Keep Your Powder Dry

Civil War films are, to say the least, thin on the ground. So, forgive me for scraping the bottom of the barrel. My Kingdom For A Horse was a BBC made for TV play written by John Godber. The protagonist, 31 year old, still living with his parents, history teacher Steve is played by Sean Bean.  Steve and his best friend Pud, are pikemen in the Sealed Knot. Unfortunately for Steve, his head of department is also a member of the Sealed Knot, even more unfortunately he's the 'muster master general'. With the backdrop of the Sealed Knot, Airfix 54mm ECW miniatures, and frequent references to Marston Moor, Cromwell, and the New Model Army, the dour Steve plods through life in a dilapidated Yorkshire secondary school. No spoilers, but everyone who has ever taught in a secondary school will do an internal cheer when Steve has a showdown with the school bully. There's some seriously big hair, floppy fringes, brown suits, a school held up by ACRO props (nothing changed there then...

 What? Another excursion into cinema? Afraid so. Once again I take a look at 30YW set motion pictures. "Alatriste" is a Spanish language epic, starring that well known Spanish actor Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen plays the eponymous hero, Captain Alatriste, a C17th Spanish Sharpe type character. The film condenses a number of novels into just one story. It starts during the Dutch Revolt, returns to the Netherlands for the Siege of Breda, terminating at the Battle of Rocroi. In between the battle scenes, Alatriste falls in love with an actress, and is hired to assassinate the Prince of Wales (the future Charles I), and the Duke of Buckingham. Expect a lot of sword fighting. The film has very high production values, costumes and sets are wonderful, and the battle scenes are excellent; the film was reported to be the second most expensive Spanish film made. The film has a good plot, there's a genuinely good story being told here (Twentieth Century Fox, have apparently secured th...

The 1971 film The Last Valley is set during the Thirty Years War, so why does it appear in a KeepYourPowderDry post? Well, there's only so many times that you can watch Cromwell and By The Sword Divided, so I have cast my net on the other side of the Channel for inspiration. The film stars Michael Caine and Omar Sharif; a young Brian Blessed co-stars as a short-lived, shouty man who meets his end in a midden. "You're only supposed to blow ze bloody doors off" The film starts with Omar Sharif's character, Vogel, in search of food and lodging, but his journey takes him through a landscape similar to Bruegel's painting "Triumph Of Death". After much wandering he stumbles into an idyllic valley which appears to have escaped a visit from the four horseman of the apocalypse. Cue, Michael Caine's band of mercenaries arriving in the valley. Caine plays 'Captain' a German soldier - you can tell he is German as his helmet looks like the illegitimat...

  Arnescote Rockingham Castle needs no introduction to fans of By The Sword Divided. Ancestral home of the Lacey  Watson family and their descendants. Rockingham's very familiar gatehouse  Rockingham was garrisoned for the King when war broke out, but was taken by Lord Grey of Groby in 1643.  Its outer walls and keep being sleighted in 1646.  You can understand why the castle was built on this outcrop The Castle's owner, Royalist supporter Sir Lewis Watson was tried in Oxford in 1644, being accused of inviting Parliament's men into the castle. He would eventually clear his name and be made the 1st Lord Rockingham. Arnescote/Rockingham must surely be on every Civil War aficionado's 'to visit list'. Open to the public, this private residence can be visited on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday afternoons during the summer months (check their website for details before setting off as the castle is also a wedding venue and can be closed on days when it 'should'...

The BBC have just released a new comedy series set in East Anglia and Essex in the 1640s. The story follows a failing witchfinder taking a prisoner to court in order to impress Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General.  An impressive cast, the series was written and produced by the team behind Alan Partridge.   More details here Publicity still ©BBC The witchcraft stuff is fairly accurate, apart from continuing the myth of witches being burned alive (they weren't, they were hung). The series looks wonderful, and is well written and researched: not exactly laugh out loud funny, but this is well worth a watch.   This is gentle smile to yourself humour rather than clutch your sides funny - it took until the very end of episode 4 for me to actually laugh out loud. Plus there is the bonus of hearing some Beirut over the closing credits on the first and last episodes. The first episode aired on Tuesday 8th March, 10pm BBC 2, all episodes are now available on BBC iPlay...

