village girl to be married to the village chieftans son. These all come together in the end of the movie in an exciting battle for the Warlord's tower. The action sequences are exciting and well done. The acting is solid. A classic action movie.
Rating:
Summary: The War Lord - To Me This Is A Classic
Review: Charlton Heston is in his prime and at his best in this film. It's very obvious why he was such a fantastic leading man. In this role he's rugged; tough but fair; harsh but tender. It all works with him. This movie is basically about this Warlord(Heston) and his younger brother Draco (Guy Stockwell)who became pauper knights when their father was taken hostage and all they owned had to be sold off to pay the ransom demand some 20 years earlier. Heston has spent these 20 years fighting for his Lord, the Duke, and turning over all the prizes to his younger brother who loves him but resents him of course because he can never be first, or the best, or the knight in favor with the Duke. Richard Boone is wonderful as what is really a surrogate father, but is the knight who was put forth to protect Heston's back by his biological father before he died. You really like all of these characters and become engrossed in their lives and what is happening to them.
Heston sees a peasant girl he wants, (Rosemary Forsyth)and after several encounters realizes she is already spoken for but can't give up on the idea of having her. When her husband-to-be and father-in-law to be come before him to seek his permission to wed, he gives permission but ultimately becomes crazed with the knowledge she is going to be lost to him forever. The plan for the right to the first night with the virgin bride is put forth and he once again has hopes of having her. The problem increases dramatically when after the first night, instead of returning her, he keeps her for his own. She of course is in love with him as well and their world is now this stark tower standing alone in what seems to be a wilderness. A major attack begins against the Warlord when the villagers join in with other enemies to fight what is now a common foe. We find however we are happy this great knight has managed to win the girl and have something of his own, something that he really wants and needs. We want him to be happy and to win. I think the era of romance and intrigue portrayed in this film is intermingled in our minds with the stories we've been told and read about: ladies fair who are saved by the knights and then kept for their own because they always end up falling in love with each other. Regardless, this is a love story that is very well told and you really do like every one of the characters (except for the falconer who is a turncoat). I watch this movie several times a year and I never tire of it. It's worth the price believe me. Do yourself a favor, buy it and enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Patience required, but richness promised
Review: Charlton Heston plays Chrysagon de la Crux, a noble sent to take over a small but troubled fiefdom. The obstacles he faces include a jealous and scheming younger brother (Guy Stockwell); strife between the Druids (often championed by the locals, and with whom de la Crux has some sympathy) and the Church (whom de la Crux represents, with a friendly but ever-watchful priest seemingly omnipresent); and, de la Crux falls in love with a local girl, but a local man (James Farentino) is already in love with her. De la Crux wants to do his job well but, with this many factors to balance and that much volatility bubbling beneath the surface, it is a nigh impossible task.
Is this a great movie? No. But, it is a very good movie. Charlton Heston gives his usual solid performance as the thoughtful, skilled, reluctant hero. Richard Boone is marvelous as Heston's veteran soldier/squire. Stockwell is all silk and acid as the younger brother with no real role to play in life, but more ambition than he knows what to do with. The movie is slow at times, and the rural Norman countryside is portrayed as somewhat harsh and bleak. The film is neither a tragedy nor a triumph, but a story of survival.
Rating:
Summary: Even when giving an adequate performance; Heston is awesome!
Review: Charlton Heston should be called the greatest actor of the 20 Th century and in this movie, i.e., The War Lord VHS ~ Charlton Heston this very apparent. The story line and the costumes are fair. However, even when he, i.e., Heston, is not on his a game, then he is better the most actors and can lift a movie from becoming merely adequate to something better and quite more viewable. I would definitely recommend this movie and I do hold it in high regard; and I do also think that it, i.e., The War Lord VHS ~ Charlton Heston is comparable with Boormans Excalibur and should therefore be called one of the better movies to depict the middle ages.
Rating:
Summary: Fine story during the Middle Ages set in a little known area
Review: Great story, acting and writing! Set in the remote Fresian Marshes on the edge of a Middle Age Kingdom. Set is accurately portrayed. Excellent action scenes.
Rating:
Summary: another excellent heston performance
Review: here he plays a dispicable character and yet we still find ourselves empathising with him. when he takes this girl he lusts after away from her husband on their wedding night, evoking a still on the books 'right' but one that had not been enacted upon in some time, he is the 'old world' at odds with newer customs and he is undoubtedly the villian. he even gets men killed for his sin and he kills in the name of lust.
we sympathise even with farrentino (the girls husband) and yet we still see a human side in hestons villian, so human that while we may not be rooting for him, but we do care what happens to him.
if we compare this, khartoum and will penny to some of his other roles we see execellent examples of a superb actor and very bad acting.
in khatoum heston's natural acting wipes laurence olivier's heavily made up, theatrical acting off the screen. we see olivier acting. we never see heston acting and that is the mark of a great screen actor.
yet, in the 70s cheeseball; omega man we see him at the end, sprawled out like a god, christlike, dying for the sins of the surviving humans. the acting there is so over the top, so chest sticking out like some macho hero that we want to laugh.
these are the types of roles that have earned heston the accusations of acting pompous and those accusations are very evidently correct.
but, when heston stretched himself as in this, will penny, and khartoum he is a genuinely good actor. far better than the heston of ten commandments or el cid (another superficial'god like' acting job).
interestingly enough his character here is indeed also pompous but heston takes that trait and actually plays psychological havoc with it, making us care for him, despite his flaws. again, marks of good acting.
he is supported by the great richard boone who gives a character performance worth writing home about.
this is a small film and heston seemed to do far better in small initmate films than in the epics for which he is better known.
warlord has atmosphere aplenty. its not an action pic but a well done mood piece and its worth checking out, especially if you think of the charlton heston only of ten commandments
Rating:
Summary: Hestson's best and a must for fans of Medieval History!!
Review: Heston did a lot of films in his career, but some were overlooked because they were not the bigger than life Epics like Ben Hur and 10 Commandments. But I have found Heston's works, The Naked Jungle, Diamond Head, Secret of the Incas (where Indiana Jones came from right down to the hat and leather jacket!!), The Big Country and The Warlord to be much more statisfying. The War Lord especially is a rarely noticed and unappreciated film. Set in Norman-Saxon England, he has been 'awarded' a small fief to hold against Frisans invaders (the same invaders that captured his father and bankrupted his family to ransom him). Tired of war, tired of the struggle, he is more than content with his lot - though not his younger brother, well played by Guy Stockwell. Heston only wants one thing more....the woman, a peasant promised to another. He can take her by right of being the lord, but he wants her heart and a woman's love. Realisit portrayal of the fuedal person of post Saxon era of the Norman invasion of England, the performances are solid making this one special film, most notable the late Richard Boone (Have Gun Will Travel), one of the most natural actors ever to fill the screen. Solid action and battle scenes. A must for Heston fans that want more than just the flash, a must for fans of medieval history, and an absolute must if you are a romantic at heart and love knights of auld and damsels in distress.
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