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The Last Kingdom

Posted by Koppi on 04 Feb 2018, 11:31

Some thoughts about the TV series. Text in german and english.

https://thrifles.blogspot.de/2018/02/th ... ngdom.html

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Posted by Paul on 04 Feb 2018, 13:45

The shield walls in the series are very wierd...nice repetitive pattern in this one...very repetetive not only in repeating the pattern but the designs on the shields..not exactly viking..unless they are the exterior design type that like a bit of order. Early Ikea Vikings? The Skydda range but they didn´t have allen keys in those days so they couldn´t attach the rims.
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The right circle is slightly off to the left but basically; 3X a Group of 6 shields, 5 blue and White quartered, the bottom left shield, White with black cross. The burning bush in the middle cleverly covers the repeat Group ..a bit. Vikings according to this, liked using Napalm to clear battlefields, I mean, how else do you set a tree alight in damp conditions..??)
The books are ok but the TV series...yuk!! Eyeliner, leather armour, swords strapped to their backs, everyone has a sword. Mind you..BBC and historical accuracy..?? what else does one expect?
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Posted by Wiking on 04 Feb 2018, 14:01

My very first impression was:
Shields? :eh:

A lot of CD!

Oh, yes shields.
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Posted by Paul on 04 Feb 2018, 14:42

I wonder if the soles of his boots are goodyear welted?
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Posted by Paul on 04 Feb 2018, 14:49

at least the edge of the shield won´t cause any abrasions to sensitive viking Skin
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Posted by Paul on 04 Feb 2018, 17:14

Not Goodyear welted but which 20th Cent army supplied this nice pair of boots?
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Posted by Paul on 04 Feb 2018, 17:19

Funny felt hats?
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Posted by Wiking on 04 Feb 2018, 18:36

Yes, that is something you have to ignore.

It is all so factory new and unused. Nothing is worn out. But they live there since years !
If the hero in a film chop wood. Look what he is really doing and you will see he do that the very first time. Very often.
Same for all big battle scenes with swords. Unreal. No one is screaming like an animal, no bone breaking ...
The only battle scene I have seen and look a bit like the realism of horror is the opening, landing of
Der Soldat James Ryan.
I remember that the feedback was something like too long, too boring.
And all these always perfect dressed hero girls in films!
The hero is shaved the whole film jut 3 days ago. Clear white teeth. Perfect suntan and so on and on.
I think non of these films show 50% of realism. By backdrop, stuff and for me far too often the boring story.

Three well done example for me are:

The film:
Quest for fire.
They try to do it as real as possible.
Maybe not the story. But who know?

Same for:
Das Boot.
A few faults.
But all in all right material. (The salt water of the Atlantic :mrgreen:)

As:
Star Wars
A new hope, The empire strikes back, The return of the Jedi. Great story.
The stuff look worn out used and dirty. Jabba`s home!
The ATAT scream: Oil me with each step they do. :-D
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Posted by Paul on 04 Feb 2018, 20:35

Wiking wrote:The only battle scene I have seen and look a bit like the realism of horror is the opening, landing of
Der Soldat James Ryan.

Try hacksaw ridge .the battle Scenes are a bit relentless or..the final battle of "we were soldiers"
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Posted by FredG on 04 Feb 2018, 20:48

Paul wrote: how else do you set a tree alight in damp conditions?


Rub two Vikings together, very vigorously :eh:
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Posted by Wiking on 04 Feb 2018, 21:18

Paul wrote:
how else do you set a tree alight in damp conditions?


FredG wrote:
Rub two Vikings together, very vigorously :eh:


FredG have tested really crazy things in live.
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Posted by Paul on 04 Feb 2018, 21:21

FredG wrote:
Rub two Vikings together, very vigorously :eh:

Wouldn´t work..they tend to be Kaldr than ice
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Posted by Susofrick on 05 Feb 2018, 10:54

FredG wrote:
Rub two Vikings together, very vigorously :eh:


:shock: :shock: :shock:

I think they could get pretty upset if you did that to them and go berserk.
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Posted by Graeme on 05 Feb 2018, 18:21

I really like this series of books, I like historical fiction and in spite of any faults he might have Cornwell is a great entertainer. I picked up the first series of the TV series before Christmas and finally got round to watching the first couple of episodes.