The story of the Civil Wars is a story of two men, Cromwell and King Charles, butting heads over how the three kingdoms should be governed. A rather simplistic and stylised (not to mention inaccurate) view, but a view that seems to dominate our history books, and national consciousness. But what of the lives of the others who gave and suffered so much during the turmoil? Civil War petitions give us an insight, as do household records such as Lady Fanshawe's Receipt Book. The 'lot' of women rarely taking centre stage in our view into seventeenth century Britain, but that changes with the latest film that is set in 'our' period, albeit a slightly strange cinematic offering. Fanny Lye Deliver'd has much in common with earlier films set during the period: it was beset with financial issues and nearly didn't get released (as did To Kill a King), ventures into magic mushroom use (A Field in England), and features a strange group of radical thinkers (Winstan...

Buckle your swash in Merry Olde England ™ from British horror movie stable Hammer House. Renamed The Crimson Blade in the colonies, it stars Lionel Jeffries (Grandpa Bungie Potts in Chitty Bang Bang) as a wicked New Model Army Colonel. A young Oliver Reed is his captain. Set after the Battle of Preston, an underground Royalist movement plots to rescue Charles I from Hampton Court... This is a film for a wet Sunday afternoon, with a pot of tea and a good packet of biscuits. Just don't think too hard: not as fanciful as Cromwell (1970), it does stretch historical facts a touch. It's entertainment, not an accurate historical docudrama. It really does look the part, and gives a good feel for the period, despite showing its fifty plus years. My highlights are the fight scenes: keep a close eye on the daggers and swords being used by the extras, judging by how some of them wobble they must be made from a very flexible rubber. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the ot...

Hex is a micro budget British film set during the Civil Wars. Be careful looking for it as there are a number of films that share the same title. Not heard of it? No neither had I. This film is currently included with Amazon Prime in the UK, but is listed as Hex (2019). Hex (2018) is a completely different film altogether, with a much higher body count. Two soldiers (a Royalist and a Parliamentarian) meet after a skirmish and their conflict leads them into the woods. Only the woods are... well that would be telling. Think A Field of England but with an even smaller budget and in colour. The film looks at seventeenth century superstitions and witchcraft in particular; using cinematography, music and good writing to set the scene. The film is beautifully shot. The Sealed Knot provided props for the camp scenes, and no doubt one or two dead extras. Locations in and around Staffordshire and the Derbyshire border - Lud's Church looking splendid, and as atmospheric...

Recently picked up a copy of this on fleabay. Widely available from internet behemoths for a lot of money, this can be picked up for less than a tenner if you have patience from a certain on-line auction house. An eagle-eyed reader reports it is available from the BFI web shop for £9.99.  Winstanley was released in 1975, and "no" younglings your screen isn't broken, films and telly box were often black and white in those days. We had it hard back in the day... Armour used in the film was borrowed from the Royal Armouries collection; the V&A and the Museum of English Rural Life helped with the rest of the costumes, and advised on locations. Whilst the costumes and locations were top notch, the cast were mostly amateurs. The film tells the story of Gerrard Winstanley  and the Diggers attempting to create a community on St George's Hill, Cobham, Surrey. Slightly slow placed*, this film is well worth the effort of watching it; although it does make m...