The rectangular shields of the Saxons are wierd, I don't really believe the shield wall looking more enclosed than a Roman testudo and these uncovered plain wood shields would only last a couple of minutes in a real fight. But the shields don't irritate me as much as I thought they would, at least the Danes have the correct shaped shield. Of course I havn't seen the Norman kite shields yet, that's going to stretch credulity.

Presumably these productions employ historical consultants, prhaps listening to them would not be such bad idea. And the battle scenes could improve a bit, so far they've been a bit lame.

But on the whole I'm enjoying the series. It's not a documentary, it's not meant to be. It's a good action story in an historical setting and it's following the books fairly well, so good enough.

However, I did spot the first anachronism in about the second frame of the first scene of the first episode. Is that some kind of record do you think?

The first frame has young Uhtred looking through a piece of amber full of insects, fair enough. The second frame shows his father sitting on his horse on the beach at bamburgh, wearing a falconry glove on which is perched... a Harris Hawk.
Wrong!
Beautiful bird the Harris Hawk and there are a lot of them used in falconry in Britain. So many that they are sometimes disparagingly referred to as "Brown Crows". I've even flown one myself not far south of this location. But not in 866. The Harris Hawk is a North American bird and North America wasn't invented in 866. Evan if Bjarni Herjolfsson brought some back from Vinland Uthred senior wouldn't be able to lay his glove on one for 120 years.

Part of the enjoyment of these historical series is spotting what they did wrong. So much more fun than those fantasy things that can make up whatever they want.

Wiking, I agree "Das Boot" is an incredible film and if there are any innacuracies in it then I'm not knowledgable enough to spot them. I really love "Quest for Fire" too, and there should have been an Oscar for the guy that fitted the lions with dentures to turn them into Sabre Toothed Cats, but it's not faultless. There are a few too many different kinds of Hominids in the same place at the same time for me. That doesn't alter the fact that it's the best prehistoric film ever made though.

Re. firelighting, any volunteers to dress as a Viking and rub vigourously against Lagurtha. :mrgreen:
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Posted by FredG on 05 Feb 2018, 20:37

Graeme wrote:Re. firelighting, any volunteers to dress as a Viking and rub vigourously against Lagurtha. :mrgreen:


Do you smoke after....... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Just for fun

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Posted by Paul on 05 Feb 2018, 21:04

OH NO!!! A Funny felt hat Gnome with a red ring following him!!!! and Three more to the right of Prior Phillip!!!

"do you pray Jack?"

Lucky that the guy in the padded coat was wearing a helmet..that big red arrow might have caused him some serious damage.
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Posted by Paul on 05 Feb 2018, 21:05

FredG wrote:
Do you smoke after....... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

If one rubs up against a shield maiden, especially Lagurtha..you end up Smoking.... just after Ragnar´s visited
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Posted by FredG on 05 Feb 2018, 21:35

Vikings a trois? Is that the windproof fire lighter version? :eh:
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Posted by Paul on 05 Feb 2018, 21:45

I´m still trying to work out how Prior Phillip ends up leading a saxon army. :eh:
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Posted by Emperor on 13 Feb 2018, 18:06

I guess the detail that is similar to all those types of serie for AXN or whatever TV station is that all historical characters have shining white teeth. People in ancient times had healthy teeth due to the fact that suggair was rare (damn sugair, I love it so much :mrgreen: ), and today it is everywhere (thanks Haevens for that :xd: ), and they ate natural food, but those teeth were not white, since bleached teeth are thing of present date. One other thing that bothers me as if producer is choosing characters that are all similar in facial anatomy and gesture of mimics. Thez all look same to me(with a different hairs, armours etc) For example in Tudors Henry VIII didn t look like that what actor looks like. Also female characters act as if they are Beverly Hill girls in suit of Middle age women.
We here in Serbia have a big problem. We filmed first Middle Age drama ever and after first tree episodes Serbian public got a little noisy about details of show, since it isn t the romantic and idalised picture they imagined during history class. So I want your opinion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pdP_-V2mmc
We spent 2,7 millions euros for show, and they are not satisfied. They payed us 10 euros per day for being soldiers.
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