If you like your 'war' films full of bish-bash-bosh then this isn't a film for you. This is a film by Ben Wheatley (who is perhaps slightly more famous for doing J.G. Ballard's "High Rise" starring Tom Hiddleston). Shot in monochrome, the film follows a small, disparate group of individuals who have fallen off the edge of a battle. But not deserters! They are going for a pint. En route to the pub they stop and eat a mushroom stew, some of which have, shall we say magical properties. They then set off to pull a rope, have a major group dynamic change, hunt for some treasure, and... ...but that would be telling. Very sweary, some nudity. An interesting film, I mean 'interesting' in a good way. So if you like your films more arthouse than Hollywood then you might enjoy this film. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

A confession: I have watched this film. I therefore apologise to everyone that knows me, and will no doubt burn in hell for all eternity as a consequence Described on Wikipedia as a 'cult film', this is clearly a reference to how pants this film actually is: it is absolutely dire. When released there was consternation as the plot of torture and saucy thrills was deemed too much for audiences. Starring Vincent Price as Matthew Hopkins, an appearance by Wilfred Bramble ("'arold, 'arold") as a horse trader, and a host of young ladies screaming in what can only be described as a Carry On style. I am impressed by how shoddy the uniforms of the New Model Army cavalry troopers are: grey felt armour is possibly the highlight of the film. The film exudes low budget, awful script and wooden acting. If for some reason your interest is piqued by this, it is available on DVD and Blu-ray, or pop over to YouTube where the whole film is available gratis. Just don...

Of all the Civil War related films and TV series that I have watched, this is without doubt the best of the lot, and that is despite the fact that there are very few battles taking place on screen. At the root of the film is the relationship between Oliver Cromwell (Tim Roth) and Thomas Fairfax (Dougray Scott); and of course how they deal with Charles (Rupert Everett). The film was beset with financial woes, and it is surprising that the film was finished at all, let alone released. It's original title was Cromwell and Fairfax, but it seems they couldn't even afford that. Later editions of the DVD use the title "To Kill A King: Cromwell and Fairfax". Moody and evocative, this really is a very good film. If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

Putting aside the use of seventeenth century misogynistic language in the title this is a fictional account of one thinking woman's (how very dare she have her own thoughts and opinions - hence she earns the epithet 'whore') journey through the Civil War period. An acclaimed writer, favourable reviews from the broadsheets, and with a pretty stellar cast (Peter Capaldi is brilliant as Charles I) this promised so much. Looks really good, has a good 'feel' to it; and of course it provides good inspiration for choosing general clothing colours, and being on in the background whilst painting. Won a Bafta for best costume design. Historical accuracy: they manage to throw in quite a bit of accurate history - the Diggers, the Levellers, Lilburne, Burford mutiny, Bradshaw's armoured hat. Episode three covers Cromwell's Irish campaign: at thirty minutes an Irish officer rides out of Wexford with his helmet on back to front, cut to next scene and it is on correctly. ...

I do like a good period film on in the background when painting (painting French line whilst Waterloo is on in the background is the only way to make it pleasurable). This is good fodder to 'set the scene' whilst you stick your tongue out when concentrating on fiddly detail.   Richard Harris and Alec Guiness play Oliver and Charles respectively. Sir Alec puts in a wonderful performance, while Mr Harris shouts his way through the script. Just don't use it as painting inspiration, unless you want to perpetuate the myth of ironsides wearing rugby shirts. Yes, it's all wrong. Why should anything like facts get in the way of a film script? If historical inaccuracies really offend you, then this film is not for you. The film makers advertised their film as the result of extensive historical research... whoever the researcher was, I don't think they were researching the right Cromwell. I can understand and forgive poetic licence in order to provide a cinematic exp...

About the time I was proudly carrying a Cadbury's Fingers tin full of 1/300th ECW figures backwards and forwards to the school wargaming club there was, on BBC 1 on Sunday nights "By The Sword Divided". Adding fuel to my ECW fire, the timing was perfect. Fast forward 40 years and I saw the complete box set on Amazon. Bought it expecting a good trip down memory lane. If you fancy a similar trip, be warned - it hasn't aged well: some wooden acting, a few flimsy sets, and the soft focus, detract from an excellent script and plot. To be honest, the more times you rewatch the series, the less obvious these detractors become.  Okay, the production isn't on a par with something like 'Wolf Hall', but this almost certainly paved the way for it. By The Sword is equally ambitious in its plot; a local, personal set of stories that tell a much grander story. Want to include the C17th anti-Irish, anti-Catholic narrative? That'll be two servants brawling in the was...